Make a Strong Business Case
2015-09-05 09:09
295 查看

AS A SoFTWARE ARCHiTECT, have you had a hard time getting your archi- tecture project well funded? The benefits of software architecture are obvious for architects, but are mythical for many stakeholders. Mass psychology tells us that “seeing is believing” is the strongest belief for most people. At the early phase of the projects, however, there is little to demonstrate to convince stake- holders of the value of sound software architecture. It’s even more challenging in the nonsoftware industries where most stakeholders have little software- engineering knowledge.
Mass psychology also shows that most people believe in “perception is reality.” Therefore, if you can control how people perceive the architectural approach you propose, it’s virtually guaranteed that you can control how they will react to your proposal. How can you mange stakeholders’ perceptions? Make a strong business case for your architecture. People who have the budget authority to sponsor your ideas are almost always business-driven.
I have employed the following five steps to generate solid business cases to suc- cessfully sell my architectural approach many times in my career:
1. Establish the value proposition. The value proposition is your execu- tive summary of why your organization’s business warrants a particular software architecture. The key for this is to compare your architectural approach with existing solutions or other alternatives. The focus should be put on its capability to increase the productivity and efficiency of the business rather than how brilliant the technologies are.

2. Build metrics to quantify. The values you promise to deliver need to be quantified to a reasonable extent. The more you measure, the more you can bolster your case that sound architecture will lead to a substantial return. The earlier you establish metrics, the better you manage people’s perceptions that help you sell responsible architecture.
3. Link back to traditional business measures. It would be ideal if you can translate your technical analysis into dollar figures. After all, the only con- stant parameter in the traditional business measures is money. Find busi- ness analysts as your partners if you are not comfortable with financial work.
4. Know where to stop. Before you know where to stop, you need to prepare a roadmap that captures a vision with each milestone on it tied directly to business values. Let the stakeholders decide where to stop. If the business value for each momentum is significant, you’re most likely to get contin- ued funding.
5. Find the right timing. Even if you follow the previous four steps to generate a solid business case, you still may not be able to sell your ideas if you pick the bad timing. I remember one of my proposals did not get approved for a long time until another project turned out to be a total failure because of poor architectural design. Be smart on timing.
Make a Strong Business Case
Yi ZhouAS A SoFTWARE ARCHiTECT, have you had a hard time getting your archi- tecture project well funded? The benefits of software architecture are obvious for architects, but are mythical for many stakeholders. Mass psychology tells us that “seeing is believing” is the strongest belief for most people. At the early phase of the projects, however, there is little to demonstrate to convince stake- holders of the value of sound software architecture. It’s even more challenging in the nonsoftware industries where most stakeholders have little software- engineering knowledge.
Mass psychology also shows that most people believe in “perception is reality.” Therefore, if you can control how people perceive the architectural approach you propose, it’s virtually guaranteed that you can control how they will react to your proposal. How can you mange stakeholders’ perceptions? Make a strong business case for your architecture. People who have the budget authority to sponsor your ideas are almost always business-driven.
I have employed the following five steps to generate solid business cases to suc- cessfully sell my architectural approach many times in my career:
1. Establish the value proposition. The value proposition is your execu- tive summary of why your organization’s business warrants a particular software architecture. The key for this is to compare your architectural approach with existing solutions or other alternatives. The focus should be put on its capability to increase the productivity and efficiency of the business rather than how brilliant the technologies are.

2. Build metrics to quantify. The values you promise to deliver need to be quantified to a reasonable extent. The more you measure, the more you can bolster your case that sound architecture will lead to a substantial return. The earlier you establish metrics, the better you manage people’s perceptions that help you sell responsible architecture.
3. Link back to traditional business measures. It would be ideal if you can translate your technical analysis into dollar figures. After all, the only con- stant parameter in the traditional business measures is money. Find busi- ness analysts as your partners if you are not comfortable with financial work.
4. Know where to stop. Before you know where to stop, you need to prepare a roadmap that captures a vision with each milestone on it tied directly to business values. Let the stakeholders decide where to stop. If the business value for each momentum is significant, you’re most likely to get contin- ued funding.
5. Find the right timing. Even if you follow the previous four steps to generate a solid business case, you still may not be able to sell your ideas if you pick the bad timing. I remember one of my proposals did not get approved for a long time until another project turned out to be a total failure because of poor architectural design. Be smart on timing.
相关文章推荐
- Dialog 调用getWindows()函数进行系统设置 背光问题
- 如何面对客户评价Oracle EBS界面难看,不符合操作习惯
- 查看某个路径文件夹下是否有文件
- std::map
- Linux 常用命令
- 嵌入式linux之hotplug_uevent驱动(热拔插)
- java并发编程第六章(9)使用原子数组
- 逻辑地址到物理地址的转换
- 代理模式之cglib动态代理
- Android中activity间数据传递方式
- POJ2230 Watchcow(欧拉回路 + dfs)
- 设计模式(九)外观模式Facade(结构型)
- HDU 5240 Exam
- [转] Mybatis 示例之 SelectKey
- [Embeded--SW_分层]C代码分层
- 剑指offer之丑数
- HDU 5237 Base64
- CSS教程:div设置float后高度不自动增加
- CSS选择器
- 微软公布最新Win10 Insider会员数量 已突破700万