Conception of digital solutions – Part 2

Contents & Artifacts of a Rough Concept

As already described in the last blog post, we always develop a rough concept as a first step when designing a digital solution. Whether classic or agile methods are used for the later implementation is irrelevant for us at first. In both scenarios, we prefer an initial phase to create a common understanding of the following points:

  • What goals are to be achieved with the project or the digital solution? Which NON-goals are delineated?
  • What are the functional and non-functional requirements (high level) for the solution?
  • Which systems of the enterprise architecture should be connected and in what way is this possible?

When answering these questions, we always look at the solution from the three perspectives already mentioned and develop artifacts that serve these perspectives. In most cases, these are the following:

  • Customer journey maps and high-level wireframes to visualize functional requirements (customer and business perspective)
  • Process visualizations to illustrate and define the requirements (business and technology perspective)
  • Solution Architecture (Technology Perspective)
Exemplary Artifacts
These artifacts first define the rough scope of the digital solution to be developed.

Use of the artifacts developed

On the basis of the above-mentioned artifacts, the following topics can be developed, defined and delimited for the next steps (detailed conception and implementation):

  • Project resources needed to develop the digital solution (personnel, time, and budget)
  • Potential risks and dependencies, as well as initial strategies and measures to minimise risk
  • Rough planning and, if necessary, prioritization of the necessary work packages

This is usually done in several iterations, on the one hand to bring the scope of the next project phases into line with the available project resources. On the other hand, dependencies on other projects or initiatives may require an adjustment of the initial project plan or simply the order of the work packages.

We often use the agile toolbox and use methods such as “User Story Mapping” to divide the target scope into expansion stages or “Weighted shortest job first” to prioritize requirements and functionalities.

Scoping Methods

Challenges during the rough conception

We encounter a wide variety of challenges during this project phase. The following are particularly common:

  • Unclear responsibilities at organizational and project level
  • Insufficiently developed strategic content and preliminary considerations
  • Access to and availability of know-how carriers on the customer side
  • Lack of involvement of all relevant stakeholders

If these challenges are not addressed in a structured way, there is a great risk that the content developed will not receive sufficient validity and thus the necessary support across the entire organization. However, these are critical prerequisites for sustainable project success.

In the last part of this blog series, I explain the measures we can take to meet these challenges. In the next part, we will first deal with the contents and artifacts of the detailed concept.

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