Forage Solutions Architecture

Why complete this Job Simulation

A risk-free way to experience work on the job with us at Forage. Practice your skills with example tasks and build your confidence to ace your applications.

Self-paced

3-4 hours

No grades

No assessments

Introductory

Welcome to the Solutions Architecture job simulation.

In this experience, you will step into the role of a junior Solutions Architect working with a fictional client whose current technology environment can no longer keep up with the demands of its growing business.

You will learn how Solutions Architects turn business goals, technical requirements, and stakeholder concerns into practical technology solutions. Rather than focusing on one cloud provider or specific platform, this simulation will introduce you to the transferable skills used to design secure, scalable, reliable, and cost-conscious systems.

Across two tasks, you will review the client’s needs, identify risks and priorities, make architecture decisions, and develop a high-level solution. You will then respond to new stakeholder feedback, evaluate trade-offs, and communicate your final recommendation in clear, client-friendly language.

By completing this simulation, you will:

• Gain insight into the day-to-day responsibilities of a Solutions Architect.
• Practice translating business needs into technical requirements.
• Build confidence making decisions about scalability, security, reliability, performance, and cost.
• Develop an architecture diagram and client-facing recommendation you can discuss in interviews.
• Earn a certificate of completion that you can add to your resume or LinkedIn profile.

Discover how Solutions Architects connect business challenges with technology solutions and explore whether this career path could be the right fit for you.

How it works

Complete tasks guided by pre-recorded videos and example answers from our team at Forage. No live sessions, all self-paced.
Earn a certificate and add it to your resume and LinkedIn as an extracurricular activity.
Stand out in applications. Confidently answer interview questions and explain why you’re a good fit for our team.

Skills you will learn and practice:

External Communication

Project Planning

Introduction from Forage

Tasks

Task One: Assess the Client’s Needs and Design a Solution

1-2 hoursIntroductory

Use KPIs to evaluate player behavior and recommend the right measures for key product management

What you'll learn

How Solutions Architects translate business needs into technical requirements
How to identify architecture priorities, constraints, and risks
How to evaluate solution components and technical trade-offs
How to create and explain a high-level architecture diagram

What you'll do

Review Elevate Learning’s business goals and current platform challenges
Identify the client’s most important business and technical requirements
Assess risks within the current technology environment
Select solution components that support scalability, reliability, security, performance, and cost control
Create a high-level architecture diagram
Summarize the reasoning behind your proposed solution

Task One: Assess the Client’s Needs and Design a Solution

1-2 hoursIntroductory

Use KPIs to evaluate player behavior and recommend the right measures for key product management

What you'll learn

How Solutions Architects translate business needs into technical requirements
How to identify architecture priorities, constraints, and risks
How to evaluate solution components and technical trade-offs
How to create and explain a high-level architecture diagram

What you'll do

Review Elevate Learning’s business goals and current platform challenges
Identify the client’s most important business and technical requirements
Assess risks within the current technology environment
Select solution components that support scalability, reliability, security, performance, and cost control
Create a high-level architecture diagram
Summarize the reasoning behind your proposed solution

Reviews

4.6

The simulation felt realistic and practical. It gave me a clear view of how an AI/ML or cloud architect balances technical decisions with business priorities like scalability, security, and recovery. The templates and prompts made it easy to organize my thinking, and the final recommendation task helped me practice explaining technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.

Student

It used a realistic client. Elena's email mixed technical needs (performance, outages) with business concerns (cost, reputation, launch timing), which is how real client requests look. It built in a logical order. Classifying requirements, then assessing risks, then designing the architecture, then phasing the plan taught each step on top of the last.

Student, D Y Patil University

I liked that the simulation was practical and realistic. It helped me understand how a Solutions Architect makes decisions, prioritizes requirements, and designs a scalable solution while considering budget, risks, and business needs. The phased approach also made the experience more engaging and easier to understand.

Student