From Developer to Architect: The Mindset Shift

As a developer, one focuses on solving immediate technical challenges within a defined scope, typically centered around building a single module or feature. However, as an architect, the perspective broadens. You need to think not just about one piece of the puzzle, but about how the entire system will work together. It’s about making decisions regarding scalability, security, and sustainability, while balancing trade-offs, considering the business context, and ensuring that the solutions designed align with the enterprise strategy.

In the context of ServiceNow, key architectural decisions often revolve around how to handle users and access, protect sensitive data, and future-proof the system against changes in the enterprise, such as expansions, acquisitions, or platform enhancements and upgrades. As an architect, you need to plan for these broader concerns, balancing trade-offs like cost, performance, and complexity. For example, while an architectural pattern might provide great flexibility and scalability, it can also introduce additional complexity in terms of maintainability or upgrades. The architect must decide when it's the right choice or when a simpler solution might better serve the business.

Moreover, architects need to keep in mind the bigger business picture. It's not enough to just build a technically sound system, the architecture must align with the company’s broader strategic goals. Decisions around scoped applications vs. global applications, Service Portal vs. Classic UI, Custom REST APIs vs. Integration Hub, and Business Rules vs. Workflows all have broader business implications. Architects are often required to communicate and justify these decisions to stakeholders at all levels, ensuring that their solutions not only meet technical requirements but also serve the organization’s long-term vision.