Managing Software Architecture

Course overview

Software architecture is the foundational backbone of any software system and plays a critical role in its success. By providing the blueprint for the system's design and organisation, it establishes the groundwork for key aspects such as scalability, maintainability, and other quality properties. This course addresses challenges beyond traditional software engineering, bridging the gap between management and coding, and offers valuable insights into the tasks that lie at the intersection of these domains. 

You will acquire essential skills to explore and evaluate diverse design solutions effectively. You'll learn techniques to compare these solutions in a manner that encourages constructive discussions among stakeholders. Additionally, you'll gain proficiency in documenting your designs in a way that 1) facilitates seamless communication and collaboration among various team members and stakeholders and 2) enables system complexity management. You will also explore how the adoption of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), affects the quality of software systems. These valuable skills will empower you to excel in taking responsibility for architectural decisions, managing design trade-offs, and contributing to successful project outcomes. 

In addition to covering the fundamental concepts in software architecture, this course will equip you with the skills to adapt and tailor these principles to specific work domains. As a result, you will be able to directly implement these concepts in your daily work, optimising their application to suit your unique requirements. By the end of the course, you'll have a practical understanding of software architecture, enabling you to confidently apply it in real-world scenarios and enhance your professional effectiveness. 

What will I learn?

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• facilitate design space exploration based on software architectural concerns
• manage software architecture documentation, communication, and discussion via modelling profiles and architectural views
• apply reference architectures and design patterns to improve quality properties of software systems
• summarise continuous engineering and architecting processes
• discuss the impact of adopting AI-based technologies on system quality in software systems. adapt software architectural principles across domains.

Who is this course for?

This course is aimed at:  

• software engineers
• senior software project managers
• solutions architects
• development operations engineers
• testing engineers.

Course delivery

Our certificated courses reflect the Cambridge experience and values, with low student to tutor ratios and academically rigorous standards. Our learning model is designed to help you advance your skills and specialise in emerging areas that address global challenges. We will help you build your network through an engaging and impactful learning journey that encourages collaboration. Courses are delivered in weekly modules, allowing you to plan your time effectively. The assessment criteria will be presented to you at the start of the course, so you can approach your studies with confidence and motivation, knowing what is expected of you and how to meet those expectations. 

Throughout your online learning experience, you will have access to your course tutor, who will help facilitate your learning and provide you with support and guidance during your studies. You can interact with your tutor through a range of media, such as live sessions, discussion forums, email or canvas messaging. 

Each course includes a balance of:

• interactive learning and real-world application so you can directly apply what you’re learning to your own context
• diverse teaching methods to enhance learning outcomes which will be delivered via learning activities such as University of Cambridge academic led videos, quizzes and group work
• optional live sessions (1 hour) with University of Cambridge academics and tutors to deepen your understanding of the week's material. These sessions may include an informal Q&A, a short lecture or a breakout activity that builds on the content introduced that week. All sessions are recorded and made available to stream so you can catch up whenever suits you
• guided critical thinking via our reflective workbook so you can collect, structure and summarise information and your thoughts as you progress through the course. 

What will I get on completion?

Evidence your learning with a Certificate of Achievement from the University of Cambridge on successful completion