Software architect to ICT system developer
A software architect already meets 51% of what the ICT system developer role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
62.7/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT system developer is expected to do is already part of a software 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 ICT system developer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT system developer role treats 7 of its required skills as things a software architect already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse software specifications
- collect customer feedback on applications
- computer programming
- create flowchart diagram
- develop software prototype
- tools for software configuration management
What stands in the way is 13 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 56 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ICT system developer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a software architect background worth leading with.
- already held systems theory information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held apply ICT systems theory working with computers
- already held system design information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held design cloud architecture communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held design database scheme communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held object-oriented modelling information and communication technologies (icts)
All 56 carried skills, including the 7 the ICT system developer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 41 missing skills fall into 7 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 ICT debugging tools required
- still to learn ICT system integration required
- still to learn ICT system programming required
- still to learn integrated development environment software required
- still to learn digital systems required
- optional, not held Eclipse (integrated development environment software) optional
- optional, not held Internet of Things optional
- optional, not held KDevelop optional
- optional, not held Xcode optional
- optional, not held attack vectors optional
- optional, not held blockchain openness optional
- optional, not held blockchain platforms optional
- optional, not held core banking software optional
- optional, not held smart contract optional
- optional, not held software anomalies optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- still to learn debug software required
- still to learn migrate existing data required
- still to learn use software libraries required
- still to learn solve ICT system problems required
- optional, not held develop with cloud services optional
- optional, not held identify ICT system weaknesses optional
- optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
- optional, not held integrate system components optional
- optional, not held plan migration to cloud optional
- optional, not held use automatic programming optional
- optional, not held use concurrent programming optional
- optional, not held use functional programming optional
- optional, not held use logic programming optional
- optional, not held use object-oriented programming optional
- still to learn interpret technical texts required
- still to learn keep up with the latest information systems solutions required
- still to learn use software design patterns required
- optional, not held adapt to changes in technological development plans optional
- optional, not held automate cloud tasks optional
- optional, not held design for organisational complexity optional
- optional, not held design user interface optional
- optional, not held develop creative ideas optional
- still to learn develop automated migration methods required
- optional, not held monitor system performance optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an ICT system developer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ICT debugging tools study this
- 02 ICT system integration study this
- 03 ICT system programming study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 56 skills that carry over
- already held analyse software specifications skill
- already held collect customer feedback on applications skill
- already held computer programming knowledge
- already held create flowchart diagram skill
- already held develop software prototype skill
- already held tools for software configuration management knowledge
- already held use an application-specific interface skill
- already held AJAX knowledge
- already held APL knowledge
- already held ASP.NET knowledge
- already held Ansible knowledge
- already held Apache Maven knowledge
- already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
- already held C# knowledge
- already held C++ knowledge
- already held COBOL knowledge
- already held Common Lisp knowledge
- already held Groovy knowledge
- already held Haskell knowledge
- already held ICT security legislation knowledge
- already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
- already held JavaScript knowledge
- already held Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) 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 Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Puppet (tools for software configuration management) 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 STAF knowledge
- already held Salt (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
- already held Scala knowledge
- already held Scratch (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 design cloud architecture skill
- already held design database scheme skill
- already held object-oriented modelling knowledge
- already held security engineering knowledge
- already held system design knowledge
- already held systems theory knowledge
- already held use query languages skill
- already held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held defence standard procedures optional
28 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Eclipse (integrated development environment software) optional
- optional, not held Internet of Things optional
- optional, not held KDevelop optional
- optional, not held Xcode optional
- optional, not held adapt to changes in technological development plans optional
- optional, not held attack vectors optional
- optional, not held automate cloud tasks optional
- optional, not held blockchain openness optional
- optional, not held blockchain platforms optional
- optional, not held core banking software optional
- optional, not held defence standard procedures optional
- optional, not held design for organisational complexity optional
- optional, not held design user interface optional
- optional, not held develop with cloud services optional
- optional, not held identify ICT system weaknesses optional
- optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
- optional, not held integrate system components optional
- optional, not held monitor system performance optional
- optional, not held plan migration to cloud optional
- optional, not held smart contract optional
- optional, not held software anomalies optional
- optional, not held use automatic programming optional
- optional, not held use concurrent programming optional
- optional, not held use functional programming optional
- optional, not held use logic programming optional
- optional, not held use object-oriented programming optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held develop creative ideas optional
33 held skills the ICT system developer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ABAP knowledge
- not needed by the target role Agile project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role CoffeeScript knowledge
- not needed by the target role Erlang knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT project management methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role Process-based management knowledge
- not needed by the target role SPARK knowledge
- not needed by the target role Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role WildFly knowledge
- not needed by the target role align software with system architectures skill
- not needed by the target role analyse business requirements skill
- not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role business process modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role create software design skill
- not needed by the target role define software architecture skill
- not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
- not needed by the target role design database in the cloud skill
- not needed by the target role design process skill
- not needed by the target role do cloud refactoring skill
- not needed by the target role implement data warehousing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role lean project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role oversee development of software skill
- not needed by the target role perform ICT troubleshooting skill
- not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
- not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
- not needed by the target role provide ICT consulting advice skill
- not needed by the target role provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- not needed by the target role systems development life-cycle knowledge
- not needed by the target role task algorithmisation knowledge
- not needed by the target role unified modelling language knowledge
- not needed by the target role use markup languages skill
- not needed by the target role web programming knowledge
17 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 ICT debugging tools required
- still to learn ICT system integration required
- still to learn ICT system programming required
- still to learn integrated development environment software required
- still to learn digital systems required
- optional, not held Eclipse (integrated development environment software) optional
- optional, not held Internet of Things optional
- optional, not held KDevelop optional
- optional, not held Xcode optional
- optional, not held attack vectors optional
- optional, not held blockchain openness optional
- optional, not held blockchain platforms optional
- optional, not held core banking software optional
- optional, not held defence standard procedures optional
- optional, not held smart contract optional
- optional, not held software anomalies optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
Other moves recorded from software architect
- numerical tool and process control programmer 68% covered · moderate
- embedded system designer 67% covered · moderate
- computer-aided design operator 64% covered · moderate
- ICT system architect 63% covered · moderate
- ICT application configurator 58% covered · moderate
- embedded systems software developer 58% covered · moderate
- mobile application developer 57% covered · substantial
- ICT application developer 54% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a software architect become an ICT system developer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A software architect already covers 51% of what an ICT system developer is expected to do: 56 skills carry over, 7 of which the ICT system developer role treats as required.
What skills does a software architect need to become an ICT system developer?
13 required skills are missing, plus 28 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is ICT debugging tools.
How hard is the move from software architect to ICT system developer?
Its learning distance is 62.7 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.