Google Professional Cloud Architect Certification: 9. Analyzing and Defining Business Processes - Important Things To Know

Cloud Architects are expected to work with colleagues across an organization, including technology professionals as well as professionals from other areas of the business. Architects should have knowledge of business processes that affect their work. This includes stakeholder management, change management, team skill development, customer success management, and cost management. These are examples of “soft skills,” which complement the technical skills that architects are expected to have.
Successful organizations often operate within a rational strategy. The business strategy maps to a portfolio of programs and projects that enable the business to execute that strategy. Cloud Architects can help their business-oriented colleagues by understanding stakeholders and their interests when working on a project. Architects also use their own influence to shape architecture and other technical decisions. They can also help organizations, teams, and individuals manage change, especially complicated changes like digital transformations. Architects should also understand other common management processes such as team skill management, customer success management, and cost management.
 

1. Know that stakeholder management involves the interests and influence of individuals and groups who are affected by a project or program. There are different kinds of stakeholders with varying levels of influence. Know how to identify stakeholders, discover their interests, and understand how to communicate with them.
2. Understand that change management is particularly challenging. Change can occur at the individual, team, department, and enterprise levels. Change may be initiated internally or prompted by external factors. One way to manage change is to treat it like a scientific experiment and follow a methodology such as Plan-Do-Study-Act.
3. Know that team skills are a resource that can be managed. As an architect, you are in a position to understand the skills needed to execute the projects in the corporate portfolio. You are also able to identify gaps between needed skills and the skills of employees. Use this knowledge to develop training and to recruit additional team members.
4. Understand that customer success management is a key business process that may require some architecture consultations. Early stages of customer success management, such as customer acquisition, marketing, and sales, are not likely to need architecture skills, but later stages, such as professional services engagements and technical support, may benefit from the advice of an architect.
5. Know the various aspects of cost management. The main steps in cost management are resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting, and cost control. Architects may be especially helpful with resource planning and cost estimating, since these require knowledge of how projects serve business strategy and an understanding of the cost of developing services. Architects can use their influence to shape cost budgeting decisions. Architects are not often involved in cost controls, but they may be able to use their technical knowledge to help managers who are involved.