Getting%20to%20Product%20Lessons-learned%20on%20how%20to%20develop%20and%20position%20a%20software%20product-line%20architecture%20for%20long-term%20success%20%20Jim%20Wilson,%20CTO - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Getting%20to%20Product%20Lessons-learned%20on%20how%20to%20develop%20and%20position%20a%20software%20product-line%20architecture%20for%20long-term%20success%20%20Jim%20Wilson,%20CTO

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Title: Getting%20to%20Product%20Lessons-learned%20on%20how%20to%20develop%20and%20position%20a%20software%20product-line%20architecture%20for%20long-term%20success%20%20Jim%20Wilson,%20CTO


1
Getting to ProductLessons-learned on how to
develop and position a software product-line
architecture for long-term successJim Wilson,
CTO
MD ColdFusion Users Group November 14, 2000
2
Overview
  • Welcome! VRAPS authors
  • Dave Dikel (lead author) Senior Architect, SRA
  • Dave Kane Directory of Technology, SRA
  • Jim Wilson (speaker) CTO, Cyberserv
  • Also, Don Bellenger, Cyberservs VP of Products
  • Key Elements for Getting to Product
  • Concept and value proposition
  • Doing the right thing with the right technology
    XML/WDDX, JS, ColdFusion
  • Making it happen again and again software
    product line architecture
  • Marketing and positioning something to sell,
    someone to sell, someone to sell it to, and
    someone to support it
  • Making it right for the long-term Software
    Architecture Organizational Principles and
    Patterns

3
Scope Style
  • This is an informal presentation based
    primarily on the speakers work to bring a
    ColdFusion product-line to market
  • Our book is much more rigorous and formal e.g.,
    it can be used as a textbook, contains formal
    case studies, experience from large-scale
    organizations like HP Lucent, provides
    benchmark tools
  • We would like to learn about other folks most
    pressing problems, and think about them feel
    free to ask questions
  • Also, our book is coming out next month well
    be doing many more talks, and wed like to learn
    from you how we can make our presentations more
    valuable

4
Handouts
  • This Presentation
  • IEEE Computer Applying Software Product-Line
    Architecture
  • Software Architecture Organizational Principles
    and Patterns Galley Proofs (Preface)
  • Current Analysis Cyberserv Mid-tier Companies
    Can be More Cyber
  • Other marketing stuff

5
Value Proposition
  • Cyberserv experience
  • You need to set a vision that aligns with your
    internal capabilities and customer needs
  • Cyberserv worked at this hard and sometimes
    painfully
  • We were a phone company
  • We were an Oracle consulting house
  • We were building an early ColdFusion product
  • At the end of the day, really working hard to
    learn about our marketplace, technical abilities
    and our customers was key to forming a vision
    that works

6
Elevator Speech
  • Simple Version
  • beCyber is a help desk on steroids for the
    knowledge worker.
  • Complex version
  • beCyber is Cyberservs enterprise relationship
    management (ERM) software for complex,
    multi-level work environments
  • beCyber supports the real-world work of the
    knowledge worker within and across functional and
    organizational boundaries
  • beCyber models relationships and supports
    information transactions, end-to-end, across the
    value chain
  • How does beCyber do this?
  • beCyber provides multi-level client, project,
    subproject, task, action, and event modeling
    the frequently disorganized tree of information
    and work in a project or a collection of projects
  • beCyber relates rich, Web-centered content to
    these relationships content includes information
    about people, documents, threaded discussions,
    calendars, projects and tasks, and knowledge
    bases

7
Getting to Product
  • In Getting to Product, we
  • Created and evolved an architecture and family of
    applications
  • Brought beCyber to Alpha and through a series of
    Betas and early lives
  • Hired a PR firm and executed a marketing strategy
  • Held internal messaging and media workshops
  • Screamed about our company and beCyber
  • Took Cyberserv and beCyber to industry analysts
    and the press
  • We refined our message and asked questions all
    the way
  • This resulted in articles, referrals etc.
  • Started taking orders
  • sold to Bank of America, Financial Times, AIA,
    Case

8
Architecture What?
  • Formally, software architecture is a collection
    of components, connections among components, and
    constraints governing those connections
  • Informally, software architecture is the clear
    structure that defines a product and that is
    consistently shared among and used by developers
    to develop products
  • Generally, the more products an architecture can
    support, the more valuable the architecture
  • A good way to think about an architecture is that
    it is a shared platform for doing work.

9
Architecture Why?
  • Reduces complexity Architecture tends to
    enforce desired behaviors and solve really useful
    (but often difficult) problems
  • Is shared it lets other people contribute
  • Lets you focus on what you do best you can buy
    and/or integrate the rest
  • Speeds time-to-market its there, its
    reusable, you can keep perfecting it, without
    building from the ground-up
  • Reduces need for collateral, documentation,
    training, etc.
  • Can establish a barrier to entry something you
    can build upon that competitors cannot match
  • Architectures that are long-lived deliver
    increasing value over time
  • Architecture captures and memorializes
    intellectual capital

10
beCyber Architecture
  • SQL/SQLServer and Oracle for data
  • XML/WDDX for data transport between client and
    server, and for server-to-server syndication
  • ColdFusion for server side logic
  • JavaScript for client processing
  • HTML/DHTML for client appearance
  • WAP/WML in progress as is Java

11
Customer-centric Architecture
12
beCyber MyPage
13
Future
  • Broader Application and Data Syndication
  • Support for Coordination of Events and Data among
    Distributed Instances of beCyber e.g., Denver
    customer support and RTP RD
  • Workflow Extensions
  • Routing of Content and Tasks to Distributed
    Knowledge Workers
  • Additional Platforms
  • Extended PDA, WAP Interfaces to MyPage
  • Back-office Integration Fuel Packs
  • Flash UI e.g., look at http//www.cyberserv.com/
    cyber-flash/portfolio.html 

14
Ask the Analysts
  • Analyst Road Show(s)
  • Gartner, Jupiter, Hurwitz, Current Analysis,
    Aberdeen, Yankee, Meta
  • We learned a lot we posed very specific
    questions of analysis I.e., whats most
    important about our offering?
  • True web-built architecture (not just Web
    Enabled)
  • Delivers a high level of business process
    transparency
  • Ideal for ASP deployment under private label
  • Rapid deployment, easy on the culture, affordable
  • Integrated CSS, project collaboration, personal
    portal (MyPage) and e-Marketing apps
  • eCRM solutions and technical e-support under one
    roof
  • Value proposition based on concurrent user model
    and OEM option
  • Senior staff expertise in both CRM and Help desk
  • Vertical industry CRM expertise and strategy in
    niche markets
  • Results
  • Invaluable positioning information advice we
    could not buy
  • Several analyst quotes/articles, articles in
    trade press

15
Long-term glue
Background long-term experience with SA
Observations at Bell Canada/BNR Hypothesis
Grounded Research Advisors Software
Architecture Benchmark
16
Book Key Features
  • Model and framework correlation with other work
    in software architecture and organizational
    behavior
  • 5 Principle Chapters (VRAPS)
  • Definition, Description
  • Criteria Patterns and Antipatterns
  • Real-world experience HP, ATT, Microsoft,
    Lucent, Andersen Consulting, dot-com start-ups
  • The Allaire Case Study
  • Benchmark Chapter Tools you can use to measure
  • Extensive references
  • Available December 2000 (Prentice-Hall, ISBN
    0-13-029032-7)

17
VRAPS Principles
  • Vision (Chapter 3) the mapping of future value
    to architectural constraints as measured by how
    well the architectures structures and goals are
    clear, compelling, congruent, and flexible.
  • Rhythm (Chapter 4) the recurring, predictable
    exchange of work products within an architecture
    group and across their customers and suppliers.
  • Anticipation (Chapter 5) the extent to which
    those who build and implement the architecture
    predict, validate, and adapt the architecture to
    changing technology, competition, and customer
    needs.
  • Partnering (Chapter 6) the extent to which
    architecture stakeholders maintain clear,
    cooperative roles and maximize the value they
    deliver and receive.
  • Simplification (Chapter 7) the intelligent
    clarification and minimization of both
    architecture and the organizational environment
    in which it functions.

18
Vision.Overview
  • Definition Vision is the mapping of future
    value to architectural constraints as measured by
    how well the architectures structures and goals
    are clear, compelling, congruent, and flexible.
  • How Dean Thompson (HP/Agilent)
  • Articulate a compelling customer value clearly
    and concisely
  • Map the value to a small set of specific,
    solvable problems
  • Translate these problems into a minimal set of
    constraints
  • Vision Challenges
  • Limits of Architect Influence
  • Executive and Architect Cooperation
  • Product Lines Increase the Challenges to
    Architects and Architects
  • Case Study
  • Allaire We learned of this behavior at Allaire
    ColdFusion identified and solved a clear
    problem within a minimal set of constraints,
    getting data to the Web using a server-side
    mark-up language.
  • J.J. Allaire (founder, Allaire) said There is
    a magical balance between structure and function.
    A vision exists that is implicit in the behavior
    of many individuals at Allaire. We work on
    identifying what that vision is, culling out what
    is happening, and identifying the implications of
    strategy on our product line. We work to cull
    out what customers do, what they want, what they
    need, to make our vision effective.

19
Vision.Criteria
  • Criterion 1 The architect's vision aligns with
    what his or her sponsors, users and end customers
    are trying to accomplish
  • Antipattern ANTIGRAVITY MODULE
  • Pattern FRONT-END ALIGNMENT
  • Criterion 2 Practioners trust and use the
    architecture
  • Antipattern TREND SURFER
  • Pattern GENERATIVE VISION
  • Criterion 3 Tacit knowledge about architecture
    and components is visible and accessible to users
  • Antipattern FOLLOWING ORDERS
  • Pattern ROTATION

20
www.cyberserv.com Information?Email
jwilson_at_cyberserv.com
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