Maximizing Business Impact: Shaping Software During System Definition
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Understanding the Core Part
- Building a Business Case
- Adopting a Product Mindset
- Anticipating Future Changes
- Separating Business Problems from Technical Concerns
- Integrating with Legacy Systems
- Creating a Domain Model
- Best Practices for Creating a Domain Model
- Shaping Business Impact through Software
Introduction
In this article series, we will discuss the best practices to achieve business impact through software. In this particular video, we will focus on the importance of the system definition stage in a project and how it can lead to significant business outcomes.
Understanding the Core Part
Every application has certain parts that are more important than others. These core parts are what give a company a competitive edge. However, identifying the core part is not always obvious. It requires a deep understanding of the application and its criticality for success. Through collaboration between business specialists and technical experts, a shared understanding can be developed, which can then be captured in the form of a system model called the domain model.
Building a Business Case
To demonstrate the ROI of the software, it is necessary to build a business case around the value of the core part. This business case should be socialized with software sponsors to validate its significance and create long-term support for the software. If there is no consensus on the business criticality of the identified core part, the focus should be on minimizing features, efforts, and costs of the software to allow for quick learning and validation of ideas.
Adopting a Product Mindset
When approaching the core part of the application, it is important to shift from a project mindset to a product mindset. This means giving constant care and attention to the core part, allowing it to evolve and improve with time. It is essential to avoid being obsessive about perfection in the first iteration and instead focus on iterative improvements until the core part cannot be enriched anymore.
Anticipating Future Changes
The core part of the application is bound to change over time as the understanding of the problem space evolves. It is crucial to leave room for future changes when defining the requirements. By concentrating all efforts on solving the business problems and avoiding mixing them with technical concerns, such as security or audit trails, the core part can be protected from imperfections.
Separating Business Problems from Technical Concerns
Integration with legacy systems can often pose challenges. It is important to plan and put clean boundaries around legacy systems to prevent any imperfections from spreading to new areas of the application. By separating business problems from technical concerns, the core part can remain focused and deliver the expected value.
Integrating with Legacy Systems
When working with a legacy system or integrating with one, it is recommended to avoid fixing issues in the legacy codebase. This prevents distractions from the actual goal and saves time. The domain model, which represents the complex logic and policies in the problem space, should remain free of technical complexities and purely focus on the business problems being solved by the software.
Creating a Domain Model
The domain model is a powerful tool for evaluating the business impact and vision for the software. It captures the shared understanding of the problem space and guides the implementation. The model should be communicated using business terminology and concepts, ensuring consensus between business and technical experts.
Best Practices for Creating a Domain Model
To create an effective domain model, spend an equal amount of time in the problem space as in the solution space. Refine the problem space iteratively to understand the stakeholders' true intent and avoid wasting time on unnecessary needs. Use a context map to divide the problem space into different parts and sub-models, clearly defining boundaries and contact points. Focus on the complex and critical parts of the core and engage with specialists to build a deep understanding of the business and operations. Communicate the model using the business terminology and ensure that all stakeholders have a shared mental model.
Shaping Business Impact through Software
In this video, we have discussed how to shape business impact through software by focusing on the core parts and expressing the software as a simple domain model. In the next video, we will explore how to create business impact post-release of a software.
Thank you for watching!
🌟 Highlights
- Understanding the importance of the core part in software applications
- Building a business case around the value of the core part
- Adopting a product mindset to allow the core part to evolve and improve
- Anticipating future changes by leaving room for iteration and exploration
- Separating business problems from technical concerns in integration with legacy systems
- Creating an effective domain model to capture the shared understanding of the problem space
- Best practices for creating a domain model
FAQ
Q: Why is it important to focus on the core part of the application?
A: The core part gives the company a competitive edge and delivers the value that the business expects.
Q: How can a domain model help in shaping business impact?
A: The domain model represents the complex logic and policies in the problem space and guides the implementation, ensuring the software solves various business use cases effectively.
Q: What is the benefit of adopting a product mindset?
A: Adopting a product mindset allows for constant care and attention to the core part, leading to better evolution and improvement over time.
Q: How can the business case be validated and supported?
A: The business case should be socialized with software sponsors to validate its significance and create long-term support for the software.
Q: What should be the approach when integrating with legacy systems?
A: It is recommended to put clean boundaries around legacy systems to prevent imperfections from spreading and affecting the core part of the application.
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