IBM
Systems and Solutions Architect Capstone Project
IBM

Systems and Solutions Architect Capstone Project

Included with Coursera Plus

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Advanced level

Recommended experience

2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Advanced level

Recommended experience

2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Design an enterprise architecture that replaces a legacy system and supports digital services, real-time data integration, and automated processes

  • Create solution blueprints, system and data models, cloud-native deployment strategies, and security frameworks that align with regulatory standards

  • Develop process flow, CI/CD pipelines, and a phased implementation roadmap

  • Apply cloud-native platforms, APIs, and microservices principles to modernize core enterprise operations and agile delivery

Details to know

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Recently updated!

December 2025

Assessments

24 assignments

Taught in English

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Build your Cloud Computing expertise

This course is part of the IBM Systems and Solutions Architect Professional Certificate
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Professional Certificate.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate from IBM

There are 7 modules in this course

In this module, you’ll get oriented with the capstone project’s structure, tools, and expectations. You’ll explore how the project mirrors a real-world systems architecture workflow, leading the early planning phases by creating foundational documents. You’ll review a project charter, stakeholder mapping, and engagement strategy to align business, compliance, and technical teams. You will identify key stakeholder groups across departments and define architectural goals in alignment with business objectives and regulatory mandates. Further, you’ll collect and validate both functional and non-functional enterprise-level requirements, capturing critical factors. This foundation for scalable architectural design ensures that you are prepared to navigate current and future state processes using tools such as business requirements documents (BRDs), software requirements specifications (SRSs), and requirements traceability matrices (RTMs).

What's included

2 videos1 reading3 assignments7 plugins

This module focuses on architectural planning and modeling the core processes of the enterprise ecosystem. You’ll demonstrate how to translate high-level business and regulatory requirements into structured, actionable architectural components using industry-standard tools and techniques. You’ll explore how to build foundational project planning artifacts, including a traceability matrix and a risk register, that consider real-world enterprise risks. You’ll learn to conduct a SWOT analysis, design and document enterprise workflows using UML diagrams, process flowcharts, and architecture blueprints. You’ll explore visual artifacts to communicate the end-to-end flow of data and logic across systems.

What's included

3 assignments5 plugins

In this module, you will design and implement the foundation of cloud and enterprise architecture. You’ll focus on deploying scalable, secure infrastructure components that enable agility, compliance, and high performance in the enterprise. You’ll leverage tools, such as Docker and cloud platforms, including IBM Cloud and AWS, to design a microservices-based deployment model. You’ll learn to configure secure container registries, deploy images, and architect cloud environments. Further, you will create a data infrastructure blueprint, audit trails, and regulatory reporting. You’ll architect an event-driven architecture that supports real-time alerts to mitigate potential risks. Finally, you’ll estimate computing, storage, and bandwidth needs, aligning resource planning and document hardware, software, and network components across environments to create a complete infrastructure view.

What's included

6 assignments11 plugins

This module focuses on designing the core systems architecture, data models, defining the structure, and behavior of key system components to business requirements and regulatory standards. You’ll explore architecture diagrams and UML models to define the roles, interactions, and data flows between core enterprise services. You’ll also identify and recommend appropriate tools, frameworks, and platforms for each architectural layer. In addition, you’ll gain hands-on experience validating solution feasibility through small-scale prototypes and proofs of concept. Finally, you’ll design conceptual and logical entity-relationship diagrams (ERDs), apply normalization up to 3NF, and translate models into SQL DDL scripts.

What's included

6 assignments11 plugins

In this module, you will focus on validating the systems architecture through testing strategies and deployment planning. You’ll review test plans for completeness, consistency, and alignment with architectural requirements. You’ll explore tools, such as requirements traceability matrix (RTM), test-driven development (TDD), and behavior-driven development (BDD), to verify business logic, system interactions, and user experience flows. You’ll also create configuration and API documentation to support consistent deployments and seamless integrations. Additionally, you’ll design backup and disaster recovery strategies to protect critical systems and ensure business continuity. Finally, you’ll develop CI/CD pipelines, monitoring frameworks, and incident response plans to maintain system reliability and performance.

What's included

6 assignments11 plugins

In this module, you will complete your systems architect design, from engaging stakeholders to deploying strategies and ensuring compliance alignment. You’ll apply what you learned to create a system blueprint, UML diagrams, ERDs, data flow charts, cloud topology, CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring frameworks. You’ll prepare a document for submission, ensuring that your design vision is clearly communicated and implementation-ready. This submission will serve as a capstone evaluation and a portfolio-ready artifact that you can showcase to potential employers.

What's included

1 app item3 plugins

In this final module, you will shift focus from project execution to career advancement. You’ll reflect on your project experience, refine your professional brand, and prepare to pursue roles in systems architecture. You’ll draft a resume and a cover letter showcasing your skills and regulatory understanding. You’ll explore various career paths in enterprise architecture and practice common but practical interview questions.

What's included

3 videos2 readings5 plugins

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Instructor

IBM Skills Network Team
86 Courses1,686,493 learners

Offered by

IBM

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