Top Quadrant

TopQuadrant is where you can now find RalphHodgson. We are a US-based consulting company working in the "Solution Design" space addressing the translation gap between business strategy and IT solutions. With the many solution choices in the industry, development is no longer pure "green-field" but more about selecting and integrating components, innovating where clear business value will derive. We are using solution envisioning methods along with a database of solution "Capability Cases" with technologies, vendors and products situated expressed in a business problem context. The method, v2rM, "Vision to Reality" Method, is scenario-based. Scenarios are annotated with forces and desired results. These are mapped to solution capabilities expressed in a pattern language.

Now could we have the version that's not in marketing-ese? Why? Is marketing a BadThing? Yes, see AvoidNeologisms. Nothing wrong with marketing, in its place. Using marketing jargon on the Wiki, however, is different. see anotherForm below

Now in addition to NameSpaces, we have a new term SolutionSpaces. Note the use of the two words, "forces" and "results", sounds like a SuccessOrientedApproach.

What's a "SolutionSpace"? And why does the use of "forces" and "results" in ad copy suggest a SuccessOrientedApproach? And does the fact that it merely sounds like a SuccessOrientedApproach mean it isn't?

The purpose of Marketing-ese isn't to communicate but to obfuscate, in contradiction to the purpose of Wiki and in contrast to all other, natural and unnatural, languages like English, Sindarin, Klingon and 8086 assembler.

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I couldn't resist distilling the first paragraph:

• We're a (VAR|systems integrator) who keeps notes on past projects so we (succeed|don't screw up) again.

If that doesn't describe TopQuadrant, they need to clarify precisely what it is that they do.

• Do they offer custom programming, or do they combine off-the-shelf components?
• How much of their effort is created fresh vs. adapted from previous projects?

Etc. Answering those questions might tell us something about what the company does.

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It is at least an approach which does not test to fail, and does not require an unmerciful refactoring because the first result failed as desired, and does not use the flip coin method.

see AnotherApproach: AbileneParadox

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To restate In anotherForm: With the many solution choices (available) in the industry development is no longer pure "GreenField" but more about

• SelectingAndIntegratingComponents
• Innovating where ClearBusinessValue will be realized
• Using SolutionEnvisioningMethods
• With
  • A DatabaseOfSolutionCapabilityCases
  • TechnologiesVendorsAndProducts situated/expressed in a BusinessProblemContext.

The method, v2rM, VisionToRealityMethod, is ScenarioBased.

• Scenarios are AnnotatedWithForcesAndDesiredResults.
• These are mapped to SolutionCapabilities
• Expressed in a PatternLanguage.

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A UseCase is a "Case of Use", a CapabilityCase is "the Business Case for a Capability"

CapabilityCases act as memes and provide a vocabulary for TradingSolutionConcepts in the early stages of envisioning a solution.

Examples of CapabilityCase are:

• InstantMessager -- well-known and oft-used example of a solution concept meme, there was a time when this was not the case
• Recommender -- becoming more prevalent
• ConceptBasedSearch -- becoming known
• ContextAwareRetriever -- making information available to a user based on context and intent
• PersonalizedNewsletter -- myNews

A BusinessCase is a ValueProposition expressed as

• Benefits (aka results, aka outcomes) to StakeHolders,
• Forces (drivers) that are addressed
• Challenges (internal effects of forces) are overcome
  • using solution stories as analogies (DesignByAnalogy)catalysts

 -- RalphHodgson
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EditHint: I call this history

• - last edited in 2007
  • [EditHint: Delete as spam]
  • who is editing this wiki? another consulting agency?