However, solutions architecture is not merely a software engineering discipline. It is critical that the solutions architect be aware of the project's demands in terms of resources, time scales and cost. Fine documentation does not on its own deliver a quality architecture, and the best solution in the world is of no use if it arrives too late or over budget. There are project management issues, to be sure, but the input and support of the solutions architect is essential. These actions may be specific project tasks or ongoing review and assessment activities, and they typically bring together stakeholders from business and technology.
Solutions architecture is as much a process of discovery as it is capture.
In other words, it reveals system qualities that may not be known at the outset, that are implicitly rather than explicitly understood, or whose significance had not even been recognized. A good solutions architect must therefore bring to the table a mix of technical and business skills. Such a person is usually from a technology background. People skills are also very important, such as the ability to build consensus, facilitate change and rapidly become familiar with unfamiliar business areas and technologies, drawing on specialist expertise when the situation demands it.