I have used this approach to successfully and sustain-ably implement the REST architecture. Yes, this blogpost is still about software development! The credit for coining these terms go to Ron Kersic.
Couple of years back we began with a new architecture implementation that involved RESTful services. As with most new things, the details were missing. The vision was clear - RESTify. But the mission and how to get there - NOT!
We chose for the Macgyver - A-Team approach to rescue us.
MacGyver phase
How this works is real simple. MacGyver, as most people know is someone who only needs a swiss army knife to put his scientific knowledge into action. For those who are from my generation and later could read up on this character here.
The MacGyvers in our case were a team of 5 persons; belonging to different specializations from an architecture point of view. I was the Design MacGyver. We set out making an inventory of stuff that is being handled by the current architecture and stuff that needs to be handled by the new, RESTful architecture. This was by no means a complete list but just items which required immediate attention to get a setup going. We worked out the items in proof-of-concepts and got a working bit going. What's important here to note is that the solution was not as polished and refined as it needs to be, but we got stuff up and running! This took couple of months (2 hours a day to be exact).
A-team phase
Once all the items in the list were tackled, the A-team was formed. This team consisted of stakeholders from all aspects of interest in an architecture (design, development, infrastructure, domain knowledge). Lot of people overlapped but new ones joined as well. The A-team worked on getting stuff refined created by MacGyver. They worked on getting stuff documented (standards, guidelines, etc.). They worked on proclaiming the knowledge using training, workshops.
Looking back
The MacGyver still exists. He is available on demand when something needs architectural attention. He happily does his swiss knife magic. The A-team helps in the refinement and the broadcast of the message. The project teams use the principles and work towards finishing the product. An emergent architecture setup!
I can't stress on it enough - it is crucial to get stuff working and get immediate feedback before it's rolled out to the mass. The MacGyver - A-Team approach addresses exactly this and am very happy to have discovered it.
Couple of years back we began with a new architecture implementation that involved RESTful services. As with most new things, the details were missing. The vision was clear - RESTify. But the mission and how to get there - NOT!
We chose for the Macgyver - A-Team approach to rescue us.
MacGyver phase
How this works is real simple. MacGyver, as most people know is someone who only needs a swiss army knife to put his scientific knowledge into action. For those who are from my generation and later could read up on this character here.
The MacGyvers in our case were a team of 5 persons; belonging to different specializations from an architecture point of view. I was the Design MacGyver. We set out making an inventory of stuff that is being handled by the current architecture and stuff that needs to be handled by the new, RESTful architecture. This was by no means a complete list but just items which required immediate attention to get a setup going. We worked out the items in proof-of-concepts and got a working bit going. What's important here to note is that the solution was not as polished and refined as it needs to be, but we got stuff up and running! This took couple of months (2 hours a day to be exact).
A-team phase
Once all the items in the list were tackled, the A-team was formed. This team consisted of stakeholders from all aspects of interest in an architecture (design, development, infrastructure, domain knowledge). Lot of people overlapped but new ones joined as well. The A-team worked on getting stuff refined created by MacGyver. They worked on getting stuff documented (standards, guidelines, etc.). They worked on proclaiming the knowledge using training, workshops.
Looking back
The MacGyver still exists. He is available on demand when something needs architectural attention. He happily does his swiss knife magic. The A-team helps in the refinement and the broadcast of the message. The project teams use the principles and work towards finishing the product. An emergent architecture setup!
I can't stress on it enough - it is crucial to get stuff working and get immediate feedback before it's rolled out to the mass. The MacGyver - A-Team approach addresses exactly this and am very happy to have discovered it.
It is nice to be part of this REST A-team.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't restricted to extending the architecture to one that realy works but also a must to inform all consumers of this architecture how it can work.
The REST A-team trained over 300 colleques, from developers to designers, business analist, project leaders, architects, management teams and even the managing board of our company.
Proud to be part of this team!
Jan, you've been a valuable addition to the A-team. Your commitment is one of the reasons we could train 300+ colleagues. Keep it up!
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