Stasis
A while ago, I was presented with a “solution” document. It started with an complex block diagram of a set of inter-related applications with a brief description of each below. This was followed by a description of the technical implementation of the “presentation layer” followed by “business logic layer”, etc. The problem statement was a bit “loose”. It stated, “we need to be more agile when redeploying our sales force to address changes in the market”.
My response was to suggest that we should create the story of business change. Within that overarching business story there will be an IT story. Both stories will show that we understand:
- the problem that we have today
- how we define successfully overcoming the problem
- the imperative for change (why now?)
- the key decisions that we need to take and who needs to take them
- the major steps on the way.
Trigger
At this point I am uneasy because I’m not sure whether I have made myself clear. Do they “get it”? Do they understand what an architectural story is?
Yes, everyone is highly qualified and has certifications. But I’m not sure if they have the hard won experience of previous transformations. The rough journeys that my grey hairs are testament to.
Can they convince the approvals boards and funding committees to turn their work into reality? Can they communicate the business imperative to acting now?
The Quest
The team had the beginning of the “quest” – to make the sales teams more agile. And that was good enough for them to start shaping a programme.
They needed to illustrate the reality of frustration in the sales teams, of missing targets, of lost revenue, of following opportunities into new markets rather than creating them.
They needed to back up this emotional story with a set of figures. How much revenue and profit was lost? How many top performers from the sales team moved to competitors?
Pixar are master story tellers, their “22 rules of storytelling” are well worth a look.
Surprise
Why tell a story?
Story telling helps people cope with change. It removes fear, it makes the complex simple, it persuades and it creates a vivid picture of the future.
What is a story?
When an architect is presenting a solution or a strategy, this is selling, the message needs to resonate emotionally. Only then do the facts become relevant.
Tension
A defining aspect of a good story is that there is tension. There is conflict, there is a level of discomfort that keeps the audience engaged. This is a defining aspect of strategy. There is typically a stress between long term and short term goals, between local agendas and the corporate direction, between the strategic and tactical, between different parts of the organisation. There are conflicts and constraints to be managed. Trade-offs need to be made
Critical Choices
How should I tell a story?
Stories shouldn’t be just a string of events mashed together, they must have a structure. There a number of standard story structures. Using a familiar structure means that the audience are more likely to follow the story.
How should I structure my story?
The 3 act structure is possibly most well known story structure. What is the Three Act Structure? How do we use the structure and plot to build a story?
In the first act we find out what the problem is. We identify the main characters and what conflict there is. This is where we paint the picture of the the current situation. We recognise there is a better way – what success looks like. This is where we recognise there is an imperative to change – why now?
In the second act, the complexity of the problem is presented. This is where we get to the causes of the problems and the near impossibility of resolution. We need to make critical decisions to move forward or accept defeat. We start to identify possible solutions – routes to value.
In the final act, we make key decisions to reach our goal. We make a plan and follow it to a successful conclusion. We make the difficult decisions. We make compromises or stick to principles. We develop a roadmap, we develop a delivery plan and we govern it through to achieve success.
Climax
But this isn’t enough, is it?
We need something with more depth. This is where Nigel Watts’ Eight-Point Story Arc comes in. It adds enough details to the story structure so that we can construct a story arc for architecture. This structure can be used as a checklist to ensure that a story is complete.
Reversal
The 8 points, with an architecture interpretation, are:
- Stasis – The current situation.
- Trigger – Why now? What is the trigger event that means that we should act now? What is the imperative to change at this point?
- The quest – These are the problems with the current state that need to be addressed. What is our motivation to change?
- Surprise – This is where we determine the goals to be met by the change. We may wish to solve the problems or we may wish to go further.
- Critical choice – What are the key decisions that need to be made to achieve the goals? What compromises do we make to achieve “good enough”? This is where we define our options for change. We define the change impacts and the decision principles that we will apply in making a decision.
- Climax - This is the big decision. We commit to a way forward. We commit with the resources necessary to get there. A change owner talks meaningful accountability to execute the change.
- Reversal – We reverse the problems and create an better future through a roadmap of coherent actions.
- Resolution – The better future.
Resolution
I presented a diagram to a CIO some years ago. He said “They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, tell me the words”.
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