MuleSoft Catalyst Methodology
Define Integration and automation programmes
In the last element of the Assess Integration Capabilities I will look at the MuleSoft Catalyst Methodology recommendations to Define integrations and automation programmes. Just as a reminder of where we are in the Methodology here is the outline within the Centre for Enablement Playbook
So now the investigations have completed and the commitment to the C4E has been made we need to start establishing and implementing the Integration strategy which means a number of key activities need to be undertaken and change starts to become real.
There are a number of activities that need to be undertaken according to the Playbook which are categorised under the four headings of:
1. Establish Digital Strategy
2. Align Organization and Culture
3. Evaluate and Build Supporting Tech
4. Engage Ecosystem
Each of these headings has a number of areas that need to be addressed and therefore I will break these four headings into separate articles for the sake of making them readable in article format rather than as a book! In this article we will look at Establishing a Digital Strategy.
Establish Digital Strategy
Align stakeholders against problems/opportunities/competencies
This element of the strategy, for me, has three major elements, addressing real world challenges, getting colleagues to understand and embrace the capability and demonstrating, using real world challenges, what can be achieved.
Here we have the opportunity to identify a number of key problems that the business is facing with regards to integration and to bring the owners of these problems on a journey with us to show that the problems can be solved by using the development and management capabilities of MuleSoft AnyPoint platform. But, in addition to solving problems, the establishment of the strategy should also show what competencies can be established going forward. You may want to take a number of Use Cases and work on these as a strategic delivery of API’s but choose wisely and the Use Cases you choose should show all of the different ‘types’ of API that can be used. Request/Response is the common Use Case but don’t forget batch API’s and Queue based use cases as well. If you choose well and plan to deliver the API’s to solve real problems not only will this establish basic foundations going forward but it will provide business users who will become your evangelists of the future. Don’t underestimate how important evangelism will be going forward!
Articulate business outcomes
Remember that you are trying to establish the digital strategy so, using the elements above, document the expected business outcomes. This is not a theoretical exercise that you are undertaking its trying to address a real world, fundamental, issue of data integration. Senior managers will need to be able to see clear business outcomes and articulate compelling business benefits. The MuleSoft ecosystem is not cheap, it’s a class leading solution and as such requires significant initial and ongoing investment. The more successful you are the more funding will be required so its crucial to articulate the business outcomes not only at the API level, system and programme level but also at the business benefit level.
Determine target audience
The target audience for your digital strategy should be multi-layered. The introduction of the MuleSoft capabilities may be threatening for some people, especially if they are working on another integration capability within the business, exciting for others who have the vision to see the problems that can be resolved by the development of a MuleSoft API capability and problematical to management where costs and organisational changes need to be justified. Of course, don’t forget business users as they should be the recipients of the business benefits.
Look at each element of the target audience and tailor your strategy to address each audience carefully in order to address their individual concerns.
Validate ecosystem and business models
The introduction of the MuleSoft platform will require an understanding of the current ecosystem within the business. Of key concern will be both the technical environment and the business models in use. Some of the key questions may be:
Where will the platform be installed, Cloud based, On Premise, Hybrid?
Do you have the technical capabilities to support this environment? DevOps / Cloud Ops Engineers?
How do you maintain this environment?
What methodology will you use for development and maintenance? Agile / Waterfall / DevOps etc?
What key skills will be required for Developers/ Testers/ Support staff?
Do you need to recruit or train/re-train staff?
What future investment may be required?
What business model will be required for the capability itself? Will you recharge for development and/or support or will the capability be centrally funded?
Will you need to engage with a third party to provide the skills required to run and manage the platform?
These are just some of the key elements that will need to be included in the strategy and many others may occur from the investigations that have been completed earlier in the execution of the playbook
Define experiences and prototype solutions
The development of enterprise capable API’s at this stage of the MuleSoft implementation is not the goal. We are still at the point of establishing the strategy so you need to be careful that the business, who may be desperate to receive the perceived benefits, do not have unrealistic expectations. It is important to engage and feed their curiosity and enthusiasm but at the same time manage their expectations. Definition of future experiences can be a powerful driver.
Outlining the future perceived experiences of the customers in the business and drawing a ‘picture’ of how the technical and business landscape may change will be important and will lay the bedrock of the work ahead especially when this includes a case-by-case benefit summary of the outlined solutions. How far you go with prototype solutions is an individual decision but could range from a descriptive narrative, RAML definition of API’s in MuleSoft Exchange all the way through to the development of an API if, in fact, the platform is already available for use.
Prioritize roadmap
Using the information from earlier stages in the execution of the playbook, especially from the step that assessed the current integration capabilities, you should have a good idea of the current pain points within the organisation and the challenges that the business is facing. Typical examples may be the proliferation of point-to-point interfaces and the support issues that these bring, change management challenges when a source system for a point-to-point interface requires changes or the inconsistent delivery of data across the business.
Using this data will allow you to establish a priority roadmap of work to be undertaken. However, you should also keep in mind the requirement to prove the capability so using the full capabilities of the MuleSoft platform may be a factor that requires consideration when building your roadmap. There may be a balance here of addressing business problems and establishing MuleSoft capabilities.
Secure executive alignment
As the last element of establishing a digital strategy you will need to secure executive alignment.
All of the work that you have completed so far has been leading to this element of the playbook as you will need to get the buy in of the organisations management in order to proceed with the next steps — alignment of the organisation and culture. Here we are talking about real changes within the organisation which may range from the establishment of new teams, changes to existing teams, recruitment of additional staff or engagement with a third party. This will be the subject of the next article.
