The System Builder Drives IT Agility

A recent experience further reinforces my belief that there is one central person who is key to making IT agility happen. That person is the “system builder”. I’ve just finished a 30-Day Blitz with a team of developers at a company and in this case that central person was a manager and senior developer on the client’s IT staff. I coached him on how to employ his talents to fill the role of system builder. He was already good and he caught on fast; the business people really liked the system he and his team delivered.

Successful system builders all have some traits in common. They all understand the specific business issues their system is supposed to address and they find simple and effective ways to use technology to get things done. They are also competent in the six core techniques and they display high levels of skill in five other areas that relate to designing systems and running projects. Using these talents, they become the totally committed, driving force that provides the leadership that makes their projects successful.

Usually the system builder comes up through the technical ranks and learns about business. Sometimes this person comes up through the business side and learns about technology. Either way, the systems builder is a person who can clearly demonstrate talent in five areas. There are other areas where talent is good, but without talent in these five areas, a person cannot succeed as a system builder.

1) Understand the Business Operation – The systems builder needs a good grasp of the concepts and rules that guide the business operation. This means knowing how the operation fits into the overall business, how the work of the operation is performed, and what the cost and profit factors are.

2) Create an Inclusive Process – System builders must be able to consistently produce competent (and sometimes even brilliant) designs in spite of high levels of complexity in both business and technology. Complexity looses much of its power to intimidate and confuse if groups of people with the appropriate skills and experience are brought together in a collaborative process where they pool their collective insights. The systems builder is the one who orchestrates this process.

3) Tolerate Not Knowing – It is an act of real discipline to immerse yourself in the details of a situation and resist the temptation to rush to judgment. Because of the complexity inherent in most situations, it is unlikely that a great system design will be the first one or even the second one that comes to mind. The systems builder keeps an open mind and encourages others on the project to do the same as they investigate the issues.

4) Look for the Simple Underlying Patterns – This is the creative leap where investigation and analysis give way to synthesis and the design emerges. At first you are assailed by the surface complexity of the situation and all the potential technology that could be used. Keep an open mind, generate a range of possible solutions, work with them, and some profoundly simple and yet very useful insights will emerge.

5) Use Simple Combinations of Technology and Process – Beware of the cleverness trap. Cleverness means complexity and complex designs are very hard to build. Strive to create system designs that display an elegant simplicity. Use as few technology components as possible and use each component for what it does best. Use these components to support streamlined workflow processes that will achieve

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