I got into the IT business because I love to design and build systems. After doing a lot of designing and building and watching others do a lot of designing and building, one of the most important things I've learned is that successful projects are always run by a certain kind of person. This person can speak both the language of technology and the language of business. This person understands the specific business issues that a new system is supposed to address and is always looking for simple and effective ways to use technology to get things done. I call this person the systems builder.

The competence of the systems builder goes a long way toward determining the success or failure of any development project.

Often, the systems builder comes up through the technical ranks and learns about business along the way. Sometimes the systems builder comes up through the business side and manages to learn about technology. Either way, this is someone who can clearly demonstrate skills in two main areas: designing systems and leading projects to build systems.

I'll look at the five basic skills the systems builder needs in order to be any good in the first area -- designing systems. There are certainly other skills, but without these as a foundation, the systems builder can't excel in the design process:

1. Understand the business operation. The systems builder needs to have a good grasp of the concepts and rules that guide the business operation. This means knowing how the operation fits into the overall business, how the work of the operation is performed and what the cost and profit factors are.

2. Create an inclusive process. Systems builders must be able to consistently produce competent (and sometimes even brilliant) designs in spite of high levels of complexity in both business and technology. Complexity loses much of its power to intimidate and confuse if groups of people with the appropriate skills and experience are brought together in a collaborative process where they can pool their collective insights. The systems builder is the one who orchestrates this process.

3. Tolerate not knowing. It's an act of real discipline to immerse yourself in the details of a situation and resist the temptation to rush to judgment. Because of the complexity inherent in most situations, it's unlikely that a great system design will be the first or even the second one that comes to mind.

The systems builder keeps an open mind and encourages others on the project to do the same as they investigate the issues.

4. Look for the simple underlying patterns. This is the creative leap where investigation and analysis give way to synthesis and the design emerges. At first, you're assailed by the surface complexity of the situation and all the potential technology that could be used. When you allow a range of possible solutions to be generated, some profoundly simple and yet very useful insights can emerge.

5. Use simple combinations of technology and process. Beware of the cleverness trap. Cleverness means complexity, and complex designs are very hard to build. Strive to create system designs that display an elegant simplicity. Use as few technology components as possible, and use each component for what it does best.

Use these components to support streamlined workflow processes that will achieve the performance levels needed to effectively respond to the business issues that the system is meant to address.

If you are a systems builder or want to become one, work at developing these skills, and your success rate will go way up. If you are an executive who sponsors or oversees systems development projects, make sure that a person with these skills heads each project.