What is Solution Design about?

Solution Design…

What does a typical Solution Architect’s skill profile look like?

Designing solutions requires individuals to expand capability in diverse skills.   To adapt a concept from Scott G. Isaksen and Donald J. Treffinger, Solution design requires a combination of “divergent and convergent” thinking.  “Divergent thinking is an effort to search to stretch out thinking, and to consider many possibilities and directions.  Convergent thinking is an effort to screen, select, or choose the most important or promising possibilities, closing in on one or a few items”. 

Is it possible to find sufficient coverage and capability in the skills within one individual?

On a quick glance, it would be clear that one cannot expect all these skills to be available within one individual.    I have been part of the system for the last 7 years, and I have seen a significant shift in general availability of this skill base as well as the comprehension of this skillset’s role in success of an organisation.  More and more individuals who are at a critical point of their career where they are mired by pro-con analysis of career directions (to be a manager or to be an architect and remain on the technical side) are getting drawn to this role as a potential career path. 

How have organisations coped with these needs until now without having dedidated / focussed individuals?

Until recently, organisations have pulled together different sets of individuals and through frequent associations (trial and error) established working relationships such that a collective intelligence of the team is created that delivers the skill coverage necessary for appropriate solution design.  While this is a tried and tested approach, today’s economic situation in the world demands individuals to contribute more, optimise the head-count, leverage multi-talented resources.    Individuals are expected to push boundaries of capabilities further than what was considered possible just few years ago.  Gone are the days when individuals remain content carrying out routine tasks or aspire to work on a “support” project that has a definite timeline and content associated with work. 

Often resources who execute this role are, to use a metaphor, food grains between two grinding stones (viz. sales and delivery) who have the resilience to ensure that both the stones retain their strengths at the same time not crush the grain itself.

Solution Architects are Consultants.

 

…more to come in here.