- Dedicated WebSphere Application Server Engineering Support Organization
- LOB-Based Support Model
- WebSphere Organization with Separate Engineering and Service Delivery Functions
- Building a Global WebSphere Workforce
- Engineering Support with a Three-Level Approach
- Technical Support for Very Large IT Projects with Multigenerational Plans
- WebSphere Center of Excellence
- Summary
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Summary
Building a WebSphere organization for a large company is an exceedingly complex job, especially in today’s challenging business environment of globalization amid fast-changing technologies and constant business dynamics. There always seems to be a large number of seemingly contradictory and competing factors and objectives.
For example, for a technical organization to be highly effective and competitive in WebSphere technologies, it needs to build a product-based WebSphere organization for technology focus and technical specialization. However, product-based support models present engagement and coordination challenges, such as the lack of a single point of contact and the need for a specialized team to help with system maintenance and change coordination among technical teams.
Another example is the separation of WebSphere planning engineering and process engineering from WebSphere service engineering. If an organization has this separation of WebSphere engineering functions, the WebSphere planning engineers and WebSphere process engineers are not distracted by daily production concerns; therefore, they can focus on delivering important WebSphere engineering artifacts. However, this separation, if not managed appropriately, may lead to the creation of WebSphere standards and processes not usable in real-world WebSphere engineering practice.
Most importantly, you must consider your overall IT organization and the engineering and process reality of a company. No WebSphere organization model can solve the systemic issues of an IT organization. You have to understand how far you can go and what you can do within your company’s specific situation.
However you choose to organize your WebSphere organization, the bottom line is clear: It must help build a highly technical engineering team, enhancing accountability, and improving the quality of WebSphere products and service delivery.
Sun Tzu said, “Anciently the skillful warriors first made themselves invincible and waited for the enemy’s moment of vulnerability.” This quote reveals the intent of this chapter: optimally organize a WebSphere organization, preferably a large infrastructure engineering support organization dedicated to WebSphere technologies. By doing so, an organization positions its WebSphere teams in a winning alignment.
Now you have an organization framework with which you can start building a world-class WebSphere technical force of unsurpassed performance, a topic that is discussed in Chapter 2, “Building a World-Class WebSphere Team Through Hiring and Training.”