Stay tuned for a new series a new website. http://PragmaticFlex.com is coming soon.

There are tons of architects out there today. It seems when you’ve spent enough time as a developer, you end up becoming an architect.  Architecture is not just the next step in a developers career. There are whole new disciplines and methodologies applicable to architecture. That said here are the common levels of architecture.

Enterprise Architecture (planner)

Enterprise architecture is a high level field that concentrates on how the various domains or subject areas interact. This layer spends even more time focusing on how technology will be utilized in the future, and governing how it is used today. Enterprise architects work to create technology roadmaps and work with the business to plan for the implementation. Enterprise architects create technology projects. It is at this layer where frameworks like TOGAF and taxonomies like Zachman come into play. This layer view the enterprise as a holistic entity.

Solution Architecture (designer)

A solution is an answer to a question. The question in this case is typically an IT project. The solution architect’s primary objective is to design a solution that meets the projects requirements and also falls in line with the domain and enterprise architecture guidelines. The solution architect is responsible for coordinating with multiple domain architects to design the most appropriate solution. A solution architect may interact with domain architects in infrastructure, web services, data management, and so on. During the course of the project a solution architect will typically create many work products either for communicating the solution to a governance board, to explain the implantation to a developer and various other uses. These work products are eventually owned by the domain architect as codified knowledge of the system after the project implementation.

Domain Architecture (owner)

A domain is an area of focus. Domain architects are primarily focused on maintain a specific area of technology or a specific application. These architects are the owners and gatekeepers for a specific area. The work in this area is primarily concerned with the current state of the system. These architects are charged with managing the knowledge for their area. These architects are also responsible for keeping up to date on future projects related to the domain and guiding the designs to meet the overall objectives of the domain. A successful domain architect will know that a future project will require x functionality. When an active project is debating between two possible implementations, the domain architect will be able to guide solution toward the best of the two solutions that meet the future goals.

Application or System Architecture(builder)

The application or system architect is primarily focused on the implementation at hand. This is the most detailed level of architecture. An application architect, for instance, would be concerned with the most appropriate design pattern to use in a certain programming situations. These tend to evolve from the most advance developers and engineers. The primary focus here is to implement the best solution for a specific task. Work products that may be produced during this layer are primarily used to communicate to the developers or implementers. In many co-located environments a lead developer often fills this role and very few work products are actually produced. Instead the team may utilized whiteboards or code stubs to communicate the implementation. For larger more dispersed projects, or for outsourced solutions, the application or system architect has a more demanding role for providing detailed implantation instructions. 

Conclusion

The various layers of architecture are not meant to be isolated entities. In most situations one architect will fill multiple roles at various levels. Each layer has a unique focus. Understanding the layers helps clarify responsibilities, activates and deliverables. From a career development standpoint individuals can use the layers as the basis for a personal gap analysis and learning plan.

I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments.

Best of luck in all your endeavors.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of offshore teams on various projects. While very challenging these relationships can indeed be valuable. So how do you make the most of these partnerships? Here are a few observations.

Language

The most challenging piece of an offshore partnership is the language differences. While most business people around the world speak English, it will typically be a British version and/or be accompanied by a heavy accent. This all becomes more difficult when trying to communicate on a conference call with a choppy reception and the other end sounding like they’re in an auditorium.

How to deal with it. There is no good answer here. Two approaches seem to help, first have someone onsite to act as a translator. This is typically someone from the same vendor, who has been assigned onsite. Ultimately though you need to become accustom to the language, this only comes with time. Surround yourself with people who speak the language. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t understand. When on the phone be sure you’re able to concentrate on the call with little background noise or distractions. Overtime the accents will become more understandable and the language gaps will be clearer.

Communication

Surprisingly talking does not equal communication. When dealing with any remote team, clear communication is critical. To frequently conference calls are stressful and where in a normal situation you would ask for more information, on a call you may feel it’s too difficult and you’ll just send an email. Conference calls are critical for a project. Don’t let them go to waste. Ask questions be sure that your question was understood correctly. I’ve found it’s difficult to get participation from an offshore team on a conference call. Typically one individual will do all the talking. Work to get more than yes and no answers and more participation from the whole team. Also in these calls try to encourage conversation outside the simple status updates, you might find out important information.

Beyond the conference call its important to follow up with a clear recap of what occurred on the call. This helps make sure everyone on the call is on the same page and all action items are assigned. With any remote team, following the activates between discussions is difficult. Use email frequently. Insist on a formal agenda and meeting minutes. Clarify action items and blocking issues. If a blocking issue does arise take care of it immediately.

Culture

There are significant culture differences that come into play when dealing with international vendors. These culture differences are stem from national/ethnic traits, to corporate/vendor culture. There are traits that surface simply due to the continued relocation of team members.

My experience has been that Indians don’t tend to question authority.  I’m not saying challenge authority, but rather look for clarification and understanding. What seems to happen is that individuals will take a message from a higher-up or client that may not be clear, and instead of working with the source to understand it, they will go to their peers to help understand the message. While this may work in some situations, often times it takes much longer to get the right information. When this works the best is when there are a series of mentors available to the offshore team. A series of experienced individuals various team members can turn to. To help this process, try to keep one vendor and one team as long as possible. Inevitably the vendor will swap out resources on you but hopefully you can hang on to a few key resources that can fill this mentor role. When working one-on-one with an offshore resource be sure you have been understood clearly, ask them to repeat what needs to be done, not simply do you understand.

Working culture. These guys work hard, really really hard. They work nights and weekends, often they work far from their families. Even in India they will travel to different cities to work in  central location for a client. It is so important to realize these guys a working really hard for you. Take time to make that personal connection with them (if they let you). Get to know your offshore team by name. Express your gratitude to them individually for their effort. A note about working habits, since these folks don’t technically work for you, they may not tell you when they’re going on vacation. Ask regularly when upcoming holidays are and what vacations are planned so you don’t end up with a skeleton crew right before a huge deployment. If you have on site resources realize when they take vacation it’s typically for a month so they can get back to India.

Conclusion

Offshore and outsource projects can be highly effective if leaders take the time to consider the variety of challenges the show up in these situations. Communication is always a critical component of any business initiative. In an offshore model communication is more important than ever. Leaders are dealing time zone changes, language differences, and cultural differences. All these challenges can be overcome with increased and clear communication.

What I want, When I want it, How I want it

That’s how to grow your business these days. Give people what they want when they want it and how they want it. This really isn’t a new thing in business, after all isn’t that the basis of fast food? The difference is this trend is moving to almost every element of life. The culture in business is changing from a world where we all attend meeting at the same place and time to one where decisions are made with people in different locations and contributions coming at different times of the day. Phone calls have been replaced by emails and text messages. This is all old news.

Business need to continue adapting to these changes. The success of iTunes music store is a prime example. Rather than purchasing an album full of music I don’t want just to get a single song I do, I can buy just the one song. Newspapers are feeling the strain as well. The challenge newspapers face is not the transfer to a digital medium, rather its the fact that people only want to see what they’re interested in. Why flip through 3/4 of the newspaper searching for the 1/4 of content I want to read. Look now to the video industry. Yes Tivo ushered in the ability to watch what I want when I want, oh and by the way skipping all those money making ads. Look further though and we see that stores like Blockbuster are suffering because it’s easier to go to my mailbox than a store. Its easier to stream Netflix movies than go to my mailbox. Look at Hulu, where its easier to watch an missed TV episode than try to record a rerun.

How will companies take advantage of selective satisfaction in the future? The magazine industry, led by Time, is looking to roll out a Hulu like online magazine distribution system. Cable companies are offering Video On Demand. Yet how do we deal with the money aspects of all this.

There are a couple of industries that still need to pick up on these new trends. The radio and advertising industries haven’t picked up on all this yet. Why isn’t there a RaDo for an audio version of TiVo. Advertising, too many times I’ve heard or seen and ad that actually peaked my interest but I had to act now to review more details. Why not allow me to have an option to review later. Let me click a button on a web page that adds the info to a folder I can review later, or hit a button on the radio to tag the ad as interesting so I can check it out when I have time. 

The world is spoiled. Rather than force customers to work your way, how are you transforming your business to provide what they want, when they want and how they want.

An effective way to prepare a presentation is to begin with a clear understanding of the purpose of the presentation. Generally there are three main types of presentation, each with a different goal. Depending on which type you’re targeting, your content and focus may change.

Discussion Presentation

The primary goal of a discussion presentation is to gather input and feedback from the audience. Discussion presentations are most effective when one or more discussion questions are clearly defined and communicated to the audience. Supporting background information is typically provided to provide context before opening up for discussion. A typical audience for a discussion presentation would include subject matter experts and other core individuals. Multiple discussion presentations may occur in order to include all facets and aspects of a discussion. For example an initial discussion may present a challenge and solicit possible options. A second discussion may present the proposed solution to all impacted parties to solicit feedback from those individuals.

Inform Presentation

Informational presentations are typically geared to larger more general audiences. The focus of an informational presentation is more “matter of fact” in nature, discussing the facts of a situation. Presentations of the Inform type don’t typically ask questions of the audience. Ideally those questions that do surface would look to clarify points within the presentation. Inform presentations can also be thought of as training presentations. The objective is to communicate information clearly from one group to another.

Approval Presentation

Once various alternatives have been considered and evaluated, the Approval presentation provides the opportunity to explain the problem and proposed solution for acceptance by leadership or governing entities before moving forward. Effective approval presentations typically frame the problem, as well as process that led to the solution. With the objective of this presentation type concluding with a yes or no decision, all efforts should be made to answer potential questions well before the actual presentation. This type of presentation should avoid debates about the correct way to accomplish something. Those discussions should occur before this in discussion presentations. The result of those debates and discussion should be summarized in the approval presentation.
Effective approval presentations provide a clear explanation of the problem faced, summary of findings and options reviewed, as well as a brief overview of the steps taken that led to the proposed solution. Most importantly the presentation should clearly communicate what the audience is being asked to approve. At the conclusion of the presentation the audience should have a solid understanding of their task at hand and information required to accomplish the task and approve or deny the proposal.

Conclusion

Regardless of your situation, beginning with a clear understanding of your objective is critical for achieving success, and presentations are no exception. Clearly identifying your presentation type enables you to guide and focus the discussion to meet the real objectives of your presentation. Utilizing the Discuss, Approve, and Inform concepts will help you succeed in your future presentations.

Dropbox is a file synchronization service available for multiple platforms. The service offers free accounts that allow up to 2GB of storage space. For those of you needing more, upgrade plans are available. The clients are light weight and run in the background.

One of the nice features of the system is the file monitoring kicks off the sync on every save. The process Is very quick because the system transfers only the file changes rather than the whole file.

This is all great but the feature that won me over is the new iPhone app that allows access to all the files in your sync folder. Photos, word docs, PDFs and more are all available through this app.

Contrasting the app to other tools such as DataViz’ Documents To Go  and box.net, Dropbox provides most the the same features better and cheaper. Honestly I found Documents To Go to cumbersome and expensive. The sync mechanism requires the iphone to be on the same wireless network as the host system. Additionally all the documents are downloaded to the iPhone, thus taking up space. Dropbox is internet based allowing you to access your documents regardless of network access method and loading only the document you’re interested in. Box.net does provided some of the same features as Dropbox but lacked the seamless file system integration. When I reviewed box.net the process required you to upload the documents manually to the server to be shared. While there is webdav integration, there was no local copy for off-line use. Dropbox manages the synchronization of files between computers behind the scenes providing local copies for offline use. 

I’m impressed with Dropbox’s seamless and cost effective sync solution. Check it our for yourself.

Christopher Grant is a Technology Leader in Columbus OH with and MBA and over 12 years experience focusing in the Internet and Architecture fields. Christopher is currently employed as a Sr. Technical Architect for Gap Inc Direct. His work with businesses in a wide variety of industries and varying sizes demonstrates his adaptability and versatility. He is classified as INJT on the Myers-Briggs topology. Christopher combines his business background, leadership qualities and comprehensive knowledge of technology to provide organizations with successful long-term strategies and exacting tactical execution.

This blog provides a venue for discussing various topics from business, technology, and whatever else may arise. Please feel free to contact with any questions or comments.

Linkedin

WordPress

Twitter

Facebook

Google

good reads

The word architect, and architecture are thrown around a lot and are frequently misused. There a frameworks, methodologies, classifications that get into extreme detail on what architecture is.  Understanding what architecture means is valuable to excel in a current architect role or for use in career planning and development. The following distills a variety of sources such as Zachman and TOGAF into a more pragmatic summary of architecture.

Architecture (noun)

Units of technology have defined sets of architectural elements. These elements can be applied at any level from a macro / enterprise perspective, down to the view of a simple utility. All technology units contain the following architectural elements.

• Scope Vision Mission Purpose
• Business Process and Models
• Information Architecture (Applications)
• Technologies
• Operation

Architecture (verb)

The practice of architecture is applied with multiple perspectives. Each perspective takes into account the elements from the others, yet has a unique focus and function.

• Enterprise Architecture
  • Strategy & Direction
    • Mission / Vision
  • Guidance & Governance
    • Architectural Principles
    • Architectural Processes
• Domain Architecture
  • Knowledge Management
  • Run Time / Operation
• Solution Architecture
  • Tactical
  • Project

Importance of conflict resolution strategies

Successful teams (and families) are the amalgamation of many different individuals into a cohesive unit. With this variety of personalities it is critical that team leaders understand how to effectively manage conflicts. While some may argue the best solution is prevention, others believe conflict is inevitable and can be healthy for a team. Regardless of philosophy successful teams will, at some point, be confronted with conflict within the group. “Conflicts are part of individual relationships and organizational development, and no relationship or organization can hope to mature to productivity and be successful without being able to resolve conflicts effectively” (Cottringer, 1997).

Facilitating conflict resolution is a skill all team leaders should understand. Various processes exist to manage these events and all forms the facilitator and team members must agree on the means for resolution. “In order for a team to be successful, it is essential that members know the basics of conflict resolution, delegation, and consensus building” (Convey, 1994). When the team members are unclear on the process or unable to implement an agreed upon resolution process, additional conflicts can arise from the mediation. One of the first steps, when brining a team together, is defining the team charter. It is within this charter that the process for conflict resolution should be noted. Additionally team members should be educated in the basics of the mediation process. With this foundational knowledge the team can effectively work through conflicts as they arise.

Sources of conflict

The sources of conflict can be as varied as the individuals within the team. These sources can range from working style to personalities conflicts. Understanding the various sources of conflict enables the leader to work through the resolution process more effectively. For example, in a large organization nearby, a project team was experiencing a series of conflicts. Analysis of the sources indicated misunderstandings on what the problems were that the team was actually facing. A few individuals stated the team produced poor quality work while others stated the work was not being completed on time. As this team discussed the conflict a second source became evident. The organization and team had conflicting understanding of the goals the team was striving toward. Significant pressure was being placed on quantity while the core team was attempting to work on the quality of the solution. Even where the overall goals were agreed upon, there were additional conflicts regarding the on the strategies and tactics to achieve those goals. What we see on the surface of a conflict is only the tip of the iceberg (McDaniel & Carstarphen, Solving Conflicts – Building Trust!, 2004). Leaders and team members need to dig in and understand the true sources of the conflict in order to devise the appropriate solution. Approaching a conflict with partial information may result in a solution that address only part of the problem or maybe none at all.

The Conflict-Concerns-Goals-Actions (CCGA) Process

Various processes exist that enable the team to gain the required understanding of the conflict. Most successful processes follow a standard flow of conflict identification, understanding the various concerns, clarifying the goals, and identifying possible actions (McDaniel, Conflict to Cooperation, 2005). This flow is called the CCGA process, for Conflict, Concerns, Goals, Actions. “The value of the CCGA process is that it “short circuits” our tendency to simply jump from our personal understanding of the conflict directly into a solution before considering other worthy factors.” (McDaniel & Carstarphen, 2004).

The first stage of this process is agreeing on what the conflict is. This process accomplishes two key elements, first it calls out the fact that there is a conflict within the team and it clarifies what the conflict is. With the team members in agreement on the issue, the group can move on to the second phase, Concerns. In this second stage the facilitator work to uncover the issues and motivations that are driving the conflict from each party. This process requires the team have a level of trust to begin with. In the concerns phase the team members begin to use that trust when discussing their concerns. As the concerns are raised a variety of emotions can flood the discussion. The facilitator and team need to be able to trust each other enough and communicate effectively to work through this process. Once the individual’s concerns are understood, the group can move to clarifying the goals. In the third stage the team answers the question “what are we trying to accomplish”. Clarifying the objectives sets a flag for the team to use as a guide when determining a course of action. With the goals understood the team is now free to move on to discuss possible actions for resolving the conflict. While named CCGA, there is an additional “C” which truly enables the whole process. This process relies heavily on communication. The success of this process comes from the communication abilities of those involved. Being able to trust and communicate through the discussion without attacking or withdrawing is critical to successful resolution. These qualities need to be exhibited by both the facilitator, and team members.

Conclusion

“As a team leader, one must realize the paradox that surrounds conflict. The team needs to embrace conflict as a means of generating and evaluating ideas. While at the same time, it must shy away from it to prevent anger, frustration, or alienation. The biggest challenge for the team leader is figuring out how to balance these two forces” (Brockmann, 1996) Utilizing a standard process for conflict resolution provides the team with a basis for trust in discussing issues. Working through this process enables the team to understand all the elements creating the friction as well. The CCGA process also helps the team work through solutions that address not only the conflict itself but the underlying concerns the team members have. Working with the human side of teams can be difficult, but it can also be rewarding. Following an agreed upon process such as the CCGA enable teams to work through issues ranging from lunch plans to even the most emotionally charge conflicts, through a defined communication process.

References

Brockmann, E. (1996). Removing the paradox of conflict from group decisions. Academy of Management Executive , Vol 10 (Issue 2), p 61-62.

Convey, S. (1994). Performance measurement in cross-functional teams. CMA Magazine , Vol 68(Issue 8), p 13-15.

Cottringer, W. (1997). Conflict Management. Executive Excellence Magazine , Vol 14 (Issue 8), p 6.

McDaniel, G. (2005). Conflict to Cooperation. Austin: 1st World Library.

McDaniel, G., & Carstarphen, M. (2004, Apr). Solving Conflicts – Building Trust! Retrieved Jan 30, 2009, from Texasnonprofits: http://www.txnp.org/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=1482

Townsley, C. A. (2008). Resolving Conflict in Work Teams. Retrieved January 30, 2009, from Team Building Directory: http://www.innovativeteambuilding.co.uk/pages/articles/conflicts.htm

I’ve had a problem with Google Calendar Sync for awhile. While trying to sync my work outlook account to my google calendar account the process seemed to only sync the appointments and not the meetings. I’ve tried multiple things over time to no avail. Today however I found a fix.

Apparently Google Sync needs to resolve the names it finds on your meetings. To do this it tries to access the address list, but does not look in all your sources. So when JohnDoe@mycomany.com sends me an invite Google Sync tries to find Joe in my address book. The problem is Joe is in the company book not my local copy. Since my address book is first in the list, Google doesn’t find Joe there and errors out, thus leaving the invite unsynced.

To resolve this you need to set your global address book as the first source for address resolution. In Outlook 2007 go to Tools > Address Book > Tools > Options. Update your outlook settings so the Global list is first. Restart outlook, and perform a Sync. Voila! All your meetings and invites are now loading into Google Calendar

For more details on this fix please check out: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Calendar/thread?tid=3f87a989c560e850&hl=en

Best of luck, let me know if it worked for you.