I think the word architect is a failed metaphor for software. What is the role of architect in the real world? In some high profile cases they are designers -

I think the word architect is a failed metaphor for software. What is the role of architect in the real world? In some high profile cases they are designers - even to the point of doing something like project management/business development (the only reason we funded this project is because of the awesome ideas we got from the architect, we worked with the architect to make sure the building would meet our dreams for this project ...). But more commonly — I understand their role more in construction to me more in the realm of being a maintainer of documentation — maybe they have some role in proposing the original design but the majority of their time is probably spent ensuring that these plans satisfy all required regulations — and updating the plans in response to what actually happens during building so that the building itself will pass all regulations ... This is nothing at all like the nebulous responsibilities generally associated with software architects. Some projects could benefit from this level of book keeping requirement — but a lot of projects which contain “software architects” probably would reject paying someone to maintain specifications to a similar level of accuracy as is required of real world architects — especially if that was basically all that was being asked of them to do ...