Cost, Time, & Architecture – The Zen of Options Analysis
Solution architecture is typically designed within a project context. Although we focus on the right process for this design activity frequently in our blog, the intersection of that process with the process of delivering an actual production solution is very important. Constraints are a key reality in projects, and often they compete with achieving the “right” architecture. A process to guide a design through this gauntlet of project constraints is why we created our “Define Solution Options” process.
The Art of Accepting Feedback
As practicing solution and enterprise architects we regularly present our work to our stakeholders for feedback. Those stakeholders range from mentors to peers to project teams to executive sponsors. In any and all of those situations, it is important to be able to accept feedback. Read more
Don’t Get Distracted by the Document
This may seem like an odd blog coming from a company that is so deliverable focused, but it isn’t. A design document is not just a document, but a powerful tool for figuring out an architecture. However, it is easy to get caught up in the “task” of completing the design document and lose focus on deeply understanding the architecture.
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It’s Not About the Tool
For practically every profession under the sun there are tools that make the job easier. From bakers to builders, everyone has their choice of implements to ply their trade. Naturally these tools will range from entry level, toy tools to expensive gadgets with more features and sophistication. Enterprise architecture is certainly no exception.
One of our primary tools for designing architecture, of course, is a modeling tool. Modeling tools help us visualize our design into standard, in our case UML, models. There are a variety of these tools in the marketplace, ranging from basic “drawing style” tools to far more advanced suites with “model awareness”, version control, team collaboration capabilities, etc.