To maximize learning in a short period of time, the training format is as follows.
The training consists of 2 blocks of 2 days, each with an evening program, separated by a few months. Halfway through the back-to-work period, all participants will receive one-on-one coaching from the trainer.
1st block - from problem to solution and back
The first block teaches participants to reason not only about solutions. It's tempting to jump straight to solutions, but a solution should address a problem. Zooming out to the problem domain can be challenging, but it's crucially important!
Your practical project or case will serve as the core element of the training.
On the first day, you will have the opportunity to share your experiences so far and receive feedback and advice to further develop the case. We will set the context, define its value and identify the stakeholders who should experience this value. The main challenge will be staying focused on the ‘forest’ rather than getting lost in the ‘trees’.
The evening program focuses on the key elements of stakeholder management, how to establish a positive relationship with stakeholders.
On the second day, we zoom in on practical reasoning tools to better understand the stakeholders and uncover the potential value of the project. We also explore ways to think about options, help avoid tunnel vision and evaluate the options against the key drivers of the project.
This first block encourages you to dive deep into both the problem domain and the solution domain once you are back at work.
Back to work
The transition from the first to the second block involves an important ‘back-to-work’ assignment, designed to connect all pieces of the puzzle. This task will help you create a clear, easy-to-explain overview that highlights the true essentials of the solution, ensuring it meets the stakeholders’ needs.
The participants should deepen their contact, interaction and feedback with their main stakeholders. Additionally, they should seek opportunities to engage with their peers by explaining their case, the approach, the solutions and the opportunities and challenges involved. By encouraging questions from their peers, participants can spark new creative ideas and potential innovations.
It may seem like an additional task on top of the current work, but in reality, it enhances the current work by boosting efficiency and effectiveness.
Halfway through the back-to-work period, all participants will receive individual coaching by the trainer.
2nd block - inspiration and delivering value
It’s great if your process or system works, but it's even better if it's perceived as valuable. That is why we will focus on this in the second block. Value is embedded in the quality of the process or system – whether it's saving time, delivering performance, ensuring reliability, adaptability, intuitive usage, and so on. Additionally, value is reflected in the business case, benefiting your organization, your suppliers and your customers.
The first day of this second block zooms in on quality characteristics as cross-cutting concerns throughout the solution concepts. Quality is an integral aspect and a primary focus for exceptional systems architects.
Quality can't simply be solved in one process step, or one module. It crosscuts through the entire process or system. This automatically forces us to focus on integration from the first moment onwards. Integration will challenge and prove the value of the interfaces and the interaction of parts or between process steps.
The next step is convincing peers, suppliers, customers and managers of your approach and your solution. This requires the ability to make a complicated message simple, turning it into a no-brainer. Once explained, the audience should react with ‘of course, let’s go for it!’.
This sounds easy but it isn't. On the other hand, it highlights the value of your work and your contribution to your stakeholders and your company.
Brilliant solutions will stand out even more when architects can present them in a simple, clear and inspiring way – energizing your team and convincing your stakeholders.
You will be trained in the value of your business case and how to effectively present and pitch solutions and options.
In the evening, we will host an inspiring workshop on the do's and don'ts of pitching – focusing on how to maintain your audience’s attention and deliver a compelling, inspiring message.
The second day of this block is entirely dedicated to these aspects, providing participants the opportunity to put them into practice by delivering a pitch and experimenting with new approaches in a safe environment.
The pitch is a key and mandatory component of the training.
The training is completely focused on delivering what is needed, which is often much more or just different from what was asked for. This is the key step to growing as an architect: not just listening to both internal and external stakeholders but truly understanding their needs and delivering solutions that meet them.
To maximize your learning experience, this program - like all trainings from High Tech Institute - is based on T. Harv Eker’s premise: ‘What you hear, you forget – what you see you remember – what you do, you understand’.
The following methods are used:
- Small lectures with theory including practical experiences from the lecturer.
- Small individual exercises, applying the theory to your own project.
- Group exercises and discussions in small parallel groups.
- Plenary presentations of exercise results and feedback.
- Peer coaching in between the blocks.
- 1-1 individual coaching by trainer for each participant.
- 30% theory, 70% practical application.
Participants will receive a course certificate from the High Tech Institute for attending this training. Additionally, if you are pursuing INCOSE certification or certification renewal, you can claim 44 PDUs (Professional Development Units) for completing this training.
