The Role of Agile Software Architect in the Age of Digital Disruption and Transformation

Abstract

The consequence of the increasing development and use of digital technologies, in every segment of society, is the emergence of digital disruption - a powerful external pressure that is changing the way business is done in all industries. Businesses are responding to digital disruption by digital transformation, which involves organizational change, redefining and aligning digital and business strategies, new business models, increased agility of software development and delivery processes, migration and/or integration of legacy systems using cloud-based platforms and ecosystems. In such a context, one of the key responsibilities of a software architect is to maintain the agility of the organization by defending the flexibility of digital strategy and IT resources so that the enterprise is able to transform and respond adequately and rapidly to the effects of digital disruption. In this regard, the question arises as to how digital disruption and business transformation affect the change in the role, importance, competence and agility of a software architect, especially in the context of the development of complex business software systems. This paper aims to present the role of an agile software architect in the era of digital disruption and transformation, by integrating the results of theoretical and empirical research. A systematic literature review identifies the role, importance, and competencies of a software architect in implementing agile architecture. In other hand, empirical research, based on a case study in a large enterprise, provides a better understanding of the importance of software architect for aligning business and digital strategy, as well as its contribution to increasing the agility of the process of developing, delivering and integrating complex business software systems.

Rapid Digital Transformation Using Agile Methodologies for Software Development Projects

“…According to a 2020 Agile report, larger organizations are now using agile for quicker, simpler, and wiser app development. The agile poll in 2020 showed that 94% of tech companies are using agile strategies, and this agile methodology usage ratio is expanding globally too [7].…”

“…The agile software development system is the result of this demand but still, further improvements are required. Agile architecture makes it simple to design software and use it in various settings [7]. Early software creation is aided by the agile approaches which are done in stages, with each release providing more working code and less documentation.…”