MVC is derived from the lean startup community and their Minimal Viable
Product (MVP) concept. The approach is to build a cloud implementation with
just enough features to satisfy early customers, and to provide feedback for
future development. Time box yourself to a six- to ten-week implementation
window. This ensures you keep the requirements minimal, while turbocharg-
ing the learning and buy-in. Make sure to migrate a real-life workload, an appli-
cation that tests the boundaries of acceptable business risk criteria.
Making it count motivates the organization to do it correctly. No pain, no gain,
as the adage goes. Once you complete your initial MVC, continue to add work-
loads and capabilities to it to test additional controls and services. You will not
always get it right the first time, so be ready to pivot if needed. Learn to toler-
ate failure. Trust in yourself to always respond quickly.
Summary
The six key activities I’ve outlined above are intended to help you deliver a scal-
able cloud transformation. At the end of the day, they propose to manage your
three most common program risks:
• Managing the people resistance to change
• Building the right solution
• Institutionalizing the change beyond the program timeline
Weaving in modern day lean and agile practices provides the change manage-
ment method to break up a very large problem domain into manageable pieces.
This article provides a practical reference guide for you to now plan your long
range cloud transformation.
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