Chapter 4: Evaluating Solution Options
The capability gaps were clear. The current state was understood. The business use cases were written. Now the question changed: what should Lakeshore actually build? Ravi brought three proposals. Proposal A was a large-scale SaaS platform that would replace five systems with one. Proposal B was an integration layer -- no new platform, lower cost, but complex. Proposal C was modular: replace the two systems that addressed the capability gaps, keep the ones that worked. Ravi favoured B. Claire leaned toward A. Nadia preferred C. None was wrong. Each was optimizing for something different. This chapter teaches you how the business architect evaluates proposals: not on technical merit, but on whether they close the capability gaps the architecture identified. The reuse/repair/buy/build framework. The questions that distinguish fitness for purpose from fitness for fashion. And how to challenge the vendor demo that dazzles the room without serving the design.
What You'll Be Able To Do
By the end of this chapter, you'll be able to:
- Evaluate any solution proposal against the capability gap it is supposed to close -- not its technical merit, cost, or vendor reputation.
- Know when to reuse, repair, buy, or build, and articulate the strategic trade-offs between each option.
- Challenge a solution that optimizes for technical elegance or organizational convenience at the expense of the capability gap that justified the investment.
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