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Microsoft Certified Architect goes live

Microsoft's new certification programme, Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA), officially went live on 14 June 2006.

In beta testing for over a year, Microsoft Certified Architect is a peer-review board certification designed to recognise the technical and business expertise of experienced IT professionals.

"Microsoft Certified Architect is a misnomer, because people think it's only about Microsoft technology," says Jim Wilt, chief software architect for Metrics Reporting, who earned a Solutions Architect credential early in the beta phase of the programme and has participated on four review boards.

"One of the things I like about the process is that it's completely technology vendor-agnostic. You have to have a breadth of knowledge and understanding of a variety of technologies, as well as a depth of knowledge in several technologies."

Architect candidates must demonstrate their skills in seven competencies: technical depth, technical breadth, communication, organisational dynamics, leadership, strategy, and tactics.

Microsoft says a candidate must prove the ability to strategically balance business needs with technology to provide optimal solutions. He or she must also show good leadership qualities ranging from selling solutions to executives to mentoring staff.

According to Turner Broadcasting chief architect Don Browning, another certified Solutions Architect and review board member: "You shouldn't focus on technology. It needs to be 'This is how I led a group of people to produce this application that had these technical aspects.' It's not enough to be technically astute. You need to demonstrate soft skills as well."

Peer review boards

The centrepiece of the architect programme is the four-member peer review board that deliberates on a candidate's command of the seven competencies.

"The process is very mathematical and methodical so you don't let your opinion of the person sway you," said Wilt. "They're not comparing you to other people. They're comparing you to an ideal, a straw man. You have to have this competency at this level."

The sessions result in more than just a pass-fail outcome. "What I really like is whether you pass or fail, you get an hour to two hours of deliberation on your skills, what you do well, and what you need to do to improve yourself," said Wilt. "It includes what books to read, what classes to take, things in the industry you should do, and people you should shadow. It's a complete, thorough review of yourself.

"From a career perspective, this is the kind of stuff your manager could tell you, but it just wouldn't sit as well as these four people in the industry who are your peers and are from all aspects of industry and all over the world."

MCA disciplines

In addition to the MCA: Infrastructure and MCA: Solutions architect credentials, a third discipline is being added, the MCA: Messaging architect.

According to Microsoft, while the first two disciplines are measured on their breadth of knowledge across the IT landscape, the MCA: Messaging architect is measured on depth of knowledge of messaging systems and their dependencies.

"The programme is focused exclusively on messaging systems and their related technologies," says Ian Gauld, a MCA: Messaging and senior principal consultant for Avanade. "It's specifically focused on the challenges faced when architecting messaging solutions in large enterprises. It's not just the technical knowledge you need to have to architect the product effectively, but it's also assessing the candidate's ability to operate in those kinds of organisations.

"For Microsoft Exchange customers, the MCA in Messaging programme ensures there is a body of messaging professionals who are trained to the highest standard and are capable of delivering the largest and most challenging projects.

"For MCA members, it provides a community of peers whose collective knowledge and experience can be drawn upon to ensure that our work is of the highest quality. It also greatly facilitates the communication of new issues and resolutions and the development of new best practices."

External link

Microsoft Certified Architect Programme (at www.microsoft.com)

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