How do you weigh solution quality with enterprise standards?

The quality of the solution is also based on the quality of the support. If a solution needs to meet a specific threshold of performance then I expect the vendor to rework the solution until it does meet the requirements. One of the tricky issues is being able to synthetically create the required load before you go into production. Nothing worse than going live with a solution and a month later it's at capacity and the vendor is nowhere to be found. I have worked with vendors who have spent months working with us to make the solution work as required.

In my experience, an accepted definition of 'what good looks like' is critical for measuring quality of any solution. This should ideally include both functional as well as NFRs like scalability, extendibility, maintainability, and compatibility. Also documenting the decision making process, rationale and metrics will be key.

Quality is function of balance between complexity and modularity. The more modular the design is, the easier it is to improve quality. Why because of two reasons: 1. The modules ownership, design and quality assurance can be done by experts. 2. During the course of quality improvement cycles, it’s easier to fix the module, quickly. Enhancing quality every day, hour and min.

Quality Attributes is a dynamic measurement mechanism. For new business systems, it is necessary to add Quality Attributes items to generate corresponding goals. For the structural adjustment of existing businesses, continuous optimization is required

Solution quality is not only the hard measurements of the performance and experience of an application. It should also include the provided effectiveness and added value of the business. Very often a solution's performance is measured by only looking at the solution/application. The business needs to be measured to - this is a crucial part of a good quality for enterprise standards.

In my experience, keeping harmony and balance between Local and Global standards is the key towards a successful Enterprise Standard. IT solution should strictly adhere to security and permissions thereby have a flexibility to supplement local Business procedures. In todays evolving IT landscape and cloud Architecture the moment Solution Architecture becomes complex it should be revisited.

Here's a story that illustrates the importance of trade-offs and priorities in the role of a solutions architect: Use case: On-premise to Public cloud migration Trade-offs and Priorities: Scalability vs. Budget: The Challenge: The organization expects a exponential growth in on-premise servers over the coming years. They want a system that can scale accordingly. However, the budget is limited. The Trade-off: Building a highly scalable infrastructure can be expensive. The Solution: A cloud-based solution is proposed. While it requires an initial investment, it offers the flexibility to scale resources up or down as needed, aligning with the organisation's growth plans and budget constraints.

How do you weigh solution quality with enterprise standards? First and foremost, it is important to remember that solutions acquired are there to serve our current and "future" evolving business needs / processes proposed. It is imperative that a deep dive "Analysis of Requirements", also detailed As-Is & To Be is completed before delving into the market to see what's available which also comply with our organizational standards and strategic goals. Best of breed solutions, Global representations, Support Policies, ease of integration to legacy solutions, upgrade policies, pricing policy / licensing models, solution limitations (functional / non- functional) are all key points that my team would be required to analyse by issuing RFIs etc.