Similarities and Differences in the Academic Education of Software Engineering and Architectural Design Professionals

This article focuses on the similarities and differences in the academic education of software engineers and architects. The rationale for this work stems from our observation, each from the perspective of her or his own discipline, that these two professional design and development processes share some similarities. A pilot study was performed, in which 24 practitioners (12 software engineers and 12 architects) were interviewed concerning the main characteristics of the two professions. The characteristics were classified according to four categories: discipline-related characteristics, professional skills, characteristics of typical problems and processes, and characteristics of a typical product. Data analysis indicates that according to the practitioners, while the professional skills required of professionals in the two disciplines are mostly common, the difference between the two disciplines is reflected most significantly in the features of the product created in the two professional processes. Based on this observation, some conclusions are outlined with respect to the academic education in the two fields.