Cross-Role Collaboration Guide

Overview

No role works in isolation. Understanding who does what, when they're involved, and how they hand off is critical for both interviews and real projects.

Role Interaction Map

Solutions Architect ←→ All Roles (designs what everyone implements)
       ↕
┌──────┼──────┐
↕      ↕      ↕
Admin  DevOps Security
↕      ↕      ↕
└──────┼──────┘
       ↕
  Developer  ←→  Data Engineer  ←→  Data Scientist
       ↕              ↕                  ↕
  AI Engineer    Network Engineer   FinOps Specialist
                        ↕
                  Cloud Auditor (audits everyone)

Detailed Role Interactions

1. Solutions Architect ↔ All Roles

With Azure Administrator:

• Architect designs the infrastructure; Admin implements and operates it
• Architect provides: architecture diagrams, sizing, HA/DR requirements
• Admin provides: feasibility feedback, operational constraints, cost reality
• Handoff: Architect hands off design doc → Admin implements → Admin raises issues → Architect adjusts

With Developer:

• Architect defines the platform (App Service vs AKS, SQL vs Cosmos DB, messaging patterns)
• Developer builds the application code on the designed platform
• Architect provides: technology choices, integration patterns, security requirements
• Developer provides: application requirements, SDK needs, performance constraints
• Key collaboration: choose compute platform together, design API contracts

With DevOps Engineer:

• Architect defines infrastructure requirements; DevOps automates deployment
• Architect provides: IaC requirements, environment topology, deployment strategy
• DevOps provides: CI/CD pipeline, IaC implementation, deployment automation
• Key collaboration: IaC approach (Bicep vs Terraform), deployment strategy (blue/green, canary)

With Security Engineer:

• Architect defines security requirements; Security implements and validates
• Architect provides: security architecture, compliance requirements, zero-trust design
• Security provides: policy enforcement, threat detection, incident response
• Key collaboration: Private Endpoint architecture, WAF rules, encryption strategy
• Critical: Security must review ALL architecture designs before implementation

With Network Engineer:

• Architect defines network requirements; Network designs and implements
• Architect provides: topology requirements, bandwidth needs, connectivity patterns
• Network provides: IP addressing, routing, firewall rules, DNS
• Key collaboration: hub-spoke design, hybrid connectivity, Private Endpoints

With Data Engineer:

• Architect defines data platform requirements; Data Engineer builds pipelines
• Architect provides: data architecture, storage choices, governance requirements
• Data Engineer provides: pipeline design, data quality, processing patterns
• Key collaboration: choose data store (SQL vs Cosmos vs Synapse), design data flows

With FinOps Specialist:

• Architect designs for cost efficiency; FinOps tracks and optimizes
• Architect provides: resource sizing, RI eligibility, cost architecture
• FinOps provides: cost reports, optimization opportunities, budget enforcement
• Key collaboration: cost review at design time (before deployment, not after)

With Cloud Auditor:

• Architect designs for compliance; Auditor validates compliance
• Architect provides: control implementation evidence, compliance architecture
• Auditor provides: compliance gaps, audit findings, remediation requirements
• Key collaboration: compliance-by-design

Project Team Composition

New Application Development

Role	Involvement	Phase
Solutions Architect	Design architecture	Design
Developer	Build application	Development
Data Engineer	Build data pipeline	Development
DevOps Engineer	Build CI/CD	Development
Security Engineer	Security review	Design + Test
Network Engineer	Network setup	Infrastructure
Azure Admin	Provision infrastructure	Infrastructure
FinOps	Cost estimate	Design

Cloud Migration

Role	Involvement	Phase
Solutions Architect	Migration strategy & design	All phases
Azure Admin	Implement migration	Migration
Network Engineer	Hybrid connectivity	Infrastructure
Security Engineer	Security baseline	Design + Validate
DevOps Engineer	Migration automation	Migration
FinOps	Cost optimization	All phases
Cloud Auditor	Compliance validation	Validate
Azure Consultant	Strategy & planning	Assessment

Architecture Decision Record (ADR)

# ADR-001: Choose App Service over AKS for Web Application Status: Accepted Decision: Use Azure App Service (Standard S1) Reason: - Faster time-to-market - No Kubernetes expertise needed - Lower cost Trade-offs: - Less flexibility - Scaling limitations