Several people have told me recently that it’s illegal (in New Zealand) to call yourself a software architect, so I decided to check and yes, there is a law in New Zealand (the Registered Architects Act 2005) which protects the titles ‘Architect’ and ‘Registered Architect’.
But … Chris from the NZIA pointed out to me that this protection only applies to the provision of “building design” services. Other industries can use the term architect as long as its qualified – ie Software Architect, System Architect, Business Architect.
And even though “real” architects say that we’re just software designers, software architecture also “involves everything that influences the way in which the built environment is planned, designed, made, used and maintained.” – right from the big picture, to the smallest detail.
