SAFe Solution Architect Explained

0:00 Who makes the parts of a large solution fit?

Hi, my name is Vicky from mozek dot academy. Some solutions are far too big for one Agile Release Train, such as satellites, vehicles, medical devices, or the mortgage platform of a large bank. Several trains and outside suppliers build their parts at the same time. So who makes sure that all those parts fit together into one working solution? In SAFe, that's the job of the Solution Architect. Let's explore what a Solution Architect does and who they work with.

We'll also see how the architecture of a large solution keeps evolving while it's being built.

0:32 Systems thinking: understanding "and"

The systems thinker Donella Meadows wrote that you think that because you understand one, you must therefore understand two, because one and one make two. But you forget that you must also understand and. For a Solution Architect, that little word is where the hard work is, in the connections between all the parts.

0:51 What is a Solution Architect in SAFe?

So what is a Solution Architect? First, here's a quick reminder. A Solution Train is how SAFe organizes the building of a large solution, by coordinating several Agile Release Trains and suppliers. In SAFe, the Solution Architect defines and communicates a shared technical and architectural vision for a Solution Train, so that the solution under development will be fit for its intended purpose. And in practice, the Solution Architect role is usually filled by a small team, rather than by one person.

1:22 From options to one solution

The Solution Architect aligns all the builders, across every train and supplier, to one shared technical direction. Together with the other roles on the Solution Train and the Agile Teams, they work out the solution in more detail, they validate the technology assumptions, they evaluate the alternatives for building it, and finally, they converge on the solution.

1:43 Where the Solution Architect fits in Large Solution SAFe

So where does the Solution Architect fit? Here's a simplified view of Large Solution SAFe. The Solution Architect works at the Large Solution level, above the Agile Release Trains. Next to them are Solution Management, who decide the direction of the solution, and the Solution Train Engineer, who facilitates the development process. Below them, each train has its own System Architects, and the suppliers build parts of the solution too.

2:09 Four key collaborations

The Solution Architect collaborates in four directions. The first is steering the Solution Train, together with Solution Management and the Solution Train Engineer. The second is aligning with the Enterprise Architect, because every large solution also has to fit the rest of the organization. The third is evolving the architecture with the System Architects and the suppliers, and their work comes together at every PI boundary.

And the fourth is working with special teams, such as the System Team and shared services for concerns like deployment, user experience or compliance.

2:44 Six areas of responsibility

So what does a Solution Architect actually do? SAFe describes six areas of responsibility, and we'll take them in three pairs. The first pair is about shaping the solution, through Lean Systems Engineering and through the Solution Intent and Context. The second pair is about building it with the trains, by defining the architecture vision and evolving it with the trains and the suppliers. And the third pair is about keeping the solution healthy, with built-in quality and the delivery pipeline, and by evolving the solution once it's live.

3:17 Lean Systems Engineering

Let's start with Lean Systems Engineering. SAFe lists ten practices for building large solutions, and the Solution Architect plays a vital role in putting them into practice. They include specifying the solution incrementally, designing for change, integrating the end-to-end solution frequently, and addressing compliance continually.

3:37 Solution Intent and Solution Context

Next come the Solution Intent and the Solution Context. Solution Intent is the repository of what everyone knows about the solution, and the Solution Context describes the environment the solution operates in. The Solution Architect formulates the architectural concept, meaning the critical technologies and how the solution splits into subsystems. They define the nonfunctional requirements for the whole solution, and they manage the impact of regulations and standards on the architecture.

And they explain the Solution Context to everyone on the Solution Train.

4:10 Example: a bank's mortgage platform

Let's go back to the bank. Its new mortgage platform is a large solution. One train builds the online application, another train builds the credit decision system, and an outside supplier delivers the identity checks. The platform also has to work with the bank's existing core banking system, which is part of its Solution Context. The Solution Architect decides how the platform splits into these subsystems and defines the interfaces between them.

They also set nonfunctional requirements for the whole platform, such as how available it must be. And they make sure that the identity checks and the money laundering screening meet the regulations.

4:49 Architecture vision, roadmap and PI Planning

In the second pair, the Solution Architect keeps the architecture vision up to date, because the architecture of a large solution keeps changing. They add the architectural capabilities to the Solution Roadmap, so the trains can see what's coming. In Pre-Plan and PI Planning, they communicate the vision, and work with the System Architects and suppliers to turn it into realistic steps in the Solution Train's plan. And together with Solution Management, they agree how much capacity goes to business capabilities, and how much goes to technical enablement.

5:22 Evolving the architecture with ARTs and suppliers

With Agile, a large solution isn't designed once, from the top down. The Solution Architect makes sure the architecture evolves hand in hand with what the trains and suppliers actually build. They join the most critical experiments, and they use modeling and simulation, also called model-based systems engineering, to explore the design early and at low cost. They review the solution increments in System and Solution Demos, because working functionality is the best evidence that an architecture works.

And they meet the System Architects regularly, for example in the Architect Sync during the PI.

5:58 Example: simulating peak load early

Back at the bank, nobody knows yet whether the core banking system can cope when thousands of customers apply on the same day, for example after interest rates drop. So the Solution Architect asks the trains to simulate that load early, long before the platform goes live. The results shape the interfaces the trains build next.

6:18 Built-in quality and the live solution

In the third pair, the Solution Architect fosters built-in quality. They help choose designs that make frequent integration and testing possible, and they reduce the coupling between components, so that parts of the solution can be deployed on their own. And the work doesn't stop at the first release. Once the solution is live, the Solution Architect keeps evolving the architecture for new business priorities, updates the nonfunctional requirements, and makes sure every new release stays compliant.

6:48 Recap

Let's recap. The Solution Architect defines a shared technical vision for a whole Solution Train, and that's usually the work of a small team. They steer the train with Solution Management and the Solution Train Engineer, and they align with the Enterprise Architect. They shape the solution through Lean Systems Engineering and the Solution Intent. They evolve the architecture with the trains and suppliers, based on evidence.

And they keep the solution healthy, long after its first release. Thanks for watching. The Solution Architect is one of three architect roles in SAFe, next to the System Architect and the Enterprise Architect. For more short explainers like this one, please subscribe, and visit mozek dot academy.