Simon is a hands-on software architect and has a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from the University of Reading. Over the past 12 years, he’s been involved in projects ranging from rich desktop clients and web applications through to highly scalable distributed systems and service-oriented architectures; predominantly within the finance industry. He's also undertaken consulting and training roles with a broader focus on people, process and technology.
Authority
Related to responsibility is authority. Having responsibility for making things happen is one thing but, if you're going to be successful, you must also have the authority to do it. If you're responsible for the overall architecture of a system, you must have the authority to make the decisions and define that architecture. Likewise for everything else you might be responsible for as a software architect, ranging from initial software selection through to defining and enforcing the coding standards. Of course, as Brian says :
... we have to be careful not to fall into the deadly cycle of becoming the decision authority for every decision.
I agree and, provided you do have the authority, you can chose to delegate the decision if you wish. That's your choice but you still hold responsibility.
If you're the architect on a software project at the moment and find yourself continually asking for permission, take a moment to ask yourself why this is. If you have the responsibility but not the authority, you could be in for a bumpy ride.
