I know all technical articles these days are supposed to be about artificial intelligence, but I think many organizations are still working to modernize their application development lifecycles.  I was going through my file archives this weekend and came across an old graphic I used often, and it made me reflect.  Having spent over 30…

I just finished falling down the rabbit hole of QR codes.  I had no idea the power these things had.  Honestly, I thought all they did was point to websites, but they can do so much more than open a restaurant menu on your phone.  This article is about my journey of learning and discovering…

I have worked on many software development projects where I was asked to do a technical review.  During the review, I would find holes in their technical architecture.  For example, the security model was not fully built out or the business continuity plan was not defined.  When I would raise these issues the development team…

Years back I worked with a top-notch Project Manager.  He was more business-centric than technical but he led technical projects.  We worked on a few large projects together, he as the Project Manager and me as the Solution Architect.  One was a large consumer-facing custom application and the other was the implementation of the E-commerce…

I have been using the same architectural principles for solution design for years, always is cheap and sometimes is expensive.  I am amazed at some of the different reactions I get from IT professionals when they first hear me say it and I do say it a lot.  For the most part, the response is…

As Enterprise Architects our job is to focus on understanding the “As Is” and building transition plans to get to the “To Be”.  But I always like to remind people don’t forget the “What Was”.  We can learn from our past experiences if we do the due diligence to track our change in a managed…

Early on in my career, I was introduced to business capability modeling. This technique helps an organization identify its capabilities. It focuses on what the business does rather than how it does it. Capabilities help abstract the “how” away and define the needed capabilities of what the company does to deliver value. In this way,…

How we position ourselves in conversations can have an impact on how we are able to move the conversation along. A few years back my company was designing a website for a local insurance company. The daughter of the owner, Samantha had joined the firm and was helping us get the site functional. My Graphic…

Introduction We can benefit from a structured process when implementing change in the Enterprise.  We need to define the work and what artifacts we need to ensure a successful transition.  In keeping with my primary motto, always is cheap and sometimes is expensive, I have built a solution design model that can benefit any team…

Crypto currency has been a hot topic in the news again with the rise in prices for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin.  We have also seen Non-fungible tokens or NFTs get a lot of attention in the press.  Both items utilize the same underlying technology called blockchain.  So, what is a blockchain and what value does…