International Association of Software Architects

The International Association of Software Architects (IASA) is the premier association focused on the architecture profession through the advancement of best practices and education while delivering programs and services. IASA promotes the advancement of best practice and education while delivering programs and services to IT architects of all levels around the world.

Established in 2002, IASA is an international non-profit business association dedicated to the advancement and sharing of issues related to software architecture in the enterprise, product, education and government sectors. The association is committed to improving the quality of the IT architecture industry by developing and delivering standards, education programs and developing accreditation programs and services that optimize the development of architecture profession. IASA membership consists of approximately 5,000 members located in over 40 countries.

Mission Statement

IASA will be the preeminent knowledge-based association focused on the IT architecture profession through the advancement of best practices and education while delivering programs and services to develop highly qualified IT architects of all levels. IASA rely on the following objectives in order to obtain goals:
* Education
* Knowledge
* Advocacy
* Ethics

Membership

IASA provides membership for both individuals and organizations. Individual membership is called just that; membership. Organization membership is referred to as sponsorship. Individual membership exists to improve the opportunities, resources and prestige of the profession of IT architecture and all existing specializations (software architect, business architect, infrastructure architect, enterprise architect, etc.). Sponsorship exists to provide a feedback loop, financial and information resources to the IT architect community.

Types of Membership
* Individual Member -Membership Levels * Associate Membership * Professional Membership * Master Membership

* IASA Fellows
* Honorary Member

Education

The IASA offers an extensive collection of resources designed to enhance your performance today and your vision for the future.

Perspectives Journal, the only peer-reviewed journal for the IT Architect, provides a serious source of insight and research designed to advance the knowledge and capabilities of the IT architecture profession.

IASA's huge collection of online knowledge resources includes articles, whitepapers, case studies, models and samples, and more.

The IASA's bi-monthly electronic newsletters provide information targeted to the specific needs of architecture professionals in each of the different professional-interest areas.

The IASA's focused research provides solutions that improve your performance and help you look at your job, your organization, and the profession in new ways.

Certification

The IASA certification program provides all of these advantages as well as many more. Master certification boards are run at the chapter so you won't have to travel all over the world. Additional benefits include:

• Local mentoring • Lower cost due to low travel expenses and local setup • Higher quality due to local knowledge base • Centralized governance to ensure program quality across individual chapters

Chapters

IASA’s plan is simple; create an international architecture community of practicing architects and allow that body to drive standards, according to their needs and issues. This is accomplished by developing IASA chapters in cities around the world. Furthermore, the IT architecture profession is continually evolving and architects everywhere are eager to learn about the latest technology products and best practices. IASA chapters help make this possible for thousands of practicing architects.

[http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/chapters#global Global Chapter] [http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/chapters#Asia Asia Region] [http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/chapters#NAmerica North America Region] [http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/chapters#Europe Europe Region] [http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/chapters#Australia Australia Region] [http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/chapters#SAmerica South America Region] [http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/chapters#CAmerica Central America Region]

External links

* [http://www.iasahome.org Official Website]
* [http://www.sei.cmu.edu/architecture/definitions.html Software architecture definitions at Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute]
* [http://eden-study.org/articles/2003/icse03.pdf Software architecture vs. software design]
* [http://www.wwisa.org/ Worldwide Institute of Software Architects]
* [http://www.booch.com/architecture/index.jsp Grady Booch's Handbook of Software Architecture project]
* [http://www.SoftwareArchitectures.com SoftwareArchitectures.com Independent resource of information on the discipline]
* [http://www.iasahome.org/iasaweb/appmanager/home/home/ International Association of Software Architects]
* [http://www.architecturejournal.net/ Microsoft Architecture Journal]
* [http://www.softwarearchitectureportal.org/ Software Architecture Portal, website of IFIP Working Group 2.10 on Software Architecture]