Goals: Adapting, Growing, and Using Data
IN THIS SECTION, YOU WILL: Understand the requirements I identified for an architecture practice in complex organizations.
KEY POINTS:
- I identified the following needs that an architecture practice should support: Executing At Scale, Adaptivity, Improving the Quality of Decision-Making with Data, and Maximizing Organizational Alignment & Learning.
Grounded Architecture emerged as a necessity in response to our intricate and multifaceted challenges. The Grounded Architecture framework was designed to address these specific challenges. By moving away from manual processes and embracing automation, data-driven decision-making, and adaptive frameworks, we aimed to create a more resilient and effective an architecture practice.
In following sections I will outline a breakdown of the goals I set for an architecture practice:
- Goal 1: Executing At Scale,
- Goal 2: Adaptivity,
- Goal 3: Increasing Quality of Decisions with Data,
- Goal 4: Maximizing Organizational Alignment,
- Goal 5: Maximizing Organizational Learning.
Goal 1: Executing At Scale
Our organizations were like a bustling city with hundreds of teams and thousands of projects, each with its own unique complexity and requirements. Traditional, one-size-fits-all approaches to an architecture practice simply couldn’t keep up with this dynamic environment. We needed a system that could support this vast and varied ecosystem. Grounded Architecture was designed to handle such diversity at scale, ensuring that teams and projects received the tailored support they needed without being bogged down by rigid processes.
Some of the success criteria for this goal included:
- Always having the full transparency about the technology landscape. Without full transparency, it isn’t easy to understand the landscape’s complexity or your work’s context. This transparency should include good data and visualization of the size and quality of all source code repositories, public cloud accounts and technologies, private data centers, development efforts, etc.
- Having mechanisms and spaces to maintain practical working relationships with all development teams and key stakeholders. Knowing the organizational landscape and having spaces for engagement is crucial.
- Being able to scale and grow the organization without introducing significant slowing of decision-making. Finding the right balance between teams’ autonomy and alignment is essential.
Goal 2: Adaptivity
In our dynamic environments, significant change is not just frequent; it’s expected. Whether these changes are organic, like evolving business needs, or inorganic, like mergers and acquisitions, our architecture must be able to adapt swiftly. Grounded Architecture was crafted to be flexible and responsive, allowing us to pivot quickly in response to new challenges and opportunities. This adaptability ensures that our architectural framework remains relevant and effective, no matter how the organizational landscape shifts.
Some of the success criteria for this goal included:
- Being able to track and support legacy and new technologies, adapting this support as the organization transforms, grows, acquires new legacy, and adopts new technologies.
- Having readily available data for analyses of different business scenarios (e.g., retire legacy vs. investment in legacy, buy-or-build, divestments).
- Being able to routinely onboard and quickly understand the technology landscape of acquired companies.
Goal 3: Increasing Quality of Decisions with Data
Relying on gut feelings or individual opinions is always insufficient and risky when dealing with operations at scale. Decisions need to be based on solid data to ensure accuracy and reliability. Grounded Architecture aims to incorporate tools and mechanisms to support data-driven decision-making. By leveraging data and analytics, we can move away from subjective opinions and towards more objective, evidence-based decisions. This approach should enhance the quality of our decisions and facilitate their consistency and alignment with our organizational goals.
Some of the success criteria for this goal included:
- Always having complete, up-to-date data about all key elements of the organizational technology landscape.
- Having technical data connected with product and business data (e.g., vibrancy vs. public cloud costs).
- Making data available via self-service tools for the organization so that more people can make data-informed decisions.
- Ensuring routine usage of the data in decision-making.
Goal 4: Maximizing Organizational Alignment
In a global, fast-moving organization, misalignment can quickly become the norm. Different teams and departments might pursue conflicting objectives, leading to inefficiencies and confusion. Grounded Architecture aims to serve as a cohesive force, promoting alignment across the entire organization. Providing a clear, unified framework helps to minimize misalignments. It facilitates all parts of the organization working towards common goals. This alignment is crucial for maintaining efficiency and avoiding the chaos that can arise from disparate efforts.
Some of the success criteria for this goal included:
- Having pragmatic standardized guidelines and best practices (e.g., golden paths) for technology use, ensuring consistency across the organization.
- Fostering a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing among teams to align on technology choices and implementation strategies.
- Regularly reviewing and updating technology standards to align with evolving business needs and industry trends.
- Identifying and eliminating redundant processes and activities to streamline operations and reduce wasted resources.
Goal 5: Maximizing Organizational Learning
Staying current with emerging technologies and industry trends is essential for maintaining a competitive edge. Still, it can be challenging when dealing with the demands of legacy systems. Grounded Architecture should facilitate continuous learning and growth. It supports the rapid adoption of new technologies and encourages ongoing education and training. Grounded Architecture should ensure we always have the best tools and knowledge to drive innovation and improvement.
Some of the success criteria for this goal included:
- Organizing frequent workshops, seminars, and training sessions to facilitate sharing knowledge and best practices across the organization.
- Encouraging employees at all levels to contribute to and participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives, promoting a culture of continuous learning.
- Developing platforms and tools that enable easy access to shared knowledge and resources, enhancing collective expertise.
- Involving diverse stakeholders, including developers, managers, and end-users, in discussions and decision-making processes related to architecture and technology.
- Creating opportunities for employees from various departments to engage in architectural planning and feedback sessions to learn from each other.
These criteria aim to create an inclusive and dynamic environment where knowledge is freely shared, and diverse contributions are not just welcomed, but valued.
Questions to Consider
Knowing what goals an architecture practice needs to support in your organization is crucial to defining structures and measuring your impact. Some of the plans may be universally applicable. Others may be unique to your context. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What is the scale of your an architecture practice? Does your scale require special measures to ensure your an architecture practice efficient operations?
- What are the key decisions you need to make? Do you have the data to base your decisions?
- How aligned are units in your organizations? How much friction is there? How can an architecture practice help?
- How much is your organization learning? How is the learning supported?
- How stable is your organization? How likely is it that significant changes will occur in your organization?
Introduction ← Context: Fast-Moving Global Organizations |
Grounded Architecture Framework Grounded Architecture Framework: Introduction → |