It Takes Diligence

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It Takes Diligence

Brian Hart

An ARCHiTECT’S joB iS oFTEn poRTRAyEd as an activity focused on inge- nuity and problem solving. Ingenuity is a key trait of successful architects. However, an equally important characteristic of the activities of a successful architect is diligence. Diligence can manifest itself in many ways, but ultimately it is an exercise in perseverance and paying the right amount of attention to each task and each architectural goal of the system.
Diligence goes hand in hand with the mundane. Successful architecture prac- tices are in many ways mundane. Effective architects often follow mundane daily and weekly checklists to remind them of that which they already know academically, but fail to practice by habit. Without such mundane checklists and reminders, architects can quickly fall into software time, in which no measurable progress is achieved because a lack of diligence allowed the archi- tecture to meander and violate known academic principles. It is important to realize in these retrospectives of failed projects that in most cases it isn’t incompetence that drove failure, but rather the lack of both diligence and a sense of urgency.
Diligence also requires an architect to succeed at the deceptively simple task of making and keeping commitments. These commitments are often disparate and can encompass a wide range of constraints and expectations. Examples include:
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??? Embracing the budget and time constraints of the customer
? Performing all the work that makes the architect effective, not just the work the architect enjoys
? Committing to the process/methodology
? Accepting responsibility
Atul Gawande, in his terrific book Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance (Metropolitan Books), speaks of diligence in the medical community:
True success in medicine is not easy. It requires will, attention to detail, and creativity. But the lesson I took from India was that it is possible anywhere and by anyone. I can imagine few places with more difficult conditions. Yet astonishing success could be found… what I saw was: Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try.
Brian Hart is an executive consultant with CGI, a leading IT and business process services provider. Brian is involved in the architecture and design of J2EE applica- tions primarily in the state and local government sector. He has been involved in the software industry since 1997.