Here's how you can effectively manage expectations with your boss for system architecture projects.

Break down the project into manageable phases and set achievable milestones. Be honest about what can be accomplished within given timeframes.

IT genauso wie IT Architektur hat niemals einen Selbstzweck, sondern den klaren Auftrag, das Business bei der Erfüllung seiner Ziele zu unterstützen. Damit leitet sich die Unternehmensarchitektur immer aus der Business Strategie ab, die durch eine IT Strategie realisiert und gestützt wird. Die Unternehmensarchitektur verwirklicht die IT Strategie und zahlt auf diese ein. Auch die Anwendungsarchitektur, Daten und Infrastruktur sind in ihren Anforderungen immer Ableitungen aus den Anforderungen der Business Strategie. Stehen Anforderungen einzelner Fachbereiche im Widerspruch zur Business Strategie und somit der IT Strategie, so ist es auch Aufgabe des Architekten, diesen Widerspruch transparent zu machen. IT ohne Business gibt es nicht

Mina lyckade projekt har börjat med en förståelse kring dagens affärsprocess (informationsflöde), med fokus på varför vissa delar i den är viktigare än andra. Nästa steg har varit att utröna hur dagens process förhåller sig till verksamhetens vision för den samma. Min erfarenhet har visat att genom en god förståelse av visionens riktning minskas risken för att bygga in sig i en IT-arkitektur som kan vara kostsamt att ta sig ur. En annan,enligt mig, viktig del är de icke-funktionella kraven. Min erfarenhet har påvisat att verksamhetens aktiva deltagande, när dessa grundförutsättningar definieras, är avgörande för att lösningen ska bli stödjande istället för belastande.

One thing I have found useful is prior involvement in goal setting steps can make a system architect more effective in order to meet them.

Understanding your boss's goals is essential for aligning the system architecture project with both technical and business objectives. Engage in discussions to grasp these goals, ensuring that your design meets the strategic vision and technical needs. This alignment facilitates setting realistic milestones and satisfying expectations. In our recent project, we initially missed some of our boss's strategic goals due to focusing solely on technical aspects. After a follow-up meeting, we realigned our approach to incorporate business outcomes, which led to a more cohesive and successful project outcome.

Breaking down activities and accurately estimating resources links goals with feasible outputs, allowing for clear communication with your manager. Potential concerns can be addressed proactively by discussing feasibility early on and providing alternatives. This technique not only improves project clarity, but it also fosters trust and alignment throughout the architectural process.

Once the goals have been set, the next stage is to plan realistically. Break the system architecture project into achievable activities, and estimate the time and resources needed for each. Be honest with your manager about what you can accomplish within the limits. If certain goals are not achievable, explore alternatives or tradeoffs early on. A transparent planning approach helps to avoid misunderstandings and provides a clear roadmap for you and your manager to follow. This technique builds trust and keeps the project on pace.

It may also be helpful during the planning process to discuss and understand potential trade offs - for example complexity or feature set versus cost and execution time.

Welche Systeme neu entwickelt, welche eingekauft oder welche Open-Source-Lösungen in Betracht gezogen werden, sowie die Verwaltung der Softwarekomponenten, beeinflussen maßgeblich die Kosten und den Wartungsaufwand. Unabhängig davon, welche Software Sie erwerben, sind Kaufentscheidungen für Onlineshop-Systeme oder ERP-Systeme besonders kritisch. Hierbei spielen neben den Anschaffungskosten auch die langfristigen Wartungs- und Integrationskosten eine zentrale Rolle. Ein sorgfältiges Abwägen der Vor- und Nachteile der verschiedenen Optionen ist unerlässlich, um eine optimale und kosteneffiziente Lösung auf dem höchsten Sicherheitsstandard zu gewährleisten.

Ensure that tasks not directly related to coding are included in the plan. Setting up infrastructure, deployment pipelines, and backups, as well as documenting APIs, load testing, and creating unit tests, all require significant time and are often overlooked in the estimation and budgeting process.

While building a project - Communication is the backbone of the whole process. ✨ Doing it - Clear, Conscious, and Frequent is as important as building the product, itself. ✌️ You may ask, How to do it, without breaking the pace? My Experience: ⌚ 1. Setting up a Quick Sync call of 15 mins (Max) thrice weekly. ⏳ 2. If needed, a more intense discussion - a follow-up meeting later that day, might do the trick. 🙏 4. Meeting Right: Start with the Agenda and End with Action Items. 📚 5. Monthly Demo, And Bi-weekly Email Update to keep the business happy and everyone informed. 🎯 6. Raise, Red Flags as early as possible. 🚩

Regular communication with your boss, but also with the cross-functional team is vital for success. This should include both written and oral communication. The old adage "a picture speaks a thousand words" is still true here.

Regular communication with your manager is essential during the system architecture activity. Give frequent reports on progress, problems, and variations from the original plan. When explaining technical topics, use simple words and make sure that any modifications are fully understood. This constant discussion promotes trust and enables for prompt actions when expectations begin to differ from reality. Consistent communication promotes alignment and creates a collaborative environment in which both sides are informed and involved.

Regular updates and feedback loops 🔄 keep everyone aligned and aware of progress and potential issues. Clear communication 🗣️channels allow for the prompt identification and resolution of misunderstandings or changing requirements. By facilitating transparency and accountability, effective communication helps manage expectations and maintain focus on the defined project scope. 🎯

Die Analyse, die Anforderungs- und Designbesprechungen sowie das kontinuierliche Feedback erlaubt die richtige Einbindung der Unternehmensführung in die Entstehung der Anwendungs- und IT-Architektur und hilft dabei Fehler und/oder Schwächen schnell zu eliminieren.

Flexibility is vital in system architecture projects since needs and technologies might change. When changes arise, discuss them with your manager right once and offer recommendations for how to continue. Describe the influence on the project's timeframe, money, and outcomes. Being flexible and willing to change plans indicates your dedication to achieving the greatest potential outcome while effectively managing expectations. This proactive approach not only solves problems promptly but it also boosts your manager's confidence in your ability to negotiate complexity.

Flexibility is essential in system architecture, as change is inevitable. When shifts happen, communicate promptly with your boss, presenting options and their impact on the project's timeline, budget, and outcomes. This transparency builds trust and showcases your ability to navigate through uncertainties. Prioritize system architecture resiliency—the ability to adapt and recover from disruptions—as a paramount principle. By embracing change and proactively offering solutions, you demonstrate a commitment to delivering the best possible result, even when facing unexpected challenges.

Jede IT-Architektur ist die realistische und maximal mögliche Abbildung von IT, des zuvor festgelegten Rahmens für diese IT in einem spezifischen Unternehmens und ist damit ein Unikat und somit die richtige IT für dieses Unternehmen.

Eine flexible IT-Architektur mit API-Schnittstellen auf dem neuesten Standard ermöglicht geringe Wartungskosten und eine einfache Erweiterbarkeit. Entscheidend ist dabei, welche API-Schnittstellen pro Transaktion Kosten verursachen oder ob kostenlose Schnittstellen ohne Transaktionsgebühren verfügbar sind. Durch sorgfältige Auswahl und Integration der richtigen APIs kann die Effizienz gesteigert und gleichzeitig die Kostenkontrolle gewährleistet werden.

This is where tracking those changes, as I mentioned in a prior step, can save the day. If there's one constant in life, it's change. Therefore, if you can remember why you made a decision and/or why you changed your mind about a decision and/or why a given architectural design was changed, you are more likely to avoid making mistakes during delivery or when a new change requires you to revisit parts of the plan. Institutional knowledge is a thing, and capturing that institutional knowledge effectively is a skill. Flexibility is enabled by having confidence in the decisions you have to make when accommodating a change request. You can't be confident about your decisions witout preparation. Set yourself up for success by documenting!

As a distributed software architect, effectively managing expectations with your boss on system architecture projects is crucial for success. Clearly communicating technical challenges, aligning on realistic timelines, and providing proactive insights are essential steps. Transparency and ongoing alignment help build trust and ensure project goals are achieved efficiently. #SystemArchitecture #ExpectationManagement #SoftwareDevelopment

Be a good story teller. Particularly when interfacing with non-technicans, it's important to give real world examples that help them to build a mental model about the pros and cons of particular decisions. When system architectures are complex, and particularly when they involve distributed systems (as almost all systems are today), there can be emergent behaviors that are sometimes surprising or hard to predict. This in and of itself can lead to challenges in managing expectations. I find that it's very helpful to share your experiences, both good and bad, with your boss and other stakeholders, so that they've heard about potential ways that problems may arise during complex projects. This sets up successful conflict resolution.

Nuestra pedagogía a la hora de explicar al stakeholder es fundamental. Debemos recordar que para llegar al objetivo de darle una solución a nuestro Stakeholder es importante que se sienta cómodo durante el proceso y nunca esté confundido o perdido. Hagamos el mejor esfuerzo por hacer entendible, agradable y hasta divertido el proceso manteniéndolo simple.

Agreed. Your boss can be a non-digital or non-technical manager. I have worked in both environments with non-digital managers and with managers whom were Enterprise Architects with the most granular infrastructure knowledge and this topic is in alignment with challenges faced when working in technology. Technology management topics discuss the perceived usefulness of technology and how depending on how it is used can alter the perception of its usefulness. Whether to select a support contract, what tier of support to select, whether an L6-30R receptacle is required in a network room to accommodate additional equipment, and IT regulatory requirements. These are some challenges that are faced that we have to educate on for project success.

Lessons learned activities are a must to enable continuous improvement. These lessons learnt shall be gathered from all the team members, and they shall be tracked to see how they are implementes in the future

Dentro de uma equipe, dúvidas e dificuldades não são iguais entre todos. Verifique com quem contrubuiu para atingir aquela meta qual foi a dificuldade e o aprendizado . Isso pode ajudar a compreender onde cada um pode evoluir ou ajudar outro em uma próxima etapa.

Importante ter visão sistêmica do projeto. Avalie todas informações pertinentes. Considere: - Objetivo(s), prazo, recursos, metas, indicadores. - escopo premissas e não escopo premissas. - Stackholders, você e seu chefe são parte. Tendo isso em mente, execute as etapas de gerenciamento de projetos, entregando artefatos que auxiliem ao seu chefe a gerenciar as suas próprias expectativas. Entregue ou acorde - TAP - Plano de comunicação, risco, aquisições, qualidade, segurança. - EAP - Gráfico de Gantt - outros Recomento utilizar PDCA durante o ciclo de vida do projeto. Através de comunicação objetiva, todos os stackholders ficarão satisfeitos e poderão gerenciar as suas expectativas com base em informações periódicas ou real time.

Also you need to make sure they understand the underlying costs, I have always used this sentence to communicate this part: “everything is possible but let’s find out how much and when” then I proceed with a realistic breakdown with highlights on the high cost items and providing alternatives when possible. This open communication approach usually helps to identify the high priority parts and ditching some items with lower business value.

Fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation within your team is paramount. It's about proactively seeking out new technologies and best practices, encouraging experimentation, and viewing failures as learning opportunities. This not only builds resilience but also positions your team at the forefront of innovation, ensuring your system architecture remains cutting-edge and makes your boss a super fun and happy to work with!