Solutions architecture is one of those roles that's hard to define but easy to recognize when done well. It sits at the intersection of technology and business, requiring fluency in both domains and the ability to bridge them effectively.
After years navigating this space—designing systems, evaluating vendors, and helping organizations make technology decisions—here's what I've learned about what separates good solutions architects from great ones.
Translation is the Core Skill
The most important skill for a solutions architect isn't technical. It's translation.
You need to take complex technical concepts and make them understandable to business stakeholders who don't speak that language. Equally, you need to translate business requirements into technical specifications that engineering teams can implement.
This means:
- Avoiding jargon when talking to executives (or explaining it clearly when unavoidable)
- Understanding the business context behind technical requests
- Presenting options in terms of business outcomes, not technical features
- Knowing which details matter to which audience
The best solutions architects I've worked with can explain the same system three different ways: to the CEO, to the development team, and to operations.
Think in Trade-offs, Not Absolutes
Junior technologists often seek the "best" solution. Experienced solutions architects know there's no such thing—only trade-offs.
Every architectural decision involves balancing competing concerns:
- Cost vs. capability – The ideal solution might be unaffordable
- Speed vs. quality – Faster delivery often means technical debt
- Flexibility vs. simplicity – More options mean more complexity
- Build vs. buy – Custom solutions offer control; products offer speed
Great solutions architects make these trade-offs explicit. They present options with clear pros and cons, recommend a path forward, and explain their reasoning. They're comfortable saying "it depends" and then walking through what it depends on.
Build Relationships Before You Need Them
Architecture doesn't happen in a vacuum. You need buy-in from stakeholders across the organization—executives, product managers, engineers, security, operations, and more.
The best time to build these relationships is before you need them. Invest time in:
- Understanding what different stakeholders care about
- Learning their priorities and constraints
- Building credibility through small wins
- Being helpful even when it's not your job
When you eventually propose a significant architectural change, you'll have allies who trust your judgment and understand your reasoning.
Documentation is a Feature, Not a Chore
Clear documentation separates sustainable solutions from technical debt. Future maintainers—including your future self—will thank you for:
- Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) – Why did we choose this approach? What alternatives did we consider?
- System diagrams – How do components interact? What are the data flows?
- Runbooks – How do we deploy? How do we recover from common failures?
- API contracts – What does each service expect and provide?
Documentation doesn't need to be exhaustive. It needs to answer the questions people actually ask. Start with the most common questions and expand from there.
Stay Hands-On
As you advance in a solutions architect role, it's tempting to move entirely into whiteboarding and meetings. Resist this temptation.
Regularly:
- Write code, even if it's just prototypes or proof-of-concepts
- Deploy systems and experience the operational reality
- Use the products and tools your teams use
- Debug production issues alongside engineers
This keeps your recommendations grounded in reality. It's easy to design elegant systems on a whiteboard; it's harder to build and operate them. Staying hands-on ensures you understand the difference.
Know When to Standardize and When to Customize
Organizations often swing between extremes—either every team does their own thing, or a central group mandates everything.
Great solutions architects find the middle ground:
- Standardize the boring stuff. Logging, monitoring, authentication, deployment pipelines—these should be consistent and easy.
- Allow flexibility where it matters. Different problems need different solutions. Don't force a square peg into a round hole.
- Create golden paths. Make the right thing the easy thing. If you want teams to use a particular approach, make it effortless.
The goal is enabling teams to move fast while maintaining coherence across the organization.
The Bottom Line
The best solutions architects I know combine deep technical expertise with genuine curiosity about the business problems they're solving. They're trusted advisors who can navigate ambiguity, communicate clearly, and make sound decisions under uncertainty.
It's a challenging role, but when done well, it's incredibly rewarding—you get to shape how organizations use technology to achieve their goals.
