Many people here seem to misunderstand the role of an architect. This is actually one of the most demanding in IT, and it usually has a tremendous impact on the team and on the business. A bad architecture will make engineers stressed for deadlines and will put the support under pressure, and ultimately the business will be impacted. A great architect is, while mostly not directly involved in the daily team process or code, not only able to draw diagrams but also to produce demos and working examples of their ideas. Also, they are good communicator, resolving conflicts when needed and choosing their battles wisely. They are rare, but I’ve seen a few great architect at work, and their ability to make hard things happen was very impressive. Complex projects often involve many teams and many stakeholders, and getting all aligned on a common goal is not easy, but the great ones master that.
I don't shy away from the technical discussions peronsally. and i dig into the details - i want to see the code, data structures etc. If i can get access to test every system and try to break it i will.
However the documentation of those things at that level of detail is not for the architecht.. the interfaces and dependencies and how they align (or do not) seem more the documentation they should be working on. my powerpoints may be high level but they must be accurate and comply with the true technical and business details and edgecases.
IMHO the fewer slides and simpler diagrams that can still acurately do this (accuratly enough for decision to be made and to give freedom of movement to both IT and business stakeholders) the better - thats sort of the definition of good architecture in a way.
But its a role that is not always needed and the more integrated IT and the business are and the more they understand each other the less its required.. as they will mirror each other natrually given the chance.
EDIT: to be clear i dont "work" in powerpoint.. but i do copy and paste into it to increase engagement and remove barriers :) I "work" mostly in text files, databases and visualisation tools.. i want to communicate with each stakeholder in their preferred format if possible.
Whenever there is a blocker i will happily try to mock up a solution in whatever tool that team is using, it dont default to fixing others problems though, i get enough shit for sticking my nose in as it is. this jobs requires keeping as many people as possible on side, burning bridges like that is risky business
