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Mature professions have well established and recognized educational, internship and certification programs. If an individual wants to become a medical doctor, for example, they must be accepted to medical school and pass a number of examinations, successfully complete an internship and residency and take rigorous board certifications. It is time we took a similiar approach to IT architecture as well. IASA members have already defined the description of the knowledge and skill competencies necessary for a professional IT architect within three specializations: business architecture, software architecture and infrastructure architecture. The knowledge and skills are defined at the foundation level and the specialization level. (Please visit the Skills Library for additional information.) OverviewThe IASA Training Program includes the following components:
The training program will not compete with existing training providers but provides a comprehensive measurement against which an organization can judge their services. The training content will be updated annually by the course instructors. The course developers will be taken from the key membership and leadership of the IASA. With significant chapter and member presence, the IASA has a pool of extremely qualified candidates from which to choose. However, because of the varied nature and understanding of IT architecture in the industry, it is necessary for course developers to meet certain basic criteria:
Course Development GuidelinesTo create a course the author must submit:
Course ContentThe courses will be made up of core content developed by the course developer. This should not be confused with course delivery (distance learning online, classroom). The primary course material should be developed using PowerPoint, Word, and any requisite example software (portals, etc). When evaluating course length, the course author should primarily consider whether the course is a curriculum course or an individual course. The IASA expects that a curriculum courses will contain:
For individual courses:
The time estimates do not include assignments or outside of class reading/resources. Materials may not be branded in any way unless special agreement is made with the IASA. Courses should be delivered in the following format:
A good audio recording and editing tool can be found at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ IP Ownership and Fee StructureThere are two ways in which the IASA acquires course material for training programs: licensing and donation based. Because the topics and courses are interrelated and dependent on each other, curriculum courses may only be based on the donation model. The license model allows for the course author/developer to maintain ownership of the IP and license the IASA to deliver it in appropriate settings in return for royalty payments on a per student basis. The license is exclusive for the IASA (exceptions may apply if the material is developed by a company) and may be cancelled (with reasonable notice) at any time. Using this model, the IASA will not provide upfront development or license costs. The donation model requires the transfer (or at a minimum a lifetime license to deliver, sell, and modify) of the course IP to the IASA in return for an upfront amount and a time-limited fee structure. This model allows the IASA to create custom content for the membership and for which it retains full control. However, it also provides an upfront course development payment to the author and a small fee per student per use for an agreed upon length of time. Foundation Reference Model AlignmentThe IASA has launched a working group which is researching the fundamental skills and issues in the profession of IT architecture. This working group is mapping a common glossary, architect skills, roles and common processes in the industry titled the Foundation Reference Model (FRM). There is an obvious overlap in this direction with the educational programs. The overlap comes in two primary forms: adjustments necessary to topic lists based on common glossary and adjustments necessary to curriculum courses based on role descriptions and interaction. Because the training program and the FRM are being delivered in parallel, the training program will be modified and updated once the FRM is fully accepted by the IASA membership. Training Program GovernanceThe IASA will build the IASA Training Committee which will over-see the development of the program and the quality of the training materials. The training committee’s responsibilities will include:
Figure 1 ATP Overview |