Solutions Architect

Solution Architect - Key Deliverables Document

Employee & Workforce Enablement

Role Context

The Solution Architect operates within the Employee and Workforce Enablement portfolio, supporting a federated technology model that balances enterprise coherence with business unit agility. This role serves 34,000+ employees across the complete employee technology lifecycle (attract through exit), encompassing Human Capital Technology, Oracle Payroll, Digital Workplace & Productivity, Hardware Asset Management, ServiceNow, and Integration domains.

Strategic Deliverables

1. Architecture & Design Excellence

Experience Architecture

· Design end-to-end user experiences that go beyond technical and solution architecture to focus on persona-based journeys

· Map and optimize employee technology touchpoints across the complete employee lifecycle

· Create intuitive, frictionless digital experiences that enhance productivity and reduce pain points

· Develop architecture patterns that balance standardization with segment-specific customization needs

Technical Architecture

· Define and maintain technical architecture blueprints for the HC technology landscape

· Design data flow patterns and integration architectures across the employee enablement ecosystem

· Establish architectural principles that ensure scalability, resilience, and security

· Create technical solution designs for complex integrations between Workday, Oracle Payroll, M365, ServiceNow, and downstream systems

Solution Architecture

· Maintain the portfolio view of vendor systems and their interdependencies

· Design solutions that maximize platform capabilities before introducing third-party tools

· Evaluate and recommend technology solutions aligned to business requirements and strategic direction

· Ensure solution designs support the "Tight and Loose" governance framework

1. Integration & Platform Orchestration

Integration Strategy

· Design and oversee integration architecture across the HC technology landscape

· Define integration patterns and standards for connecting Workday, Oracle Payroll, ServiceNow, M365, and legacy systems

· Minimize integration complexity by exhausting native platform capabilities before custom development

· Lead the rationalization of integration touchpoints to reduce technical debt

Platform Optimization

· Identify opportunities to consolidate functionality within core platforms (Workday, M365, ServiceNow)

· Design solutions that prevent fragmentation through unnecessary third-party integrations

· Support the migration from legacy systems (Exchange 2010/2016, AWS Workspaces) to modern cloud platforms

· Enable ServiceNow as the Employee Service Management orchestration layer

1. Enterprise Architecture Governance

Capability Mapping

· Lead HC Technology capability mapping initiatives to track and manage the EA landscape

· Identify capability gaps against HC strategy and design solutions to close them

· Maintain architecture decision records and ensure alignment with enterprise architecture standards

· Support the Enterprise Architect with domain-specific architectural guidance

Standards & Patterns

· Define and maintain architectural standards for the employee enablement domain

· Create reusable solution patterns and reference architectures

· Establish architectural guardrails that distinguish between enterprise standards (tight) and business flexibility (loose)

· Ensure compliance with security, risk, and regulatory requirements in all solution designs

Operational Deliverables

1. Project & Initiative Support

Solution Design for Strategic Initiatives

· Provide architectural leadership for Project INANI and other strategic HC initiatives

· Design solutions for Workday enhancements including Career Hub, Opportunity Marketplace, and Talent Optimization

· Support Oracle platform upgrades (OIC Gen3, Kernel v6, APEX 24.x)

· Enable M365 Copilot adoption and AI-driven automation initiatives

Workday Squad Architecture Support

· Provide architectural guidance to four specialized Workday squads (Recruitment/Learning/Talent, Core HCM/Benefits, Technical, Payroll)

· Review and approve technical designs for Workday configurations and customizations

· Ensure Workday solutions remain close to standard to prevent downstream complexity

· Support integration designs between Workday modules and external systems

1. Agile Delivery Excellence

Agile Architecture Practices

· Embed architectural review points within Agile delivery cycles

· Participate in PI planning sessions using MIRO for collaborative architecture discussions

· Support Definition of Ready with architectural acceptance criteria

· Enable continuous improvement through architectural retrospectives

Technical Debt Management

· Identify and prioritize technical debt across the employee enablement portfolio

· Design pragmatic approaches to address legacy system dependencies

· Balance new feature delivery with technical debt reduction

· Create roadmaps for platform modernization (Exchange, VDI, Oracle)

1. Automation & Quality Engineering

Test Automation Architecture

· Design test automation frameworks aligned to Playwright and Azure DevOps standards

· Define automation patterns for Workday, Oracle Payroll, and M365 testing

· Support Quality Engineering team (led by Thomas) with architectural guidance

· Enable shift-left testing through architectural design

Process Automation

· Design automation solutions for HC processes including payroll technology

· Enable AI and Copilot Studio agents for business process automation

· Support Workday Help automation and case management improvements

· Identify opportunities for RPA and intelligent automation across the employee journey

1. Security & Compliance

Security Architecture

· Support Workday security reviews and ensure security-by-design principles

· Address audit findings from GIA and Deloitte through architectural solutions

· Design data masking and SailPoint integration patterns

· Ensure compliance with IT security vulnerability management standards

Risk Mitigation

· Design isolation strategies for legacy systems (e.g., Exchange 2010 ring-fencing in AWS)

· Address platform end-of-life risks through architectural migration paths

· Support business continuity through resilient architecture design

· Ensure ≥98% uptime targets through architectural resilience patterns

1. Stakeholder Engagement & Advisory

Business Partner Collaboration

· Provide architectural advisory to HC Leadership

· Translate business requirements into technical architecture

· Present solution options with clear trade-offs and recommendations

· Support platform owners (Karin Roux for Workday) with architectural decisions

Vendor & External Partner Management

· Engage with Workday (Heidi Ogle), Oracle (Khalid), Microsoft (Gabriel D'oliveira, Poova Moodliar) on architectural matters

· Review vendor roadmaps and align to organizational architecture

· Evaluate new platform capabilities and features for adoption

· Ensure vendor solutions integrate seamlessly with existing architecture

1. Documentation & Knowledge Management

Architecture Documentation

· Maintain comprehensive architecture documentation including system context diagrams, integration maps, and data flows

· Create architecture decision records (ADRs) for significant design decisions

· Develop solution design documents for major initiatives

· Maintain technical documentation in accessible formats for diverse audiences

Knowledge Transfer & Enablement

· Conduct architecture reviews and provide coaching to technical teams

· Share architectural patterns and best practices across squads

· Support capability building through architectural mentoring

· Create architectural guidelines and playbooks

Success Metrics

Quality Indicators

· Solution designs meet architectural standards and governance requirements

· Integration complexity reduced through platform consolidation

· Technical debt backlog actively managed and reducing

· Architecture review participation in 100% of major initiatives

Delivery Predictability

· Architectural decisions support sprint velocity and delivery predictability

· Design-related impediments identified and resolved proactively

· Solution designs enable on-time, on-budget delivery

Employee Experience

· Architecture solutions contribute to improved employee satisfaction scores

· Technology touchpoints are intuitive and friction-free

· Platform availability meets or exceeds 98% target

· Integration-related incidents trending downward

Business Value

· Solution designs deliver measurable ROI

· Platform optimization drives cost efficiencies

· Architecture enables business agility and speed to market

· Capability gaps closed through architectural solutions

Key Relationships

Internal Stakeholders

· HC Leadership: Fikiswa Ludidi

· Platform Owners: Karin Roux (Workday), Khalid Parker (Oracle Payroll)

· Scrum Masters: Tshepang

· Quality Engineering Lead: Thomas

· Enterprise Architecture team

External Partners

· Workday

· Oracle:

· Microsoft

Deliverable Rhythm

Daily/Weekly

· Architecture guidance for squad work items

· Technical review and approval of designs

· Impediment resolution

Monthly

· Architecture review sessions

· Technical debt assessment

· Vendor engagement and roadmap reviews

Quarterly

· PI Planning participation

· Capability mapping updates

· Architecture strategy refinement

Annually

· Architecture roadmap development

· Strategic architecture initiatives

· Governance framework reviews