How to make better modernization decisions

When attempting to modernize an existing system, you need to build up an understanding of how the business works and the complexities of the existing system in order to answer questions such as:

Where do we start?
What are the pain points and risks associated with the existing system?
How can we incrementally modernize the system?
It often involves working with different teams, different services that fulfill the capability to the user and understanding the current state so we have a place to start.

In this talk, I’ll share with you some of the methods I’ve been using such as Service Blueprints, Wardley Mapping, Architecture/Product Decision Tracking Framework to get buy-in collaboratively.

Transcript

1. A call to an adventure
2. Some parts are challenging, has many constraints
3. Reaching each milestone is forward progress
4. Monserate Mountain Elevation Gain : 421m Length: 6.6km
5. Mt Baldy via Devil’s Backbone Trail Elevation Gain : 670m Length: 12km (the easy way!) Starting Elevation: 2380m Southridge Trail to Tahquitz Peak Elevation Gain : 932m Length: 12.6km Starting Elevation: 1966m Mt Whitney Trail Elevation Gain : 2026m Length: 33.6km Starting Elevation: 2400m Photo by Donna Elliot on Unsplash
6. EVERY MODERNIZATION PROJECT IS DIFFERENT Understanding the landscape and the different needs of stakeholders and users is important to succeed
7. Indu Alagarsamy How to make better modernization decisions
8. Can we simply rewrite our Systems? MODERNIZING THE SYSTEM Photo by Sora Shimazaki on pexels.com
10. … usually don’t have happy endings Big Bang Rewrites
11. … usually don’t have happy endings Big Bang Rewrites WHAT HAPPENED? We didn’t prioritize what our users needed.
12. A different approach to modernization API Integration Points ✨Modernized user experience ✨
13. For over 170 years, the New York Times has been seeking the truth and helping people understand the world. Our journalism covers the complex
 human experience — from everyday life to the extraordinary to the unimaginable.
14. our systems
15. reading the paper solving wordle cooking together our users
16. ⚙ 💖 Reduce complexity in our systems for newspaper and digital subscriptions Improve experiences for both our developer teams and end users
17. Wardley Mapping The process of making strategic decisions based on the purpose, a description of the competitive landscape, the external forces acting on the landscape, and the training of your people. (learnwardleymapping.com) MAKE STRATEGIC DECISIONS STRATEGY
18. Everything evolves… or it dies 🪦☠ Newspaper delivery Early digital content Publishing on nytimes.com Digital subscriptions introduced Expansion of products
19. If your existing system cannot change
 with the pace of the market…
 Ultimately, you’re not going to
 compete in the market.
20. Everything evolves… or it dies 🪦☠ Value chain User NYT Subscriber Delivery Fulfillment Component / Services used in Fulfillment Capabilities & Dependencies User Needs Have the newspaper delivered to their home
21. Surprising, exciting STAGE I
 Genesis Leading edge, competitive advantage STAGE II
 Custom Disappointing if not in use, feature-rich STAGE III
 Product Expected, just the cost of doing business STAGE IV
 Commodity Delivery Fulfillment Is this Business Capability a business differentiator?
22. Surprising, exciting STAGE I
 Genesis Leading edge, competitive advantage STAGE II
 Custom Disappointing if not in use, feature-rich STAGE III
 Product Expected, just the cost of doing business STAGE IV
 Commodity Delivery Fulfillment Is this Business Capability a business differentiator?
23. Surprising, exciting STAGE I
 Genesis Leading edge, competitive advantage STAGE II
 Custom Disappointing if not in use, feature-rich STAGE III
 Product Expected, just the cost of doing business STAGE IV
 Commodity Delivery Fulfillment Is this Business Capability a business differentiator?
24. Surprising, exciting STAGE I
 Genesis Leading edge, competitive advantage STAGE II
 Custom Disappointing if not in use, feature-rich STAGE III
 Product Expected, just the cost of doing business STAGE IV
 Commodity Delivery Fulfillment Is this Business Capability a business differentiator?
25. Disappointing if not in use, feature-rich STAGE III
 Product Expected, just the cost of doing business STAGE IV
 Commodity Should we build or buy? Surprising, exciting STAGE I
 Genesis Leading edge, competitive advantage STAGE II
 Custom BUILD Delivery Fulfillment
26. Surprising, exciting STAGE I
 Genesis Leading edge, competitive advantage STAGE II
 Custom Should we build or buy? Disappointing if not in use, feature-rich STAGE III
 Product Expected, just the cost of doing business STAGE IV
 Commodity BUY Delivery Fulfillment
27. Stakeholder & User Research FIND THE GAPS PROCESS
28. 1⃣ Questions & Assumptions 2⃣ Stakeholder Mapping 3⃣ Guided Stakeholder Interviews 4⃣ Analysis with ORID A STRUCTURED USER RESEARCH APPROACH
29. Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Questions & Assumptions
 
 A team workshop that draws out shared knowledge gaps by getting major questions and assumptions out in the open to reduce bias. WORKSHOP
30. Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Stakeholder Mapping
 
 Identity, analyze and prioritize your most important users to understand their influence and why, to prepare for discussions. EXERCISE
31. Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Guided Stakeholder Interviews
 
 Repeatable sessions based on a research plan, where session formats are shaped around specific research questions and learning goals. INTERVIEWS
32. A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID
33. Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH
34. Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Analysis with ORID
 
 ORID is a facilitation and inquiry framework that can be applied to analysis to build insights and conclusions in an unbiased way. SYNTHESIS
35. A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID Objective What did we see, hear, and learn? 👀 Extract observations in a structured way. Reflective Interpretive Decisional
36. A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID Objective What did we see, hear, and learn? 👀 Extract observations in a structured way. Reflective Do we understand what we’ve learned? 🤔 What’s unclear, new or surprising? Interpretive Decisional
37. A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID Objective What did we see, hear, and learn? 👀 Extract observations in a structured way. Reflective Do we understand what we’ve learned? 🤔 What’s unclear, new or surprising? Interpretive What does this mean for us? 🧠 Identify common themes, needs, challenges Decisional
38. A STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROACH Questions & Assumptions ➡ Stakeholder Mapping ➡ Guided Stakeholder Interviews ➡ Analysis with ORID Objective What did we see, hear, and learn? 👀 Extract observations in a structured way. Reflective Do we understand what we’ve learned? 🤔 What’s unclear, new or surprising? Interpretive What does this mean for us? 🧠 Identify common themes, needs, challenges Decisional What’s next? Document ✍ How has our current understanding and scope of responsibilities evolved? What do we prioritize?
39. Questions & Assumptions Workshop A team workshop that draws out shared knowledge gaps by getting major questions and assumptions out in the open to reduce bias. Stakeholder Mapping Identity, analyze and prioritize your most important users to understand their influence and why, to prepare for discussions. Analysis with ORID
 ORID is a facilitation and inquiry framework that can be used for analysis to build insights and conclusions in an unbiased way. Guided Stakeholder Interviews
 Repeatable sessions based on a research plan, where session formats are shaped around specific research questions and learning goals. We must anchor the priorities
 of the system and our modernization strategy directly in the pain of our users.
40. Service Blueprinting A service blueprint visualizes the relationships between different service components: people, props, and processes tied to touch-points in a customer journey. MAP THE COMPLEXITY METHOD
41. docs meetings meetings meetings going in circles 😭😭😭 more docs?! eventstorming rabbit holes … 🐰
42. User Actions Frontstage Backstage Exploring Subscribing to the newspaper Selecting a product Registering
43. User Actions Frontstage Exploring Subscribing to the newspaper Selecting a product Registering Reads articles Selects a product, the Sunday paper Registers for an account Enters payment info And purchases subscription Sees a good discount. Enters delivery location Clicks “subscribe” Enters delivery info Backstage Display offer landing page Display registration form Collect delivery information Collect and complete payment information Display newspaper delivery options
44. User Actions Frontstage Exploring Subscribing to the newspaper Selecting a product Registering Reads articles Selects a product, the Sunday paper Registers for an account Enters payment info And purchases subscription Sees a good discount. Enters delivery location Clicks “subscribe” Enters delivery info Backstage Display offer landing page Display registration form Collect delivery information Collect and complete payment information Display newspaper delivery options Look up offers Services
45. User Actions Frontstage Exploring Subscribing to the newspaper Selecting a product Registering Reads articles Selects a product, the Sunday paper Registers for an account Enters payment info And purchases subscription Sees a good discount. Enters delivery location Clicks “subscribe” Enters delivery info Backstage Display offer landing page Display registration form Collect delivery information Collect and complete payment information Display newspaper delivery options Look up offers Services Legacy Systems Digital products Home Delivery products
46. User Actions Frontstage Exploring Subscribing to the newspaper Selecting a product Registering Reads articles Selects a product, the Sunday paper Registers for an account Enters payment info And purchases subscription Sees a good discount. Enters delivery location Clicks “subscribe” Enters delivery info Backstage Display offer landing page Display registration form Collect delivery information Collect and complete payment information Display newspaper delivery options Look up offers Services Legacy Systems Digital products Home Delivery products
47. User Actions Frontstage Exploring Subscribing to the newspaper Selecting a product Registering Reads articles Selects a product, the Sunday paper Registers for an account Enters payment info And purchases subscription Sees a good discount. Enters delivery location Clicks “subscribe” Enters delivery info Backstage Display offer landing page Display registration form Collect delivery information Collect and complete payment information Display newspaper delivery options Look up offers Services Legacy Systems Digital products Home Delivery products
48. User Actions Frontstage Exploring Subscribing to the newspaper Selecting a product Registering Reads articles Selects a product, the Sunday paper Registers for an account Enters payment info And purchases subscription Sees a good discount. Enters delivery location Clicks “subscribe” Enters delivery info Backstage Display offer landing page Display registration form Collect delivery information Collect and complete payment information Display newspaper delivery options Look up offers Services Legacy Systems Digital products Home Delivery products
49. Double Diamond Developed by the British Design Council, the Double Diamond is a visual representation of the design and innovation process. It’s a simple way to describe the steps taken in any design and innovation project, irrespective of methods and tools used. Understand the problem better before jumping into a solution PROCESS
50. Asynchronous Research Review Findings Workshop Option 1 Option 2 Solution Workshop for Option 1 Solution Workshop for Option 2 Tradeoff Comparison Workshop Kick off workshop
51. How do you get a large group of people to come to an alignment? How can we walk away so everyone now has an understanding? Facilitating your workshops PROCESS
52. To create rich, participatory experiences for your attendees that change the way they connect together, think together, and move forward together. https://www.whenandhowstudios.com/about-us 16 Design Aspects from Dan Young and Mike Rozinsky PROCESS
53. Decision Records These are lightweight documents, that documents a history of why a decision was made and what facts were taken into account at the time of making the decision Document the decisions PROCESS
54. What is the current status on this decision? What is the question you are trying to answer? What is the context of this problem? Recommended Decision Supporting Arguments Constraints or Consequences Other Options Considered Pros and cons on the stakeholder impact Impacted Stakeholders Reference Links to meeting notes, Miro/Figjam, Slack threads, etc
55. Heuristics for Modernizing Your Systems STEP BY STEP APPROACH
56. HEURISTICS FOR MODERNIZING YOUR SYSTEMS IN A HUMAN CENTERED WAY Start with your user needs. Know when to buy and when to build. But always build your own secret sauce. Wardley Mapping SWOT Analysis Understand how your systems impact your users before making changes. Stakeholder & User Research Stakeholder Mapping Questions & Assumptions ORID Framework Build a shared map of the current state anchored in user scenarios. Service Blueprints Value Stream Mapping Example Mapping Domain Storytelling EventStorming Understand the problem first before picking a solution Double Diamond Inspect all the tools in the toolbox, before grabbing the first hammer. See above :) Blend your own! Document Document Document your decisions Decision Records
57. 🧪 Experiment. 🧠 Learn. 🔁 Repeat. 🤝 Trust & Human Connection. + The Secret Sauce 💧
58. VÂRFUL MOLDOVEANU Elevation Gain : 2500m Length: 28km Photo of Vârful Moldoveanu, Romania by Cosmin Serban on Unsplash I wish you the best in your adventure