At Spot20, we love the 80/20 rule. It's a concept which was developed in 1941 by Joseph M. Juran, inspired by the work of the Italian economist Vilfrido Pareto, who observed in 1901 that 80% of the Italian land was owned by 20% of the population. In statistics, this rule is associated with a "power of law distribution" and fits many natural- and business-observations (examples below). Spot20 is always focused on the important 20%
Architecting Intelligent Systems
Leading Enterprise Transformation and Digital Strategy by architecting the Cloud & Ecosystems and culture required to master complex operational and market challenges
Philosophy of the vital few
Sales Revenue
Marshall, P. (2013). 80/20 Sales and Marketing. Entrepreneur Press80% of sales come from 20% of the customers.
Software Stability
Rooney, P. (2002). Microsoft CEO: Quality Is Priority One. CRN Archive.80% of software crashes are resolved when the top 20% of reported bugs are resolved.
Asset Value
Silver, E. A. et al. (1998). Inventory Management. Wiley20% of inventory items make 80% of the inventorys total value.
IT architectures are no longer the straightforward blueprints of the past. We have witnessed the rise of rigid monoliths and the subsequent struggle for modularity. We have seen the "integration of everything" turn into a web of dependencies that stifle innovation.
To be honest... not all pain can be prevented. However, the difference between a good and an excellent architect is the ability to foresee change—without knowing exactly what that change will look like.
How do we prove that? For years, we have championed the benefits of Event-Based Integration. Yet, in 80% of our projects, we still implement API-based solutions. Why? Because systems must be operated, upgraded, and—most importantly—accepted by the people who use them. Not every team is ready for a fundamental paradigm shift on day one.
The Vital 20% of our work is ensuring that a future move from API to Event-based logic requires minimal effort. It’s about accepting that the "perfect" architectural solution is worthless if it isn't the right solution for the client’s current maturity.