Solution architecture

Thematic scope

In a rapidly changing technological environment, every organization must be ready to face the need to rebuild their processes and systems to meet newly emerged business requirements. This digital transformation demands specific expertise and a set of practices to align business focus with available technological solutions. Solution Architecture is among the most crucial approaches to consider before the beginning of any tech solution development. The Solution Architecture studies consists of 3 parts (Solution Architecture Part I, Solution Architecture Part II and Solution Architecture Project-based Training). Solution Architect - Part I contains 7 modules and covers such topics as quality attributes, architecture modeling, architecture documentation, architecture styles and architecture patterns.

Upon successful completion of this part the student will:

• have deep understanding of the Solution Architecture concepts and terminology
• know what insights should be taken into account during the creation of an IT architecture that will satisfy the client’s needs
• have clear understanding of the most significant, focus demanding and influential factors, which might affect the architecture
• understand the definitions of quality attributes, scenarios and their role in architectural decisions and be able to use them on practice
• be able to use the most efficient tools for Solution Architecture such as styles and patterns
• be able to use tools and best practices which can be used for architecture modeling
• have clear understanding of the methods used for effective and rational documentation of the architecture and be able to use them on practice

Solution Architect - Part II consists of 8 modules and covers such stages as pre-sales, estimations, discovery, construction, transition, architecture design and review.

Upon successful completion of this part student will:

• have clear understanding of such technology domains as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, NoSQL, Search and Blockchain
• have clear understanding of the pre-sale stage, be able to describe pre-sale request categories, their major milestones, subphases, the scope of the solution architect’s participation, and expected deliverables
• know the basic estimation approaches, understand different units of this process and the difference between a target, commitment, and estimate, be able to use main estimation technics and know their advantages and disadvantages
• understand the main areas of the solution architect’s responsibility including discovery, construction and transition of the software project development and be able to approach these phases on practice
• know how the solution architect should work with the front-end requirements and how they impact the deliverables, have clear understanding on how to work with functional and non-functional requirements and examine the design and implementation processes
• be familiar with the architecture design process in detail and know how to use design checklist to build a successful solution
• know the architecture review process and understand how to apply the Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) on practice
• be familiar with two architectural domains – Message Oriented Middleware and Cache, have clear understanding of MOM and its standards, message brokers, RabbitMQ, ZeroMQ and AWS Messaging.

Solution Architect - Project-based training offers the opportunity for true immersion of students into their professional world, as well as being some of the most valued learning experiences by employers. Project-based training does not only represent an opportunity for practice, but one of the most genuine adoptions of experiential learning, where through direct experience and focused reflection, students can effectively develop the knowledge, competencies, and values that the present and future labor market will require.    Upon successful completion of the course the student will:

• be able to keep the development lifecycle in an efficient manner
• apply customer focused architecture and the entrepreneurial mindset to solve customer problems
• be able to select appropriate tools and technical skills to collect and analyze data from a variety of sources
• have grounded skills in using such tools as Jira, Miro, Git, Cloud, AWS, Power BI
• apply project management skills such as scheduling, budgeting, and resource management.
• write technical project reports and give oral/multimedia presentations about their tasks
• work effectively as part of a team to develop and demonstrate team norms and critique team effectiveness through peer evaluation
• be able to identify their motivations, strengths, the entrepreneurial mindset, and contributions within the field of engineering and critique their own skills and understanding through self-reflection.

Who are postgraduate studies aimed at?

The Program is designed for those who would like to prepare for playing a Solution Architect role in modern IT companies By completing the studies students will get acquainted with the architectural processes and approaches and improve their skills in up-to-date best architectural practices. Sucessful candidates should have B2+ English level and have 3 years + experience in IT.

Head of postgraduate studies

Leszek Siwik, PhD tel.:(012) 328-33-22 mail: siwik@agh.edu.pl

Organizer of postgraduate studies

Faculty of Computer Science (012) 328-34-00 mail: informatyka@agh.edu.pl

Contact person

Leszek Siwik, PhD tel.:(012) 328-33-22 mail: siwik@agh.edu.pl

View full description of the postgraduate studies