Random Acts of Architecture

IT architects often pride themselves on their technical knowledge. Tasked with designing a system from end-to-end and taking responsibility for that design, they need to ensure the details are right. They also need to demonstrate technical prowess to earn respect from technical developers and engineers.

However, as discussed in previous posts, architects also have to talk to non-technical people to gather requirements, understand the business context and assure them that a design will meet their needs. For people used to delving into the technical details, this context and mindset switch can be challenging.

First, understand the value the architect’s proposed changes bring to stakeholders and organization. Understand not just what each stakeholder has asked for but how that stakeholder’s performance is measured and describe the impact of proposals in those terms.

Taking an operations manager as an example, describe how this will reduce incident frequency or severity. For a salesperson, relate this to imminent or key deals. For any management, ensure they understand how the changes relate to KPIs, long-term objectives or organizational policies.

A quick way to do this is to describe a technical change then ask “So what?”. Relate it to each stakeholder in a sentence or two then invite questions. Take note of anything asked and ensure it is covered next time.

Sometimes non-technical people suggest technical solutions. While most IT architect’s immediate reaction is to dismiss these as ill-informed, a better response is to understand the reasons behind it. Did this suggestion work last time? Is the relative cost for the asker small? Is a suggested tool the only one the asker is familiar with?

A better response from an architect is to evaluate suggestions and provide quicker, cheaper and/or better alternatives. Sometimes, however, it is important to buy-in by using elements of their suggestion, even if it is technically suboptimal.

Unless the organization has prescribed formulas or a culture of doing so, avoid trying to express impacts in financial terms. Chances are architects will get it wrong. Be careful using jargon or discipline-specific terms, too. Technical people cringe when non-technical people misuse technical terms. It happens the other way around, too.

Describe the context of a technical change in both technical and business terms. What existing systems or processes are impacted? What can we do now that we could not before? What can we do better or cheaper? What additional work is required or what work is saved?

No system exists in a vacuum and there are always flow-on effects for every change. If an architect cannot articulate these, chances are the requirements were not fully understood or analysis was lacking.

Describe the impact constraints have on the design or team implementing the design. Do not just list them (“We only have three engineers”). Say how this impacts the solution (“Option A is a better solution but, because we have a small team and a tight deadline, we are going for option B”).

Everyone in the organization has to deal with constraints. Sharing them helps build trust across teams. It also invites stakeholders, who sometimes have more experience, to suggest better ways of dealing with them.

Produce and use good quality communication. Consider using multiple views of a solution for different audiences, emphasizing different aspects. Use aesthetically pleasing diagrams with consistent use of symbols and colour. Do not be afraid of detail – it gives the audience the impression you have a deep understanding of the problem and solution – but ensure the communication is broad, covering the value and context as outlined above, instead of deep. Provide overviews or summaries to help time challenged people understand important points.

Communication should also cover solutions that were not selected or implemented. The implemented design or change will be evident. Understanding what alternatives were considered is often forgotten, particularly for trade-offs or others’ suggestions.

Beyond communicating better with non-technical people, these practices help architects understand the impact of technical changes on the organization beyond the immediate. It raises questions about larger impacts and exposes gaps in the architects understanding. It also helps build relationships.

Ultimately, being able to communicate effectively with non-technical people makes the architect a better architect. IT architects are more than just designers. They are collaborators and evangelists and they cannot do this if they can only talk and think like engineers. Architects are often the face of the team, department or company and the impression the architect needs to make a good impression.

Moreover, an architect’s technical solution exists within the organization’s social and political environments, not just technical. The architect is responsible for their work’s political and organizational success, too.

Image Credit: http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/wooden-tile/v/value.html under Creative Commons 3 License (CC BY-SA 3.0)