Why Should I attend the CPSA® Foundation Level Training Course?

The iSAQB’s Certified Profes­sional for Software Architecture program (CPSA) is a program of further education. It is aimed at anyone who works on solution struc­tures in IT projects.

Within the multi-level CPSA program, the Foundation Level is the first step. It provides a solid and pragmatic intro­duction to software architecture.

But why exactly should you, an experi­enced IT expert, partic­ipate in such a training? And is it also suitable for other roles?

In the following interview, Foundation Level curator Gernot Starke will shed some light upon your most relevant questions as a potential participant.

Am I the right partic­ipant? Which audience does the Foundation Level address?

The Foundation Level estab­lishes a solid under­standing of architecture funda­mentals – which can be useful for anyone working in software development.

However, the Foundation Level is primarily aimed at people who actively develop or design software.

Often­times, product owners, requirements engineers, or testers partic­ipate, as those roles also need to know what “software architecture” is all about.

How is the Foundation Level training course relevant for my profes­sional practice as a software architect?

The name of the course says it all: It is about funda­mentals, both in terms of content and terminology.

The Foundation Level teaches the common language of our disci­pline, so that partic­i­pants get a precise under­standing of it, for example of the role and tasks of archi­tects. This allows for a much better commu­ni­cation in teams and much less “talking at cross-purposes”.

In addition, the Foundation Level imparts a number of methodical basics of architecture work, which are specified in the training courses by means of case studies and examples.

Partic­i­pants gain an under­standing of how to achieve essential quality requirements, how to system­at­i­cally structure systems, and how to take architecture and technology decisions.

Which skills do I acquire at Foundation Level, what exactly do I learn in this training?

At Foundation Level, we emphasize the ability to commu­nicate technical or struc­tural relation­ships, both orally and in writing. That is why we ask partic­i­pants of our courses to explain their solution approaches to sample tasks to the entire group.

Furthermore, we explain and practice the ability to work out decisions in different dimen­sions or views, for example on modules and compo­nents, on external inter­faces, on cross-cutting concepts, or on infrastructure and distribution.

At Foundation Level, we substan­tiate all of this with a multitude of funda­mental design principles and patterns in order to best prepare partic­i­pants for everyday architecture and devel­opment work.

Does the Foundation Level also help me if I usually work on smaller or medium-sized systems?

Yes, definitely: The size of a system has an influence on the architecture, but even in smaller systems, critical quality requirements, like maintain­ability, time-to-market, robustness, or under­stand­ability really make the difference.

Teams (and/or archi­tects) should be able to system­at­i­cally work out such qualities, regardless of size, scope, or technology. Here, the Foundation Level provides a set of methodical tools.

Furthermore, the Foundation Level creates a solid conceptual basis in order to commu­nicate effec­tively with other stake­holders from within devel­opment projects – with requirements, test, or management, for example.

Do I need to be good at programming to benefit from the Foundation Level?

Yes and no: Devel­opment or programming experience is helpful, but the methodical compe­tence from the Foundation Level can also be under­stood by partic­i­pants without extensive programming experience. After all, we are talking about technology and vendor-neutral methodology.

However, if someone wants to take their own design and architecture decisions, programming experience is almost essential – which is why it is explicitly required in the prereq­ui­sites for Foundation Level training.

As mentioned above in relation to the target group – product owners, employees from management or other roles often take part in the training courses, and the Foundation Level allows them to improve their commu­ni­cation with devel­opment teams.

You would like to learn more about the CPSA Foundation Level? Please visit the Foundation Level web page. 

You would rather find and book a suitable Foundation Level training course right away? Then check out our training calendar.