Solution Architecture Course

Lesson 1 • Core Architectural Thinking

Introduces systems thinking, abstraction, and trade-off analysis as foundational cognitive tools. Builds the mental models architects apply throughout every design decision.

Lesson 2 • Defining Solution Architecture

Clarifies what solution architecture is, how it differs from other architecture disciplines, and why it exists. Grounds all subsequent learning in a shared vocabulary.

Lesson 3 • The Architect's Role in Organisations

Maps the architect's position within business and IT structures and defines stakeholder relationships. Enables architects to operate effectively across organisational boundaries.

Lesson 1 • Validating Requirements with Stakeholders

Techniques for confirming that captured requirements accurately reflect stakeholder intent. Prevents costly rework by aligning expectations before design begins.

Lesson 2 • Stakeholder Identification and Analysis

Techniques for mapping stakeholders, understanding their concerns, and prioritising their influence. Directly informs how requirements are gathered and weighted.

Lesson 3 • Eliciting Business and Functional Requirements

Structured methods for extracting business goals and functional needs from stakeholders. Produces the requirement inputs that drive architectural decisions.

Lesson 4 • Non-Functional Requirements

Defines quality attributes such as performance, availability, and security as architectural drivers. Connects NFRs directly to design constraints and technology choices.

Lesson 1 • Monolithic and Layered Patterns

Examines traditional monolithic and layered architectures, their strengths, and their limitations. Establishes a baseline before introducing more distributed approaches.

Lesson 2 • Service-Oriented and Microservices Patterns

Covers service decomposition strategies and the principles behind service-oriented and microservices designs. Equips architects to evaluate distributed service patterns for modern systems.

Lesson 3 • Architectural Principles and Heuristics

Establishes the guiding rules that govern design choices across all solution types. Provides a consistent decision-making compass for every architectural engagement.

Lesson 4 • Data Architecture Patterns

Surveys patterns for data storage, access, and flow within a solution. Connects data design decisions to overall system quality and business outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Observability and Operational Design

Designs logging, monitoring, and alerting into the solution from the start. Connects operational visibility to faster incident response and continuous improvement.

Lesson 2 • Scalability and Performance Design

Covers horizontal and vertical scaling, load distribution, and performance optimisation strategies. Directly addresses the scalability NFRs captured in earlier requirements work.

Lesson 3 • Maintainability and Evolvability

Addresses modularity, documentation, and design practices that reduce long-term maintenance cost. Ensures the solution can adapt to changing requirements over its lifetime.

Lesson 4 • Reliability and Fault Tolerance

Introduces redundancy, failover, and graceful degradation patterns for high-availability systems. Enables architects to design solutions that survive component failures.

Lesson 1 • Networking and Connectivity Design

Covers virtual networking, segmentation, and connectivity patterns for cloud and on-premises environments. Ensures architects can design secure, performant network topologies.

Lesson 2 • Cloud Service Models and Deployment Options

Distinguishes IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and serverless models and their architectural implications. Provides the vocabulary and criteria for infrastructure selection decisions.

Lesson 3 • Storage and Database Infrastructure

Surveys cloud storage types, managed database services, and data residency considerations. Connects infrastructure choices to data architecture patterns from prior chapters.

Lesson 4 • Compute and Container Architecture

Examines virtual machines, containers, and orchestration platforms as compute options. Equips architects to match workload characteristics to the right compute model.

Lesson 1 • Data Integration and ETL Patterns

Addresses batch and streaming data integration, transformation pipelines, and data quality. Links data integration design to the data architecture patterns introduced earlier.

Lesson 2 • Integration Patterns and Styles

Surveys point-to-point, hub-and-spoke, and enterprise service bus integration styles. Provides the pattern vocabulary needed to evaluate integration options systematically.

Lesson 3 • Integration Governance and Security

Establishes policies for API lifecycle management, access control, and integration monitoring. Ensures integration layers remain secure and manageable at enterprise scale.

Lesson 4 • API Gateway and Management

Examines API gateway capabilities including routing, throttling, and security enforcement. Connects API management to governance and operational quality requirements.

Lesson 1 • Architecture Views and Viewpoints

Introduces the concept of architecture views tailored to different stakeholder concerns. Enables architects to present the right level of detail to each audience.

Lesson 2 • Diagramming Standards and Notation

Covers standard diagramming notations and tools for expressing architecture clearly. Produces diagrams that are unambiguous and consistently interpreted across teams.

Lesson 3 • Architecture Review and Governance

Establishes processes for peer review, architecture board governance, and compliance checking. Ensures architecture quality is maintained through structured oversight mechanisms.

Lesson 4 • Architecture Decision Records

Formalises the practice of capturing architectural decisions, their context, and their rationale. Creates an auditable record that supports future architects and reviewers.

Lesson 1 • Architecture in Agile Delivery

Integrates architecture practices into agile and iterative delivery models without creating bottlenecks. Enables architects to guide teams while preserving delivery velocity.

Lesson 2 • Total Cost of Ownership and Value

Quantifies the financial implications of architectural choices including build, run, and change costs. Equips architects to justify decisions in business and financial terms.

Lesson 3 • Risk Management in Architecture

Applies structured risk identification, assessment, and mitigation to architectural decisions. Ensures architects proactively manage technical and business risk throughout delivery.

Lesson 4 • Architecture Roadmapping

Translates target architecture into phased roadmaps aligned with business priorities and constraints. Produces actionable plans that bridge current-state gaps to the target state.