What does an architect do?
The Mythical Man-Month
To make a user-friendly system, the system must have conceptual integrity, which can only be achieved by separating architecture from implementation. A single chief architect (or a small number of architects), acting on the user's behalf, decides what goes in the system and what stays out. The architect or team of architects should develop an idea of what the system should do and make sure that this vision is understood by the rest of the team. A novel idea by someone may not be included if it does not fit seamlessly with the overall system design. In fact, to ensure a user-friendly system, a system may deliberately provide "fewer" features than it is capable of. The point being, if a system is too complicated to use, many features will go unused because no one has time to learn them.
Cathedral Architect
The Cathedral Architect or Surveyor of the Fabric will usually advise the Cathedral Chapter on all aspects of the fabric, including aesthetic issues, and when major construction works or new buildings are under consideration, if not appointed to the work, will usually be involved in the preparation of the design brief and will remain as guardian of the fabric while the work is under construction.