So, you wanna be an architect. You may be asking yourself, what does that even mean? As an individual contributor, it can be hard to tell what it takes to cross the bridge from implementing concrete decisions to making them yourself. How do you ensure that what you're building today doesn't become tomorrow's technical debt? Are you even qualified to make these decisions?

Well, someone thought I was. In this talk, we anticipate some challenges we might run into when taking on these types of tasks by analyzing the traits and behaviors of software architects and how they can influence a team's ability to implement a solution. The strategies of good architects — such as balancing their level of control over a team, explaining and negotiating the trade-offs of a particular path, and being able to see just enough into the future to avoid overengineering — are likely already present in the thought patterns you possess from being an individual contributor.

Whether you aim to grow into an architect role or want to make better choices as you develop code, this talk will give you the tools to bridge the gap between writing software and shaping systems. Are you up to the task? Join me, and you'll find out.