The Architect s Roles in the RUP

The Architect's Roles in the RUP

If you're a software architect, you are likely to play several of the roles defined in the RUP. First and foremost, the architect will fulfill the role described in the RUP as Software Architect. But the architect will also often be a Designer and an Architecture Reviewer.

Often the architect will be an Implementer, especially when contributing to the development of the architectural prototype early in the Elaboration phase, or a proof-of-concept prototype during Inception.

It is preferable that the role of the Analyst should be played by a different person to keep a healthy separation of concerns and to avoid polluting the requirements with the design, or vice versa. Ideally, the analyst should remain an advocate for the customer (although an enlightened advocate who understands the technical issues and the emerging design). It is true, however, that on many small projects the line is blurred between the analysts and the architects .

It is rarely a good idea to have an architect play the role of Project Manager, except on very small projects.

It is not too uncommon to see the architect play the role of Process Engineer, because often he or she has the right level of experience with the software development process to potentially fulfill this role.