Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Software analyst to enterprise architect

A software analyst already meets 56% of what the enterprise architect role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From software analyst
56 % overlap
Partial match
To enterprise architect
60 You already bring
15 Still to learn
91 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

57.6/ 100

1 How much of what an enterprise architect is expected to do is already part of a software analyst’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 enterprise architect role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An enterprise architect role treats 8 of its required skills as things a software analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ICT project management methodologies
  • define software architecture
  • design information system
  • execute feasibility study
  • legal requirements of ICT products
  • object-oriented modelling

What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 60 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An enterprise architect role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a software analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held define software architecture communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held business requirements techniques business, administration and law
  • already held unified modelling language information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Rapid application development information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Spiral development information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Waterfall development information and communication technologies (icts)

All 60 carried skills, including the 8 the enterprise architect role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 missing skills fall into 8 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn keep up with the latest information systems solutions required
  • still to learn collect customer feedback on applications required
  • still to learn perform risk analysis required
  • optional, not held manage cloud data and storage optional
  • optional, not held analyse business requirements optional
  • optional, not held monitor technology trends optional
  • optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
02 management skills 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn review development process of an organisation required
  • still to learn identify processes for re-engineering required
  • still to learn perform project management required
  • optional, not held coordinate technological activities optional
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn design enterprise architecture required
  • still to learn manage ICT data architecture required
  • optional, not held apply conflict management optional
  • optional, not held apply systemic design thinking optional
  • optional, not held build business relationships optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
04 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT architectural frameworks required
  • still to learn information architecture required
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visual C++ optional
  • optional, not held system design optional
05 business, administration and law 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT market required
  • still to learn business strategy concepts required
  • optional, not held business process modelling optional
06 working with computers 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn align software with system architectures required
  • still to learn implement ICT security policies required
  • optional, not held optimise choice of ICT solution optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an enterprise architect role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 60 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ICT project management methodologies knowledge
  • already held define software architecture skill
  • already held design information system skill
  • already held execute feasibility study skill
  • already held legal requirements of ICT products knowledge
  • already held object-oriented modelling knowledge
  • already held provide ICT consulting advice skill
  • 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 development 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 DevOps knowledge
  • already held Erlang knowledge
  • already held Groovy knowledge
  • already held Haskell 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 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 Prototyping development knowledge
  • already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held R knowledge
  • already held Rapid application development 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 Spiral development knowledge
  • already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held TypeScript knowledge
  • already held VBScript knowledge
  • already held Visual Basic knowledge
  • already held Waterfall development knowledge
  • already held business requirements techniques knowledge
  • already held computer programming knowledge
  • already held incremental development knowledge
  • already held iterative development knowledge
  • already held lean project management knowledge
  • already held software architecture models knowledge
  • already held software design methodologies knowledge
  • already held unified modelling language knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn apply ICT system usage policies required
  • optional, not held apply information security policies optional
08 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held emergent technologies optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visual C++ optional
  • optional, not held apply information security policies optional
  • optional, not held business process modelling optional
  • optional, not held coordinate technological activities optional
  • optional, not held manage cloud data and storage optional
  • optional, not held optimise choice of ICT solution optional
  • optional, not held system design optional
  • optional, not held analyse business requirements optional
  • optional, not held apply conflict management optional
  • optional, not held apply systemic design thinking optional
  • optional, not held build business relationships optional
  • optional, not held emergent technologies optional
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
  • optional, not held monitor technology trends optional
  • optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
41 held skills the enterprise architect role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role ICT problem management techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT project management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
  • not needed by the target role LDAP knowledge
  • not needed by the target role LINQ knowledge
  • not needed by the target role MDX knowledge
  • not needed by the target role N1QL knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Open source model knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Outsourcing model knowledge
  • not needed by the target role SPARK knowledge
  • not needed by the target role SPARQL knowledge
  • not needed by the target role XQuery knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse ICT system skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse business processes skill
  • not needed by the target role core banking software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create data models skill
  • not needed by the target role create project specifications skill
  • not needed by the target role create prototype of user experience solutions skill
  • not needed by the target role create software design skill
  • not needed by the target role data models knowledge
  • not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role develop software prototype skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with company regulations skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role hybrid model knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify ICT system weaknesses skill
  • not needed by the target role identify ICT user needs skill
  • not needed by the target role inter-organisational middleware system knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interact with users to gather requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role levels of software testing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage ICT legacy implication skill
  • not needed by the target role manage ICT project skill
  • not needed by the target role manage system testing skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor system performance skill
  • not needed by the target role query languages knowledge
  • not needed by the target role resource description framework query language knowledge
  • not needed by the target role service-oriented modelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role solve ICT system problems skill
  • not needed by the target role trading software knowledge

1 further entry not listed here

8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn ICT architectural frameworks required
  • still to learn ICT market required
  • still to learn information architecture required
  • still to learn business strategy concepts required
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visual C++ optional
  • optional, not held business process modelling optional
  • optional, not held system design optional
  • optional, not held emergent technologies optional
Index

Other moves recorded from software analyst

Full index of moves from software analyst

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a software analyst become an enterprise architect?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A software analyst already covers 56% of what an enterprise architect is expected to do: 60 skills carry over, 8 of which the enterprise architect role treats as required.

What skills does a software analyst need to become an enterprise architect?

15 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is ICT architectural frameworks.

How hard is the move from software analyst to enterprise architect?

Its learning distance is 57.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.