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Inception Phases - Handling Complexity

The document discusses the importance of conducting preliminary analysis and modeling to successfully navigate complex project domains. It emphasizes that understanding the project's context, managing risks, and structuring information are key to building robust foundations for lean and agile processes. The text also outlines strategies for effective stakeholder engagement, feasibility assessment, and the establishment of clear objectives during inception phases of projects.

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HANDLING COMPLEXITY M A R C E L B R I T S C H E Q U A L E X P E R T S Digital Consulting, Business Analysis and Product Management Agile Software Delivery A C A S E A N D O U T L I N E F O R L E A N I N C E P T I O N P H A S E S
L E T M E M A K E A CASE FOR UP-FRONT ANALYSIS AND DESIGN ish
O R B E T T E R A CASE FORA CASE FOR SOME UP-FRONT THINKING
M O R E P R E C I S E L Y A CASE FORA CASE FOR LIGHTWEIGHT UP-FRONT THINKING
P R O J E C T S U C C E S S I S B A S E D O N SOLID FOUNDATIONS Being lean and agile does not mean we can compromise or ignore the bedrock our projects are build on. APPRECIATE THY CONTEXT E V E N E S P E C I A L L Y I N A N A G I L E W O R L D Y O U N E E D T O
O N E K E Y C H A L L E N G E : P R O J E C T - D O M A I N S A R E COMPLICATED & COMPLEX The biggest challenge when starting something new is making sense of the complicated or even complex world our endeavour lives in. T H E C H A L L E N G E I S T O U N D E R S T A N D T H E D O M A I N Where are we? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? B U T B E F A S T & G E T I T R I G H T Avoid future impact of missed risks or opportunities
W E H A N D L E C O M P L I C A T E D N E S S A N D C O M P L E X I T Y B Y MODELLING Modelling is the process of expressing information or circumstances so that insight emerges. info Modelling G O O D M O D E L L I N G I S L E A N & A C T I O N A B L E fast vs. de-risking focused & reducing noise goal driven & actionable Insight M O D E L L I N G I S A L L A B O U T S T R U C T U R I N G I N F O R M A T I O N identify parts identify relationships abstract
M O R E O F T E N T H A N N O T B I G - D E S I G N - U P F R O N T I S T H E D E V I L B U T M I S G U I D E D A G I L E C A N L E A D U S A S T R A Y A S A N I N D U S T R Y W E S U C K A T A C T I O N A B L E M O D E L L I N G B U T W E A R E G E T T I N G B E T T E R M O D E L L I N G MAKE NO MISTAKE… I T ’ S A B O U T B A L A N C E T O B U I L D S O L I D F O N D A T I O N S I T ’ S A B O U T F O C U S O N P U R P O S E
T H E A P P R O P R I A T E M I N I M U M A N D T H A T J U S T I N T I M E LAZY DOES IT Note that my ‘lazy’ may not be your ‘lazy’. RISK BE YOUR MEASURE
S E C U R I T I E S L E N D I N G R E P O R T I N G P L A T F O R M INVESTMENT BANKING G R E E N F I E L D
S E C U R I T I E S L E N D I N G THE PROJECT A reporting solution for a Securities Lending agent. Counterparty (Borrower) Client (Lender) Securities Lending Agent Securities Fee
G R E E N F I E L D P R O J E C T I N C E P T I O N THE CHALLENGE Q U E S T I O N C A N W E D O I T ? Explicit: Is it possible? Implicit: What are we dealing with? C H A L L E N G E U N K N O W N D O M A I N Quickly develop sufficient understanding of the problem domain. G O A L C O N F I D E N C E Develop sufficient understanding of the domain to support high confidence feasibility assessment and planning. A P P R O A C H B R E A K I N G I T D O W N Break down or abstract complicated or complex areas sufficiently so that they can be reasoned about without distraction and confusion.
Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation W H A T I S I T A L L A B O U T ? MODELLING THE BUSINESS DOMAIN Cross-discipline workshop using strategyzer.com Business Model Canvas
W H A T I S I T A L L A B O U T ? MODELLING THE BUSINESS DOMAIN Business Model Canvas to reverse-engineer business & domain Business Model Canvas: www.strategzyer.com Indicative Example - not factually correct
Glossary W H E R E D O W E W A N T T O B E ? VISION & OBJECTIVES Success Factors Vision Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
Affinity Diagram of cross-discipline success factors to define principles against which to judge our work W H A T D O E S S U C C E S S M E A N ? SUCCESS FACTORS Indicative Example - not factually correct
W H A T A R E W E D O I N G ( S E L L I N G ) ? MODELLING TRANSACTIONS Trades (Process) Products Clients Success Factors Vision Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation Transaction Model and Prioritisation Matrix to understand the product and identify areas of value
Counterparty (Borrower) Client (Lender) Securities Lending Agent Securities Collateral Fee ££ £ £ 1 2 3 4 56 MODELLING TRANSACTIONS W H A T A R E W E D O I N G ( S E L L I N G ) ? Transaction Model and Prioritisation Matrix to understand the product and identify areas of value Indicative Example - not factually correct
W H O A R E W E D E A L I N G W I T H ? IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS Trades (Process) Products Clients Success Factors Vision Business Model Stakeholders Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation Interest//Influence Stakeholder Map to understand how to engage with whom and why
IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS Indicative Example - not factually correct W H O A R E W E D E A L I N G W I T H ? Interest//Influence Stakeholder Map to understand how to engage with whom and why
W H O I S O U R T A R G E T A U D I E N C E A N D W H A T D O T H E Y E X P E C T ? Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Success Factors Vision Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation UNDERSTANDING USERS Use Cases Model, Needs/Gains/Pains, Personas & Requirements Hierarchy to identify and structure design requirements
Indicative Example - not factually correct W H O I S O U R T A R G E T A U D I E N C E A N D W H A T D O T H E Y E X P E C T ? UNDERSTANDING USERS Use Cases Model, Needs/Gains/Pains, Personas & Requirements Hierarchy to identify and structure design requirements
W H A T C A P A B I L I T I E S , C O N S T R A I N T S A N D C H A L L E N G E S A R E T H E R E ? UNDERSTANDING ARCHITECTURE Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Success Factors Vision Business Model Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation Context / System Model to understand system, people, data and events, and their relationships.
API Gateway Trading System Aggregator Trading DB Custodian DB FX Service Custodian Sales / Client Services Trader Misc Reference Data Counterparty (Borrowers) Client (Lender) Authentication Scheduled Reports Reporting Website Agency Lender Project Domain Collateral / Securities Mgmt System Misc Reference Data Indicative Example - not factually correct W H A T C A P A B I L I T I E S , C O N S T R A I N T S A N D C H A L L E N G E S A R E T H E R E ? UNDERSTANDING ARCHITECTURE Context / System Model to understand system, people, data and events, and their relationships.
B R I N G I N G I T T O G E T H E R PRIORITIES AND CHALLENGES Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Business Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
W H A T D O E S T H A T M E A N I N R E A L I T Y ? PLAY A STORY A minimum (POC) type story that validates whether theoretically we can integrate and deploy to live is one of the most valuable indicators of the true state of affairs. View Trades As a trader I want to see a list of currently open trades so that I can get an overview of my trading position. Acceptance Criteria … Definition of Done • Integrated with LDAP and Trading System • Deployed to production
H O W D O W E N E E D T O W O R K T O B E S U C C E S S F U L ? DEFINE WAYS OF WORKING Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Business Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Ways of Working Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
W H A T W O U L D A S O L U T I O N L O O K L I K E ? Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations FeaturesBusiness Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Ways of Working Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation DEVISE ‘FEATURES’ Wireframes, Visuals, Prototypes to explore and ultimately design the solution
Indicative Example - not factually correct W H A T W O U L D A S O L U T I O N L O O K L I K E ? DEVISE ‘FEATURES’ Wireframes, Visuals, Prototypes to explore and ultimately design the solution
T-Shirt Sizing, Value-Cost Matrix, Prioritised Backlog, Roadmap to assess feasibility and create a ‘plan’ (roadmap) Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations FeaturesBusiness Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation C A N W E D O I T ? FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT & ROADMAPPING
Indicative Example - not factually correct C A N W E D O I T ? FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT & ROADMAPPING T-Shirt Sizing, Value-Cost Matrix, Prioritised Backlog, Roadmap to assess feasibility and create a ‘plan’ (roadmap) Indicative Example - not factually corr
H O W T O R U N A N INCEPTION PHASE Key activities conducted as part of inception phase. Glossary Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations FeaturesBusiness Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Ways of Working Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
G R E E N F I E L D I N C E P T I O N S IN A NUTSHELL ■ ■ K E E P I N G I T T O P L E V E L work breadth over depth R E D U C I N G N O I S E prioritise relevant areas, analyse > conclude > move on W E H A N D L E C O M P L E X I T Y B Y M O D E L L I N G use tools and techniques that turn information into insight ■ B E I N G F O C U S E D know your goal, work towards it ■
R E T A I L S U P P L Y C H A I N T O O L I N G RETAIL B R O O K F I E L D
R E T A I L S U P P L Y C H A I N T O O L I N G THE PROJECT How the business envisaged it… Cataloguing Demand Forecasting Production Planning Allocation Distribution Sales Reporting Product Management System ERP System Reporting Suite Indicative example only
R E T A I L S U P P L Y C H A I N T O O L I N G THE PROJECT What it morphed into… Indicative example only
B R O W N F I E L D P R O J E C T I N C E P T I O N THE CHALLENGE C H A L L E N G E 1 UNKNOWN DOMAIN Quickly develop sufficient understanding of the problem domain. ✓ C H A L L E N G E 2 CONFIRMATION BIAS Consider business realities but don’t repeat history. ✓ C H A L L E N G E 3 DIS-ENTANGLEMENT Decompose into manageable bits. !
W E D I S E N T A N G L E C O M P L E X D O M A I N S B Y SLICING Slices are sufficiently isolated and small parts of a system so that we can ignore everything else and deal with the slice without distraction. Valuable Cohesive and decoupled Follow the ‘seams’ in the domain but be mindful of Conway’s law Are simple but not simplistic Facilitate and de-risk delivery R U L E S F O R GOOD SLICES
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S WHY CAN’T WE BUILD IN AN AFTERNOON? Posing this question to relevant subject matter experts and stakeholders will not only make it clear to everyone why we need to slice the system and approach deliver incrementally but more specifically will lead to insight regarding key areas of the problem and inform how we slice. W H E R E I S U N C E R T A I N T Y ? Where should we expect change? ■ ■ ■ W H E R E I S T H E R I S K ? Where do we need to be careful? ■ W H Y I S I T B I G ? What makes this big and how big are we talking? W H E R E I S T H E V A L U E I N I T ? Which parts are the important ones? W H E R E I S I T C O M P L I C A T E D ? Where should we expect challenges? ■
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S DIMENSIONS Key Features Breadth Depth
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S MODEL THE DOMAIN While we generally should consider a user-centric approach when modelling to-be domains, where we are dealing with existing systems we may want to adopt an approach based on existing features, capabilities and architecture. Indicative example only
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S IDENTIFY ROUGH SLICES Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING Indicative Example - not factually correct Follow the ‘seams’ in the domain, recognising the various dimensions such as process, capabilities and architecture. ‘SPECIALS’ COMPLEX FORECASTING ‘ESSENTIALS’SOURCING
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S OVERLAY CONTEXT Indicative example only Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING ‘SPECIALS’ COMPLEX FORECASTING ‘ESSENTIALS’SOURCING
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S DISCARD ‘BAD’ SLICES Indicative Example - not factually correct Apply principles for good slices and discard inappropriate slices. Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING ‘SPECIALS’ COMPLEX FORECASTING ‘ESSENTIALS’SOURCING
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S SPLIT LARGE SLICES Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Indicative Example - not factually correct Make slices as small as possible while not compromising principles of a ‘good’ slice.
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S IDENTIFY OVER-ARCHING SLICES Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Indicative Example - not factually correct REPORTING RECONCILLIATION
Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Indicative Example - not factually correct REPORTING RECONCILLIATION S L I C I N G D O M A I N S BUILD SLICING ROADMAP Determine optimal slice-delivery order in light of project context.
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S SLICE PROFILE Indicative Example - not factually correct Dimensions that guide order for slice delivery. Slice a Slice b Reference Profile
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S BUILD SLICING ROADMAP Indicative Example - not factually correct Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Determine optimal slice-delivery order in light of project context. REPORTING RECONCILLIATION
S L I C I N G D O M A I N S BUILD SLICING ROADMAP 2 1 Indicative Example - not factually correct Apply principles for good slices and discard inappropriate slices. CATALOGUING END2END STEELTHREAD
B R O W N F I E L D I N C E P T I O N S IN A NUTSHELL ■ ■ S L I C I N G breaking it down D E - R I S K I N G think ‘value’ in terms of business AND delivery W E H A N D L E C O M P L E X I T Y B Y R E D U C I N G N O I S E ignorance is bliss, so ignore future slices ■
W H E R E D O E S T H A T L E A V E U S ? TL;DLISTEN K E E P I T S I M P L E REDUCE NOISE F O C U S O N V A L U E A N D R I S K BR EAD TH FIR ST, TH EN D EPTH D O T H E M I N I M U M BE LEAN T U R N I N F O R M A T I O N I N T O A C T I O N A B L E I N S I G H T MODEL B R E A K I T D O W N D EC ON STR U C T H A V E A G O A L A N D P L A N B U T W I N G I T BE FLEXIBLE
A N D R E A L L Y … IF YOU ARE NOT SCARED $***LESS AT SOME POINT YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG though if you are constantly scared you are doing it wrong either.
GETTING IN TOUCH M A R C E L B R I T S C H Contact: marcel.britsch@beautifulabstraction.com Web: www.beautifulabstraction.com Blog: www.thedigitalbusinessanalyst.com E Q U A L E X P E R T S L I C E N S E Digital Consulting, Business Analysis and Product Management Contact: hello@equalexperts.com Web: www.equalexperts.com Agile Software Delivery This document is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License THANK YOU
M A R C E L B R I T S C H Contact: marcel.britsch@beautifulabstraction.com Web: www.beautifulabstraction.com Blog: www.thedigitalbusinessanalyst.com L I C E N S E Digital Consulting, Business Analysis and Product Management This document is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License N O T E All information may have been changed in the interest of simplicity, illustration or confidentiality and may not represent the actual state of affairs.

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Inception Phases - Handling Complexity

  • 1.
    HANDLING COMPLEXITY M AR C E L B R I T S C H E Q U A L E X P E R T S Digital Consulting, Business Analysis and Product Management Agile Software Delivery A C A S E A N D O U T L I N E F O R L E A N I N C E P T I O N P H A S E S
  • 2.
    L E TM E M A K E A CASE FOR UP-FRONT ANALYSIS AND DESIGN ish
  • 3.
    O R BE T T E R A CASE FORA CASE FOR SOME UP-FRONT THINKING
  • 4.
    M O RE P R E C I S E L Y A CASE FORA CASE FOR LIGHTWEIGHT UP-FRONT THINKING
  • 5.
    P R OJ E C T S U C C E S S I S B A S E D O N SOLID FOUNDATIONS Being lean and agile does not mean we can compromise or ignore the bedrock our projects are build on. APPRECIATE THY CONTEXT E V E N E S P E C I A L L Y I N A N A G I L E W O R L D Y O U N E E D T O
  • 6.
    O N EK E Y C H A L L E N G E : P R O J E C T - D O M A I N S A R E COMPLICATED & COMPLEX The biggest challenge when starting something new is making sense of the complicated or even complex world our endeavour lives in. T H E C H A L L E N G E I S T O U N D E R S T A N D T H E D O M A I N Where are we? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? B U T B E F A S T & G E T I T R I G H T Avoid future impact of missed risks or opportunities
  • 7.
    W E HA N D L E C O M P L I C A T E D N E S S A N D C O M P L E X I T Y B Y MODELLING Modelling is the process of expressing information or circumstances so that insight emerges. info Modelling G O O D M O D E L L I N G I S L E A N & A C T I O N A B L E fast vs. de-risking focused & reducing noise goal driven & actionable Insight M O D E L L I N G I S A L L A B O U T S T R U C T U R I N G I N F O R M A T I O N identify parts identify relationships abstract
  • 8.
    M O RE O F T E N T H A N N O T B I G - D E S I G N - U P F R O N T I S T H E D E V I L B U T M I S G U I D E D A G I L E C A N L E A D U S A S T R A Y A S A N I N D U S T R Y W E S U C K A T A C T I O N A B L E M O D E L L I N G B U T W E A R E G E T T I N G B E T T E R M O D E L L I N G MAKE NO MISTAKE… I T ’ S A B O U T B A L A N C E T O B U I L D S O L I D F O N D A T I O N S I T ’ S A B O U T F O C U S O N P U R P O S E
  • 9.
    T H EA P P R O P R I A T E M I N I M U M A N D T H A T J U S T I N T I M E LAZY DOES IT Note that my ‘lazy’ may not be your ‘lazy’. RISK BE YOUR MEASURE
  • 10.
    S E CU R I T I E S L E N D I N G R E P O R T I N G P L A T F O R M INVESTMENT BANKING G R E E N F I E L D
  • 11.
    S E CU R I T I E S L E N D I N G THE PROJECT A reporting solution for a Securities Lending agent. Counterparty (Borrower) Client (Lender) Securities Lending Agent Securities Fee
  • 12.
    G R EE N F I E L D P R O J E C T I N C E P T I O N THE CHALLENGE Q U E S T I O N C A N W E D O I T ? Explicit: Is it possible? Implicit: What are we dealing with? C H A L L E N G E U N K N O W N D O M A I N Quickly develop sufficient understanding of the problem domain. G O A L C O N F I D E N C E Develop sufficient understanding of the domain to support high confidence feasibility assessment and planning. A P P R O A C H B R E A K I N G I T D O W N Break down or abstract complicated or complex areas sufficiently so that they can be reasoned about without distraction and confusion.
  • 13.
    Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) FeasibilityEstimation W H A T I S I T A L L A B O U T ? MODELLING THE BUSINESS DOMAIN Cross-discipline workshop using strategyzer.com Business Model Canvas
  • 14.
    W H AT I S I T A L L A B O U T ? MODELLING THE BUSINESS DOMAIN Business Model Canvas to reverse-engineer business & domain Business Model Canvas: www.strategzyer.com Indicative Example - not factually correct
  • 15.
    Glossary W H ER E D O W E W A N T T O B E ? VISION & OBJECTIVES Success Factors Vision Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
  • 16.
    Affinity Diagram ofcross-discipline success factors to define principles against which to judge our work W H A T D O E S S U C C E S S M E A N ? SUCCESS FACTORS Indicative Example - not factually correct
  • 17.
    W H AT A R E W E D O I N G ( S E L L I N G ) ? MODELLING TRANSACTIONS Trades (Process) Products Clients Success Factors Vision Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation Transaction Model and Prioritisation Matrix to understand the product and identify areas of value
  • 18.
    Counterparty (Borrower) Client (Lender) Securities Lending Agent Securities Collateral Fee ££ £ £ 1 2 3 4 56 MODELLINGTRANSACTIONS W H A T A R E W E D O I N G ( S E L L I N G ) ? Transaction Model and Prioritisation Matrix to understand the product and identify areas of value Indicative Example - not factually correct
  • 19.
    W H OA R E W E D E A L I N G W I T H ? IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS Trades (Process) Products Clients Success Factors Vision Business Model Stakeholders Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation Interest//Influence Stakeholder Map to understand how to engage with whom and why
  • 20.
    IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS Indicative Example- not factually correct W H O A R E W E D E A L I N G W I T H ? Interest//Influence Stakeholder Map to understand how to engage with whom and why
  • 21.
    W H OI S O U R T A R G E T A U D I E N C E A N D W H A T D O T H E Y E X P E C T ? Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Success Factors Vision Business Model Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation UNDERSTANDING USERS Use Cases Model, Needs/Gains/Pains, Personas & Requirements Hierarchy to identify and structure design requirements
  • 22.
    Indicative Example -not factually correct W H O I S O U R T A R G E T A U D I E N C E A N D W H A T D O T H E Y E X P E C T ? UNDERSTANDING USERS Use Cases Model, Needs/Gains/Pains, Personas & Requirements Hierarchy to identify and structure design requirements
  • 23.
    W H AT C A P A B I L I T I E S , C O N S T R A I N T S A N D C H A L L E N G E S A R E T H E R E ? UNDERSTANDING ARCHITECTURE Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Success Factors Vision Business Model Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation Context / System Model to understand system, people, data and events, and their relationships.
  • 24.
    API Gateway Trading System Aggregator TradingDB Custodian DB FX Service Custodian Sales / Client Services Trader Misc Reference Data Counterparty (Borrowers) Client (Lender) Authentication Scheduled Reports Reporting Website Agency Lender Project Domain Collateral / Securities Mgmt System Misc Reference Data Indicative Example - not factually correct W H A T C A P A B I L I T I E S , C O N S T R A I N T S A N D C H A L L E N G E S A R E T H E R E ? UNDERSTANDING ARCHITECTURE Context / System Model to understand system, people, data and events, and their relationships.
  • 25.
    B R IN G I N G I T T O G E T H E R PRIORITIES AND CHALLENGES Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Business Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
  • 26.
    W H AT D O E S T H A T M E A N I N R E A L I T Y ? PLAY A STORY A minimum (POC) type story that validates whether theoretically we can integrate and deploy to live is one of the most valuable indicators of the true state of affairs. View Trades As a trader I want to see a list of currently open trades so that I can get an overview of my trading position. Acceptance Criteria … Definition of Done • Integrated with LDAP and Trading System • Deployed to production
  • 27.
    H O WD O W E N E E D T O W O R K T O B E S U C C E S S F U L ? DEFINE WAYS OF WORKING Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations Business Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Ways of Working Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
  • 28.
    W H AT W O U L D A S O L U T I O N L O O K L I K E ? Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations FeaturesBusiness Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Ways of Working Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation DEVISE ‘FEATURES’ Wireframes, Visuals, Prototypes to explore and ultimately design the solution
  • 29.
    Indicative Example -not factually correct W H A T W O U L D A S O L U T I O N L O O K L I K E ? DEVISE ‘FEATURES’ Wireframes, Visuals, Prototypes to explore and ultimately design the solution
  • 30.
    T-Shirt Sizing, Value-CostMatrix, Prioritised Backlog, Roadmap to assess feasibility and create a ‘plan’ (roadmap) Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations FeaturesBusiness Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation C A N W E D O I T ? FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT & ROADMAPPING
  • 31.
    Indicative Example -not factually correct C A N W E D O I T ? FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT & ROADMAPPING T-Shirt Sizing, Value-Cost Matrix, Prioritised Backlog, Roadmap to assess feasibility and create a ‘plan’ (roadmap) Indicative Example - not factually corr
  • 32.
    H O WT O R U N A N INCEPTION PHASE Key activities conducted as part of inception phase. Glossary Users External Internal Trades (Process) Products Clients Needs & Expectations FeaturesBusiness Priorities Success Factors Vision Business Model Ways of Working Stakeholders Technology Data Architecture Process & Constraints Risks and Challenges Roadmap (Strategy) Feasibility Estimation
  • 33.
    G R EE N F I E L D I N C E P T I O N S IN A NUTSHELL ■ ■ K E E P I N G I T T O P L E V E L work breadth over depth R E D U C I N G N O I S E prioritise relevant areas, analyse > conclude > move on W E H A N D L E C O M P L E X I T Y B Y M O D E L L I N G use tools and techniques that turn information into insight ■ B E I N G F O C U S E D know your goal, work towards it ■
  • 34.
    R E TA I L S U P P L Y C H A I N T O O L I N G RETAIL B R O O K F I E L D
  • 35.
    R E TA I L S U P P L Y C H A I N T O O L I N G THE PROJECT How the business envisaged it… Cataloguing Demand Forecasting Production Planning Allocation Distribution Sales Reporting Product Management System ERP System Reporting Suite Indicative example only
  • 36.
    R E TA I L S U P P L Y C H A I N T O O L I N G THE PROJECT What it morphed into… Indicative example only
  • 37.
    B R OW N F I E L D P R O J E C T I N C E P T I O N THE CHALLENGE C H A L L E N G E 1 UNKNOWN DOMAIN Quickly develop sufficient understanding of the problem domain. ✓ C H A L L E N G E 2 CONFIRMATION BIAS Consider business realities but don’t repeat history. ✓ C H A L L E N G E 3 DIS-ENTANGLEMENT Decompose into manageable bits. !
  • 38.
    W E DI S E N T A N G L E C O M P L E X D O M A I N S B Y SLICING Slices are sufficiently isolated and small parts of a system so that we can ignore everything else and deal with the slice without distraction. Valuable Cohesive and decoupled Follow the ‘seams’ in the domain but be mindful of Conway’s law Are simple but not simplistic Facilitate and de-risk delivery R U L E S F O R GOOD SLICES
  • 39.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S WHY CAN’T WE BUILD IN AN AFTERNOON? Posing this question to relevant subject matter experts and stakeholders will not only make it clear to everyone why we need to slice the system and approach deliver incrementally but more specifically will lead to insight regarding key areas of the problem and inform how we slice. W H E R E I S U N C E R T A I N T Y ? Where should we expect change? ■ ■ ■ W H E R E I S T H E R I S K ? Where do we need to be careful? ■ W H Y I S I T B I G ? What makes this big and how big are we talking? W H E R E I S T H E V A L U E I N I T ? Which parts are the important ones? W H E R E I S I T C O M P L I C A T E D ? Where should we expect challenges? ■
  • 40.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S DIMENSIONS Key Features Breadth Depth
  • 41.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S MODEL THE DOMAIN While we generally should consider a user-centric approach when modelling to-be domains, where we are dealing with existing systems we may want to adopt an approach based on existing features, capabilities and architecture. Indicative example only
  • 42.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S IDENTIFY ROUGH SLICES Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING Indicative Example - not factually correct Follow the ‘seams’ in the domain, recognising the various dimensions such as process, capabilities and architecture. ‘SPECIALS’ COMPLEX FORECASTING ‘ESSENTIALS’SOURCING
  • 43.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S OVERLAY CONTEXT Indicative example only Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING ‘SPECIALS’ COMPLEX FORECASTING ‘ESSENTIALS’SOURCING
  • 44.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S DISCARD ‘BAD’ SLICES Indicative Example - not factually correct Apply principles for good slices and discard inappropriate slices. Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING ‘SPECIALS’ COMPLEX FORECASTING ‘ESSENTIALS’SOURCING
  • 45.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S SPLIT LARGE SLICES Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Indicative Example - not factually correct Make slices as small as possible while not compromising principles of a ‘good’ slice.
  • 46.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S IDENTIFY OVER-ARCHING SLICES Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Indicative Example - not factually correct REPORTING RECONCILLIATION
  • 47.
    Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNINGSELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Indicative Example - not factually correct REPORTING RECONCILLIATION S L I C I N G D O M A I N S BUILD SLICING ROADMAP Determine optimal slice-delivery order in light of project context.
  • 48.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S SLICE PROFILE Indicative Example - not factually correct Dimensions that guide order for slice delivery. Slice a Slice b Reference Profile
  • 49.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S BUILD SLICING ROADMAP Indicative Example - not factually correct Iterate Iterate Iterate CATALOGUING FORECASTING STORE ALLOCATION ORDERINGSEASON PLANNING SALES PLANNING SELLING MARKDOWN PLANNING COMPLEXPREDICTION WEIGHTEDALLOCATION Determine optimal slice-delivery order in light of project context. REPORTING RECONCILLIATION
  • 50.
    S L IC I N G D O M A I N S BUILD SLICING ROADMAP 2 1 Indicative Example - not factually correct Apply principles for good slices and discard inappropriate slices. CATALOGUING END2END STEELTHREAD
  • 51.
    B R OW N F I E L D I N C E P T I O N S IN A NUTSHELL ■ ■ S L I C I N G breaking it down D E - R I S K I N G think ‘value’ in terms of business AND delivery W E H A N D L E C O M P L E X I T Y B Y R E D U C I N G N O I S E ignorance is bliss, so ignore future slices ■
  • 52.
    W H ER E D O E S T H A T L E A V E U S ? TL;DLISTEN K E E P I T S I M P L E REDUCE NOISE F O C U S O N V A L U E A N D R I S K BR EAD TH FIR ST, TH EN D EPTH D O T H E M I N I M U M BE LEAN T U R N I N F O R M A T I O N I N T O A C T I O N A B L E I N S I G H T MODEL B R E A K I T D O W N D EC ON STR U C T H A V E A G O A L A N D P L A N B U T W I N G I T BE FLEXIBLE
  • 53.
    A N DR E A L L Y … IF YOU ARE NOT SCARED $***LESS AT SOME POINT YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG though if you are constantly scared you are doing it wrong either.
  • 54.
    GETTING IN TOUCH MA R C E L B R I T S C H Contact: marcel.britsch@beautifulabstraction.com Web: www.beautifulabstraction.com Blog: www.thedigitalbusinessanalyst.com E Q U A L E X P E R T S L I C E N S E Digital Consulting, Business Analysis and Product Management Contact: hello@equalexperts.com Web: www.equalexperts.com Agile Software Delivery This document is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License THANK YOU
  • 55.
    M A RC E L B R I T S C H Contact: marcel.britsch@beautifulabstraction.com Web: www.beautifulabstraction.com Blog: www.thedigitalbusinessanalyst.com L I C E N S E Digital Consulting, Business Analysis and Product Management This document is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License N O T E All information may have been changed in the interest of simplicity, illustration or confidentiality and may not represent the actual state of affairs.