Chapter 6: Governing Design Decisions
Six months into the transformation, the call came. Nadia Petrov was direct: the employer integration module was behind schedule, the data mapping was more complex than estimated, and she wanted to descope it. Ravi had a proposal: a basic employer directory ( name, contact, industry) to get back on schedule. Both were being responsible. Neither was weighing what Marcus knew: the employer integration was not a feature. It was the mechanism through which Lakeshore would extend Tom Beaulieu's employer partnership model from Health Sciences to all five faculties. A contact list was not a capability. It was a placeholder that would never be revisited once the team moved on. This chapter is about the decisions that happen during delivery, not the planned ones, but the unplanned ones that arise when the build team hits rock where plans assumed soil. How to govern without micromanaging. How to detect scope erosion before twelve months of small compromises leave an initiative that addresses none of the gaps that justified the investment.
What You'll Be Able To Do
By the end of this chapter, you'll be able to:
- Represent the architecture at a design review or steering committee, asking the one question nobody else will ask.
- Facilitate a decision when the build team hits something unforeseen, ensuring the revised approach preserves the purpose even if the specification changes.
- Detect scope erosion before twelve months of small compromises produce an initiative that addresses none of the gaps that justified the investment.
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