Whiteboards That Work!

Good Visual Architecture Defined - Part 1

Visual architecture is the overall design or structure of a visual tool such as a diagram or a visual aid. In this post and throughout this series we explore a few fundamentals you can use to ensure that the diagrams, project artifacts and teaching aids you create are effective.

Adding a visual element to your work has proven to dramatically increase the effectiveness of your efforts whether it be in the boardroom, at project team meetings or in the classroom. Good visual aids have been known to unify teams, give clarity to complex and vexing challenges, and illuminate and inspire the minds and lives of students, and those they infuence, for a lifetime.

It's All Focus: Overcoming the Jitters Before A Presentation

One of the most common fears or concerns I hear from my clients is nervousness before giving presentations. The best advice I give to overcome the jitters is focus on your audience, not on yourself.

As simple as that may sound, it really works. At the same time it is also the key to giving presentations that are effective, meaningful, and memorable.

Curiosity is perhaps one of the best "jitter repellents" and helps me to focus on those I will be presenting. I like to ask myself questions like:

• What brought them to this conference?
• What might they be struggling with and how can I help?
• What will they be facing with they get back to the office?
• How can I make sure I give them something tangible to take back with them?
• Is my presentation easy to read and follow?

When I answer these questions I begin to see real individuals instead of an "audience." It also helps me make sure what I present is practical, relevant, and actionable. Focusing on their immediate needs helps me overcome the feeling that I have to share everything there is to know about this topic. Sometimes we treat our presentations as if they will be the only time the attendee will be exposed to the material.

I recently gave a presentation on a unique way to do business modeling in an organization. Given the needs of my audience I realized that they are faced with a lot of pressure to get things done as quickly as possible. I also realized they were expected to help their stakeholders interpret the results of their modeling and identify and prioritize their next actions steps. This resulted in a focused presentation entitled: "Rapid Business Modeling: Getting to What Matters."

Focusing on the audience helped me in all phases of the presentation cycle: research, creation, delivery, and follow-up. This gave me great peace before, during, and after my presentation. It helped me look into the faces of those attendees and see individuals who were people just like me. I was so focused on them that I did not have the time or desire to worry about how it was going to go, "would I remember everything?", "what about hard questions?", or even "I wonder if my zipper is up all the way?"

Focusing on the audience, not on yourself has helped me to create and delivery better presentations without those "jitters" that seem to go along with putting yourself in front of a large group of people. Try  it. Let me know how it worked for you.

Do you have other things you like to do to eliminate the jitters? Please share with us by using the comment form below.

OMB's Request for EA Metrics: How Visual Communications Can Help

This past week I noticed a few articles about the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) preparing metrics for Enterprise Architecture efforts in agencies. The question by the Bush administration seems to be changing from "Do you have an EA?" to "How is it helping the bottom line?" (Click here to see one example.)

This got my attention because this kind of request is very common among my clients - a project or program wins funding, and sooner or later someone asks, "What am I getting for all this money?" This is where visual communications comes in.

This post is about how I approach such requests with my clients when I am called in to help in these circumstances. This approach may seem obvious but you would be surprised how often the obvious is ignored in the heat of the request and funding is withdrawn. After reading the article cited I fear that the OMB may be going down the wrong path so commonly traveled. (See if you can identify the disconnects from the article by comparing the metrics under consideration with the approach below.)

Here's my approach in a nutshell:

1. Understand what was promised.
2. Understand the most important issues facing the organization.
3. Understand the vital strategies of the organization.
4. Connect the promises to the issues and strategies.
5. Show evidence of how the project is contributing to the things that really matter to the organization.

Notation Standards: Friend or Foe?

I've noticed more and more notation standards appearing on the scene. In so many ways these standards offer many advantages and benefits to those that use them. But this begs the question, "Is there a possible downside?" I think the answer is yes. I feel that understanding the downsides and guarding against them allows you to have your cake and eat it too.

Notation standards are a language. There are symbols that evoke meaning to those conversant in the language. The standards have rules about how to combine the symbols. But just like English, or German, or Italian, having standard symbols with rules about their use does not make for understandable, impactful writing.  Other principles and skills are employed to take the written word  to another level.

Lesson?

The best whiteboarders have an excellent command of the standards of their choice while also applying good principles of visual communications. They make good use of visual space, color, size and many other tools we talk about on this blog. Doing so, these masters take a "grammatically correct" drawing and make it an effective, impactful tool that builds shared understanding and inspires action.

Do you have some examples of masterful drawings in spite of notation standards? How about the opposite? Please join our discussion on this topic by adding your comment below. 

Are You Giving Good Whiteboard?

A common question I hear from my clients seeking to hire someone for their Enterprise Architecture team is, "What skills should I look for in my candidates?" One of the most often overlooked skills of being a good architect is the ability to create effective diagrams or visual representations. I have found that "Giving good whiteboard" is central to how great architects work. Using this skill they:

1. Make complex things simple
2. Bring order out of chaos
3. Build successful strategies and plans out of the fog of confusion

One of the outcomes of "Giving Good Whiteboard" is Increasing speed and efficiency of projects by decreasing TTUA (time to understanding and agreement). Isn't creating a shared understanding of the problem at hand and a shared vision and commitment to the project scope one of the most powerful determinants of project failure or success?

"Giving good whiteboard" is needed now more than ever as companies are under increasing pressure for greater speed and efficiency in an ever more complex and dynamic environment. In this blog we will be discussing things like:

• the three powerful questions to ask as you prepare your visuals
• tips of how to use color, shapes, size, and proximity to facilitate understanding, buy-in and momentum
• share real-life before and after visuals that are examples of all the above.

Do you know a great "whiteboarder" that you could tell us about? How about you, do you give good whiteboard?