I promised I'd write a little bit more about my work at the MTC so here's my first
bit on this topic.
The MTC runs several types of engagements that can be described broadly as follows:
-
Strategy Briefings (SB). A one day, high level view of technology
and how that can be aligned to a business strategy.
-
Architecture Design Sessions (ADS). A two or three day envisioning
workshop with key business and technology stakeholders.
-
Proof of Concept Labs (POC). A two or three week workshop to construct,
integrate and/or validate the concepts from the ADS.
My personal involvement is typically in the ADS and POC, and in the general run of
things, a POC is always preceded by an ADS. As you can see, the timebound nature of
the sessions means that a good degree of focus and commitment is required by all involved
over the duration. Given that, we can achieve some amazing things like London
Underground.
I want to focus on the ADS session for this entry.
An ADS is generally described as an envisioning session, but could also be about validation
of existing approaches and more general business/technology related discussion. One
thing that's always constant is that these sessions are challenging for all involved
for several reasons:
-
Actually taking time out from the day-to-day job to consider 'how things might be'
is difficult both in terms of finding the time in the schedule to allow the workshop,
and also to open the mind to possible new concepts.
-
A lot of the time, a customer will be sitting around the table with other co-workers
who they wouldn't ordinarily meet. Of course, internal politics then come into play
and typically most people have 'an agenda'. (Usually I can't tell what those are specifically
other than to identify the presence).
-
Most people don't spend their time considering the 'big picture' of their job - there's
a lot of work to be done and everyone is busy. So actually just describing 'what one
does' to someone like me can be hard to articulate.
So this can make the first morning a colourful one as everyone struggles to think
about the task at hand. It isn't always the case - sometimes the customer will have
a clear 'leader' - but I'm sure you can identify with these general issues.
The ADS moves through three phases, loosely described as Discovery, Envisioning and
Planning.
-
Discovery. In this stage, we rely on the customer to describe their
business and context. We're not usually working from a blank canvas, as there's usually
a relationship and general understanding, but the devil is typically in the detail.
Customers can find this a challenge as, having invested time to come to the MTC, they
like to 'be getting on with it', but this step is vital for validation of the agreed
scenarios later on.
-
Envisioning. Once everyone is happy with context and goals, then
we move into a phase of extracting 'proof scenarios' that can be described and built
(these are usually thin slices, rather than breadth) and then consider the technology
and approach for those scenarios. At this point, consideration of existing technology,
integration points and other risks and constraints are typically considered.
-
Planning. Finally, once the proof scenarios are agreed and validated
with specific proof points that work for the overall business objectives, then some
planning around 'who, when and what' may be considered - particularly if their is
a possibility of also running a POC workshop.
Businesses are complex. One of my objectives is to synthesize and simplify the business
issues and overall scenarios to extract specific scenarios that can be overlaid with
technology and improved. (I get a lot of practice at this across many industries,
as you can imagine.) This can take some time, as it's not always easy to understand
or identify key issues and of course what the history of any given circumstance is.
The process, then, is one of constant re-evaluation of the proof scenarios
with the intially stated (and validated) business objectives, so that by the end of
the workshop, the path from 'what we want' to 'what we are going to do' is clear and
well understood.
Considering scenarios to bring to the table - particularly when moving to a POC stage
- is an important factor in making best use of the MTC capabilities. In this case,
understanding what a POC can offer is important:
-
Acceleration. An ADS/POC can accelerate in a few ways: thought leadership,
or technical proof, or even assisting with budgets for a real build through the use
of the output of a POC as a 'sales tool'.
-
De-risking. An ADS/POC can focus on the hardest bits of a concept,
and with those proven and the approach understood, a lot of risk can be removed from
the larger project.
-
Evaluation. A POC in particular allows a customer to assess the technologies
being used and then consider the impact of those in a way that may not be possible
to achieve internally - perhaps because of the risk.
So, ideally, a POC should be focusing on things that a customer couldn't do because
of certain constraints - technology, time or whatever. It should be coherent and contextual
for the business, and not a technology showcase. Finally, it should fit some purpose
such as to assist with continued thinking, or as a internal evangelism piece for a
particular business initiative.
Want to know more? Ask me a question.
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