Additional Material for Hidden or Formal Architects: Understanding Who Makes Architectural Decisions in Practice

Interview plan Consent 1. Greeng the parcipant 2. Inform the parcipant that recording is about to begin. I will begin recording our meeng shortly. First, I would like to read a short statement regarding the recording, data processing, and use of the interview results for research purposes. Aer giving you this informaon, I will ask you if you consent to parcipate in the interview. 3. Start of recording We have just started recording this interview. This conversaon is the second part of the data collecon process for a study on architectural decision-making in soware development teams, whether work methodology has an impact on this, and what role architects play in pracce. The purpose of the interview is to deepen the results of an earlier quesonnaire and to verify the hypotheses formulated on its basis. The collected data will be used exclusively for scienfic purposes, including the preparaon of a research publicaon. In order to enable transcripon and content analysis, the interview is recorded. The recordings and full transcripts will not be published. Selected quotes may be used in the studies, but all data enabling the idenficaon of parcipants and their companies will be removed. Statements will be aributed solely on the basis of general metadata, such as professional experience or industry. The data controller is <hidden for double blind review>. If you have any quesons about the study or data processing, feel free to contact <hidden for double blind review>. Do you agree to parcipate in the interview and have it recorded? No -> In that case, thank you for your me and interest in our study. Unfortunately, recording the interview is a prerequisite for using the conversaon in the analysis, so we cannot connue without your consent to the recording. (END) The interview (aer consent given) 1. In the survey, we noced that the highest level of sasfacon with the architectural decisionmaking process occurs in teams using Agile methodologies. What do you think might be the reason for this? 2. Many responses repeated that architectural decisions are made by Tech Leads, experienced developers, or people who know the domain best. Why, in your opinion, do these people play this role (decision-making)? 3. In your team, is the choice of the decision-maker in the field of architecture based on a formal role, experience, knowledge of the code, or something else? 4. When asked about the final say in crical decisions, respondents again pointed to those with the most experience or knowledge of the domain. Why, in your opinion, are these criteria important when making key decisions? 5. Most respondents agreed that the presence of an architect has the greatest impact on risk management. How do you see it? Do you have specific examples of situaons where the presence (or absence) of an architect has influenced the way technical risk is managed? 6. Is the way architectural decisions are made in your team consistent with the assumpons of the methodology used? What do you think makes a given methodology work well in your team or organizaon? 7. According to the respondents, the role of enterprise architect (higher level) is more common than that of team architect. Why do you think this is the case? Does the presence of one support or hinder the other? Why do you think more praconers have an enterprise architect than a regular architect? 8. How is the role of an enterprise architect perceived in your environment – more as a mentor, controller, or decision-maker? 9. Although many agile methodologies do not provide for a formal architect role, almost half (42%) of teams have such a person anyway. (If interviewee has an architect in their team and uses Agile) Why did you decide to have a team architect even though the methodology does not require it? Was this role present from the beginning of the project, or did it emerge from a need during the project? How does this role interact with the Product Owner and Scrum Master? (If interviewee has an architect in their team) Are there any specific decisions that are always delegated to the architect? (If there is no architect in the interviewee’s team) Would you be in favor of introducing such a role as an architect to the team and why? What decisions do you make together as a team, and which ones remain in the hands of one person (e.g., the architect)? How does this affect the pace and quality of development? 10. (If interviewee uses Kanban) Among those surveyed, only 40% of teams using Kanban have a formal architect and enterprise, while for other methodologies this figure is over 60%. How do you interpret this difference? 11. Among respondents without a formal methodology, nearly 87% do not have an architect on their team. Do you think that the lack of a formal methodology contributes to the lack of formal rules for architectural decision-making, or, on the contrary, should this issue not depend on a formal methodology? What is the situaon in your organizaon, and do you think it is right? 12. Among teams that have an architect, their presence is much more oen considered crucial. In contrast, in teams without an architect, only 17% of people say that one would be needed. Why do you think this difference exists? 13. According to the respondents, teams that are dispersed by remote work less appreciate the role of the architect. Why do you think this is? 14. According to the respondents, the larger the team or company, the greater the convicon that a formal architect is needed – the smaller the team or company, the more they consider this role unnecessary. Why do you think this is? 15. Many agile methodologies do not provide for the posion of architect, but among all methodologies, the majority of respondents (>50%) indicated that the presence of an architect is crucial in agile methodologies. Why do you think this is the case? 16. (If applicable) Does the role of an architect in Agile differ in any way from that of architects in other methodologies? 17. People with 3-10 years of experience are more likely to believe that they have a greater influence on architectural decisions than those with over 10 years of experience. Why do you think this is the case? 18. Have you encountered cases where architectural decisions were made or enforced by the CEO or client? How do you assess such situaons? Condional quesons (For architects who indicated that their team does not have an architect) 1. In the survey, you indicated that one of your roles is that of an architect and, at the same me, that your team does not have a formal architect. How should this situaon be understood? (For architects who make few or no decisions) 2. In the survey, you indicated that as an architect, you rarely make decisions. What factors influence this? What, then, are your responsibilies? Conclusion 1. Do you have any thoughts or observaons on the subject that we did not ask about? Thank you very much for parcipang!