Challenge

The challenge that I have faced for 1 year as technical architecture was to apply a technical architecture  design across 20 countries to implement various services and integrate them into one wide platform.  This design was to respond to same technologies and network requirements. And, the design should  find the common line to be accepted by all countries.

Selection

The tool used was visualization tool. Specifically, I emphasized the tool by creating one visio diagram as  template model, an architecture model that will serve later as start point in our discussion with our  customers. This technical design created in Microsoft Visio integrated all the elements needed to clarify  the needs and requirements of our customers.

Application

Based on this template diagram and assuming each country requirements will be different, we added  colored bullets across the diagram. Inside each bullet is a number. On the same page, on the bottom  right, there is a legend for this numbers. We called it “ 5W Legend” defined by:

1. WHO: How many users will use the services in your country?

2. WHAT service do you need for your business? Please choose from the list: Data, Voice, Video,

Digital;

3. HOW: Do you need redundancy or not?

4. WITH: Transmission circuit will be provided internally or by a third party?

5. WHEN do you need, this architecture implemented? What is your convenient timeline for the

installation?

We used this model diagram as a model sent to each costumer from each country and collecting the  feedback from them. The feedback was defined by specific answers to above questions.

Insight

The architecture model with “5W Legend” helped us winning time by effectively communicate to each  customer, offered us already integrated data to be manipulated for the future wide platform. Each  country feedback helped us to better understand their technical requirements and their needs in  regards this new technical architecture. We also increased the client-customer relationship; the  customer had a positive reply to our engagement proposal and felt that he had a high-level picture of  future implementation. We ended up not only receiving all the technical replies we were looking for, but  also making a partner from our customer…a partner to our design.

Approach

We included this technical model example in our organization lesson learnt database. The feedback  received from each country – by answering to each question, helped us understand that next time we  should include on the “5W Legend” also a question for future technical improvements, as there were a

few customers wishing to add technical services to their Data Center after this project will be  implemented.

