The International Association of Software Architects (IASA) [www.iasahome.org], a 6,000-member association focused on defining and supporting the professional duties of IT architects, today announced the first training curriculum for practicing Infrastructure, Software and Business architects. Modeled after the increasingly popular concept of an online university and based on learnings from stable professions such as medicine and law, the curriculum was developed by IASA’s architecture training committee, comprising IASA experts across a broad range of skills, and guided by IASA founder and President Paul Preiss.
Although colleges and universities provide an academic grounding in computers and information technology, IASA is the only organization in the world that has a training plan for practicing IT architects at all levels. As the largest non-profit organization in the world that is dedicated to IT architects, IASA’s training program is designed for junior-level through advanced architects interested in advancing their own skills and learning new techniques, and is expected appeal to training departments of large organizations that have been under-served.
The program will be launched in January, 2008 with 88 courses delivered by December 2008. The course work is technique and skill based, which means it will deliver practical value immediately to professional and aspiring architects. It is founded on the concept that if architects are specialized in areas of software, infrastructure and business architecture, then they must share a common skill set as well.
The program provides courses in five categories of foundation or shared skills. These are Business Technology Strategy; IT Environment and Management; Quality Attributes (cross-cutting IT concerns); Human Dynamics; and, Design Skills. Only after mastering the fundamental skills could an architect move on to a specialization. The courses will be built and taught by experienced practicing architects from all over the world.
“Strange as it may seem, for such a business critical role within organizations today, there is neither a unified recognition of the skill set nor training for those dedicated to a profession in IT architecture. And, organizations that have attempted to provide education and training tend not to approach this from a practical perspective,” said Preiss. “Our curriculum is focused on developing the resources that architects need in their daily routine, and how to build their skills and careers. It is the only comprehensive training program in the world, and is a response to a great hunger for this kind of information that has been expressed by our members and their employers.”
According to a recent report from Bersin and Associates, a research and advisory firm focused on corporate learning, companies spend upwards of $15billion/year for external training.
“Defining the role, the skills, and providing training for IT architects is a huge undertaking, with corporate IT departments and vendors alike spending large amounts of money to provide training and skills transfer across their IT teams,” said Steve Craggs, Director of Lustratus, a global analyst firm. “Training has really diminished over the last 10 years; it is often seen as an expensive overhead item that –when poorly implemented and managed– realizes no obvious benefits to the organization. Enterprises start anew with each effort, because of staff turnover or other corporate changes that defy continuity,” he said.
“Part of the problem is that individual enterprises cannot look at an overall skill set because they only have a limited number of architects,” Preiss explained. Earlier this year, IASA unveiled the first IT Architect Skills Library, a collaborative effort of hundreds of practicing architects from around the world and sponsored by Microsoft. Authors contributing to the library were required to have 10 or more years of experience in IT architecture and a minimum of three years of direct experience in the topic they discussed. Many of these architects serve on IASA’s curriculum committee.
The courses range from $450-550, with a full annual license for all courses around $15,000. Additional options are available for large enterprises that often need to train significant numbers of people. Further, IASA will provide accreditation for third-party training providers. “Our goal is to create a market of architecture ideas and learning,” said Preiss. “We see a huge investment in IT Architecture which will continue, but only if organizations work together to create a solid value proposition for the practice.”
The program itself will be rolled out over the course of 2008 in iterations of 20-25 courses per quarter. Preiss said he expects the courses to be roughly 10-12 hours of seat time, and will include multiple interactive components to help students visualize and practice the concepts. Students passing courses will be granted continuing education credits.
IASA is a vendor agnostic, non-profit association focused on defining and supporting the professional duties of IT architects.
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