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
How to Flub Your Design Review
We would like to share some common approaches that consistently lead to failed design review meetings. They are somewhat embellished for effect, but, sadly, are not all that far removed from real world experiences. If you are interested in an ineffective design review, please be sure to: Read more
Issue Resolution: Understanding the Problem
For a Solution Architect, creating the blueprint for a quality product is often only half the job: After all, the greatest design in the world isn’t worth much unless it is accurately implemented. Read more
Facts: The Architect’s “Big Stick”
“Speak softly and carry a big stick: You will go far.”
- African Proverb
Diplomat is a key role that Systems Flow’s architects often fill for our clients. Software projects and change initiatives inevitably bring disputes and disagreements over requirements, scope, priority, standards, architectures and solutions. While most project management disciplines offer approaches to managing issues, we have found a basic mantra that keeps us on track: Read more
Walk Softly and Carry a Proper Meeting Recap!
You know the drill:
It’s late Friday afternoon and someone tosses an email or instant message your way regarding what you thought was a resolved topic. Read more
Goal Based Conversations
I find myself asking my children with great frequency, “What is your goal?” Not in a philosophical “What are you going to do with your life” way, but in a “What could your goal be aside from making your sister cry” way. Read more
One Artifact, One Vision
We have found that in a conversation with five people, each leaves with different threads resonating. Working as a team on a central artifact – a diagram, a list, a use case, whatever – is an extremely effective way of brokering clarity across a project team.
In the decentralized model, everybody takes personal notes with personal interpretations of the discussion. In some cases, perhaps a project manager or analyst scribes the entire meeting as “meeting notes”. Both are better suited for defense than success. Read more