OCEG. Organizing Complexity for expansion and growth. This is what I like to do and do well.
The systems many startups develop today are very complex. They have to be just by the nature of the problems they are solving. And they need to be developed fast to take advantage of and maximize the opportunities that are available. But in the midst of that, we also need to keep the big picture in mind. Can what we are developing today continue to adapt, provide a clean infrastructure, and enable the system to expand and grow into the future? Can we stay on that edge, respond quickly, and continue to provide new innovative functionality or does our system begin to bog down and create roadblocks that hinder our ability to keep moving forward?
Taking the time to think about and plan for the big picture today can enable us to continue moving faster as we grow into the future. We’ll never know exactly what we’ll want and need in the future, but if we take time to consider the possibilities, we can design the system in a way that will keep us from backing ourselves into a corner, requiring expensive and time-consuming refactors.
This is my sweet spot. Given a situation where a company recognizes challenges in one or more areas of their system, I can step in to:
Help analyze and understand the current situation
Investigate future possibilities with various stakeholders across the company
Develop a vision for the system that can support the requirements that surface
Work with leaders across the organization to refine the goals and priorities
Create a plan for how to start moving in the right direction, step by step
Documentation is key with each of these steps. Often a big part of the challenge is having a way for teams to visualize and understand both where things are currently and where we want to go. There is a reason we rely so heavily on maps and directions in other areas of our lives and the same applies here. We need a reference that gives a visual and captures the essential elements of the design and plan.
Collaboration is another key. We need to engage Engineering, Product, Data, Analytics, Operations, Finance, and others across the business that rely on the system. I’m big on bridging these gaps and helping to ensure that we surface requirements from all the affected stakeholders. Every function is crucial to ensuring the success of the overall system.
Does your company need this type of support? Let’s talk to see how I can help.