ICT system architect to software architect
An ICT system architect already meets 66% of what the software architect role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.5/ 100
1 How much of what a software architect is expected to do is already part of an ICT system architect’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the software architect role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A software architect role treats 10 of its required skills as things an ICT system architect already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- align software with system architectures
- analyse business requirements
- build business relationships
- business process modelling
- define technical requirements
- design process
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 64 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A software architect role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ICT system architect background worth leading with.
- already held align software with system architectures working with computers
- already held systems theory information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held system design information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held apply ICT systems theory working with computers
- already held design cloud architecture communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held design database scheme communication, collaboration and creativity
All 64 carried skills, including the 10 the software architect role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn object-oriented modelling required
- still to learn tools for software configuration management required
- still to learn unified modelling language required
- optional, not held Ansible optional
- optional, not held Apache Maven optional
- optional, not held Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held Puppet (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held SPARK optional
- optional, not held STAF optional
- optional, not held Salt (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held WildFly optional
- still to learn create software design required
- still to learn define software architecture required
- still to learn create flowchart diagram required
- optional, not held provide ICT consulting advice optional
- still to learn analyse software specifications required
- optional, not held develop software prototype optional
- optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
- optional, not held implement data warehousing techniques optional
- optional, not held use query languages optional
- optional, not held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools optional
- optional, not held perform ICT troubleshooting optional
- still to learn collect customer feedback on applications required
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- still to learn oversee development of software required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a software architect role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse software specifications practise this
- 02 create software design practise this
- 03 define software architecture practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 64 skills that carry over
- already held align software with system architectures skill
- already held analyse business requirements skill
- already held build business relationships skill
- already held business process modelling knowledge
- already held define technical requirements skill
- already held design process skill
- already held provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- already held system design knowledge
- already held systems development life-cycle knowledge
- already held use an application-specific interface skill
- already held ABAP knowledge
- already held AJAX knowledge
- already held APL knowledge
- already held ASP.NET knowledge
- already held Agile project management knowledge
- already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
- already held C# knowledge
- already held C++ knowledge
- already held COBOL knowledge
- already held CoffeeScript knowledge
- already held Common Lisp knowledge
- already held Erlang knowledge
- already held Groovy knowledge
- already held Haskell knowledge
- already held ICT project management methodologies knowledge
- already held ICT security legislation knowledge
- already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
- already held JavaScript knowledge
- already held Lisp knowledge
- already held MATLAB knowledge
- already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
- already held Objective-C knowledge
- already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
- already held PHP knowledge
- already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Perl knowledge
- already held Process-based management knowledge
- already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
- already held R knowledge
- already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
- already held SAP R3 knowledge
- already held SAS language knowledge
- already held Scala knowledge
- already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
- already held TypeScript knowledge
- already held VBScript knowledge
- already held Visual Basic knowledge
- already held apply ICT systems theory skill
- already held computer programming knowledge
- already held design cloud architecture skill
- already held design database in the cloud skill
- already held design database scheme skill
- already held lean project management knowledge
- already held manage staff skill
- already held perform resource planning skill
- already held security engineering knowledge
- already held systems theory knowledge
- already held task algorithmisation knowledge
- already held use markup languages skill
- already held web programming knowledge
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Ansible optional
- optional, not held Apache Maven optional
- optional, not held Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held Puppet (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held SPARK optional
- optional, not held STAF optional
- optional, not held Salt (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held WildFly optional
- optional, not held develop software prototype optional
- optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
- optional, not held implement data warehousing techniques optional
- optional, not held provide ICT consulting advice optional
- optional, not held use query languages optional
- optional, not held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools optional
- optional, not held perform ICT troubleshooting optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
28 held skills the software architect role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT process quality models knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT system integration knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT system programming knowledge
- not needed by the target role Oracle WebLogic knowledge
- not needed by the target role acquire system component skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role assess ICT knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role create data models skill
- not needed by the target role database development tools knowledge
- not needed by the target role defence standard procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role design enterprise architecture skill
- not needed by the target role design for organisational complexity skill
- not needed by the target role design information system skill
- not needed by the target role develop with cloud services skill
- not needed by the target role digital systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware platforms knowledge
- not needed by the target role image recognition knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement ICT security policies skill
- not needed by the target role information structure knowledge
- not needed by the target role integrate system components skill
- not needed by the target role manage cloud data and storage skill
- not needed by the target role manage database skill
- not needed by the target role manage standards for data exchange skill
- not needed by the target role manage system testing skill
- not needed by the target role model based system engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan migration to cloud skill
- not needed by the target role solve ICT system problems skill
- not needed by the target role use object-oriented programming skill
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn object-oriented modelling required
- still to learn tools for software configuration management required
- still to learn unified modelling language required
- optional, not held Ansible optional
- optional, not held Apache Maven optional
- optional, not held Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held Puppet (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held SPARK optional
- optional, not held STAF optional
- optional, not held Salt (tools for software configuration management) optional
- optional, not held WildFly optional
Common questions about this move
Can an ICT system architect become a software architect?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An ICT system architect already covers 66% of what a software architect is expected to do: 64 skills carry over, 10 of which the software architect role treats as required.
What skills does an ICT system architect need to become a software architect?
9 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is analyse software specifications.
How hard is the move from ICT system architect to software architect?
Its learning distance is 47.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.