Solution

Solution nuggets from the information badger

“Impossible only means that you haven’t found the solution yet.” – Anonymous.

  • The overall Solution/Service should be owned, shaped, and engineered in the sales phase by an experienced Solution/Service Architect/Design Authority who continues into the delivery phase.
  • The Solution/Service Architect/Design Authority must be empowered, experienced, and commercially-aware to maintain the solution vision, make decisions regarding design/technical conflicts, change, risk mitigation and the impact of  change.
  • On major delivery contracts the Solution/Service Architect/Design Authority should be a team rather than a single person.
  • Avoid confusing the Solution/Service Architect/Design Authority and  Development/Production leadership roles; the former keeps the solution vision and the latter drives system, software or service teams to build the solution to plan.
  • If the contracted scope of the Solution is vague then always resolve this at the outset; never try and muddle through.
  • Always have a clear Controlling Specification with supporting External Interface Specifications to set the requirements and boundaries for the Solution.
  • Produce Controlling Specification and supporting interface specifications that are clearly articulated, unambiguous, and supported with compliance matrices that formally trace to mandatory higher level requirements.  
  • Always agree Controlling Specification and Interface Specifications with the client and apply rigorous configuration and change control to this baseline.  
  • Use appropriate support tools to produce and maintain a written Solution/Service Design Specification or equivalent; ensure the design is traceable to the Controlling Specification, addresses  requirements such as performance, reliability, availability, service levels, maintainability, and also captures key design decisions clearly.
  • Cultivate a ‘design, build, test to specification’ mentality; strive for solution design simplicity and always avoid ‘gold plating’.
  • Design to de-risk a solution; never build risk into the design – avoid using new techniques or concepts where existing well-proven concepts will do the same job simpler and cheaper.
  • Always design security, privacy and safety aspects into the Solution from the outset.
  • Where Products form part of the solution, ensure the overall Solution design is componentized to cater for upgrade paths or product replacement; never modify (as opposed to configure) a product or kernel supplied by a third party.
  • Avoid, where possible, designing a Solution that is reliant solely on a single specialist or new product from a very small company; always have and alternative  product fall back option in case the supplier fails to deliver or goes out of business.
  • Ensure that changes made to the Solution are controlled, formally authorised and preserve the solution’s overall integrity – avoid irresponsible or uncontrolled  changes, especially in the later stages of a delivery lifecycle.
  • Conduct regular design reviews of the Solution and it’s compliance with the Controlling Specification baseline;  use relevant experienced staff external to the delivery team and address any identified shortcomings quickly.
  • Conduct a ‘critical design review’ of the Solution prior to moving to the next lifecycle phase or service production activity; use this to confirm the solution meets requirement, architectural, technical and commercial objectives adequately enough to proceed without undue risk of failure.
  • On major delivery contracts ensure the Solution/Service Architect/Design Authority team has the right mix and calibre of people to take collective responsibility for whole Solution such that unforeseen loss of a team member does not impact.
  • Continuously educate and update delivery team(s) on the Solution matters; liaise with the client on Solution matters using proper established Solution governance mechanisms.
  • Remember – you have no solution without an experienced controlling architect or design authority.

 

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