Getting started 

Begin by making sure the team, including the key stakeholders, understands the and the key concepts and the roadmaps.

The Practice Framework Architecting practice assumes that the method authoring environment has been set up.  Make sure that all team members can access the environment and understand how to use it.

This practice supports architecting a new practice framework, as well as customizing an existing practice framework architecture.

• To adopt the "architect new practice framework" aspects, start by identifying the context to be addressed by the framework. It is recommended that the first time you apply this practice that you apply it to architect a practice framework where the content to be included in the framework is well understood and where subject matter experts of the framework are part of the authoring team. Architect the practice framework incrementally, defining the guiding principals and the structure of the core first, followed by the detailing of the core elements. See Roadmap: Architect a New Practice Framework for details.
• To adopt the "customize existing practice framework architecture" aspects, start by identifying the framework you want to customize and how you want to customize it. It is recommended that the first time you apply this practice that you apply it to customize a practice framework that is well understood and where subject matter experts of the framework (and the customization) are part of the authoring team. See Roadmap: Customize an Existing Practice Framework Architecture for details.

As you apply the recommendations described in the practice, capture what you have learned, what worked for your team and what didn't so that you can continually fine-tune how your team applies the practice.

Common pitfalls

The following are some common pitfalls when adopting this practice.

• Selecting a practice framework whose content is not well understood as your first framework using this practice. If this is done, more time is spent understanding the framework itself rather than in effectively applying the practice techniques.
• Spending too much time architecting on paper. If this is done, the time it takes to deliver the framework is extended as a lot of time is spent structuring as opposed to just enough to get an initial framework out to get feedback, refining the structure, as needed. Try to keep the documentation clear and concise. Make sure that the consumers of the architecture documentation (the development team) are comfortable with the format and content of the documentation. Is there more or different information they would like see? Would they like to see less?