Thursday 2 January 2014

Architecture Interview Questions


I've written about architecture topics in the past, especially relating to the role of "Architect" in Digital TV Systems & Software projects. Though I'm no architect myself, although I could very well have become an architect if I chose to maintain on the purely technical path; I still have to be across the technical disciplines at the high level, when it comes to program or project managing large-scale technical projects. 

When I start or join a new project, one of the first things (apart from familiarizing myself with the product spec) I do is to seek out the architects, looking for any technical information in the form of design,
(document/wiki/etc) that scopes the high level system design or architecture that we're trying to implement & deliver. 

Failing that, having found no clearly defined architect role, I would go about setting up this role as a matter of urgency. No architect means no technical ownership, means flaky interfaces, chaotic system integration points, and a very bumpy project ride lays ahead!

In the past I have worked very closely with many great architects, both as an engineer as well as manager, that I've learnt from this experience enough to know what to look for when seeking out architects. If a project requires it, I do get involved with the interviewing architects, system integration managers, project managers and other roles. 

I thought I'd share a list of some of the questions I generally tend to ask when interviewing for the role of Architect in a Software/Systems project - hope you find it useful. If you read my other posts on architecture, you will get to understand I have a more holistic expectations from architects, rather than just answering this list of ~100 questions!