Hacker News Reader

Comment by basilgohar | Hacker News Reader

I always find it bizarre how people like this can operate. After almost 20 years of software development, I've considered seeking some kind of an architect role, but I cannot, for the life of me, imagine operating as one without working closely and collaboratively with the development team on a solution, rather than just dictating how things should be done "from on high". But that may just be a personality thing, I don't know.

View on HN

"real architects" write code and simply hop from one team to the other so that they have a reasonable picture of the overall system and can try to guide all the teams to make harmonious choices and possibly even reach some goal.

This still results in a lot of compromises and problems. Anyhow they should be there talking to the developers in a 2-way fashion so that then end result is not entirely "from on high".

I haven't ever seen one of them.

IME architects tend to be people who tell your team that you should be using Azure Cosmos after a Microsoft salesman takes them out to lunch. They last coded 5 years ago.

They exist - I am one - but it doesn't work unless your leadership wants someone who doesn't fit in existing hierarchies. I tend to consult and if I go somewhere where I have prior relationships with leadership, it works. If not, I get treated as part of someone's narrow reporting chain and all the incentives are wrong.

I've seen this even without the code - them just bouncing between teams and sitting in on many meetings and sort of being the common note-taker who then knows where almost every team is going, what they need, and what cross-team work could be done to improve everyone's life.

> I always find it bizarre how people like this can operate.

They are acting rationally within their belief system of making money.

Enterprise software is exactly that, software used by enterprise -- it doesn't signify any good qualities (far from it) only that it provides a cost-effective software solution to a defined business need.

The issue is when corps get bailed out, overfunded, or have revenue mostly outside of software (e.g. gov't contracts) as it eliminates cost-effective from the equation... so you just end up with buggy messes (code as a cost center).

You'd have to work in the tiny niches where tech is the true product to find good development ...and even then...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com