Strategic Architect Framework: Microsoft CSA Training Program
Module 01: Constraint Discovery
Facilitator Deck Outline: ~60 minutes
Deck purpose: Introduce the Discovery skill, present the core frameworks, and set up the Hot Seat simulation exercise. This deck is used in a cohort facilitation session and is not a substitute for the module self-paced content. Participants should have completed the self-paced content before attending this session.
Opening (Slides 1–3)
01Title
M01: Constraint Discovery: What Do We Actually Know?
Module title, session duration, facilitator name
Core question: "What is the customer not telling you, and why?"
02Opening Scenario
The $4M Assumption
An architect completes a 3-month discovery and proposes a migration architecture
6 weeks later, the CFO kills the project: citing a capital freeze that was never mentioned in discovery
The constraint existed from day one. No one asked the right question.
Discussion: what questions would have surfaced this earlier?
Keep the opening scenario brief (2 min). The goal is emotional resonance, not a detailed case study. Every architect in the room has a version of this story.
03Framing
The Two-Layer Discovery Model
Surface Layer: Requirements, timelines, stated constraints: what stakeholders volunteer
Most discovery processes are excellent at the surface layer and absent at the constraint layer
The Constraint Layer is where deals are lost, not at go-live, but in the pre-commitment phase
Two-layer diagram: surface requirements above the line (labeled, organized), constraint layer below (unlabeled, fragmented). The waterline between them is the discovery boundary most architects stop at.
The absence of an artifact is as informative as its presence
Artifacts reveal what the customer has already decided, what they're afraid of, and what they've tried before
Artifact Inquiry questions: "Who owns this document?" "What changed between version 1 and version 2?" "What's missing from this org chart?"
Sample RFP with three annotations highlighted: one unstated assumption, one suspicious omission, one version-history clue.
05Framework
Framework 2: Inversion Method
Instead of asking what success looks like, ask what failure looks like
"What would cause this project to fail in 18 months?" reveals risks the sponsor has not voiced
"What decision would you most regret?" reveals the unstated priority ranking
Inversion questions bypass the optimism bias that makes stakeholders understate risk in standard discovery
Practice the Inversion questions aloud. They feel awkward at first. Participants who haven't used them will default to positive framing in the Hot Seat exercise, which is exactly what this module trains them out of.
06Framework
Framework 3: Absence Audit
Absence = something that should be there but is not
Three Absence categories: Financial (missing budget owner, no CapEx/OpEx conversation), Organizational (decision authority unclear, sponsor can't name the blocker), Timeline (deadline with no compliance path)
An Absence Audit identifies the gaps in what you know before the proposal, not after the rejection
3-column Absence Audit table: Financial / Organizational / Timeline. Each column has 3 example absences and 1 question to surface it.
07Framework
Framework 4: Shadow Stakeholder Mapping
The person who is not in the meeting is often the one who kills the deal
Shadow stakeholders: hold veto power, budget approval, or downstream ownership, but are not present in discovery conversations
Three diagnostic questions: "Who would veto this if they saw it?" "Who controls the budget that isn't in this room?" "Who will own this after go-live?"
Map shadow stakeholders before the proposal, not after the unexpected "no"
Exercises (Slides 8–10)
08Program Metric
Program Metric 1: The Discovery Audit
Target: Surface 3 or more unstated business constraints in a structured discovery scenario
"Unstated" means the constraints were not present in the scenario brief and the participant had to surface them through questioning
This is assessed in the Hot Seat exercise and in the M08 Capstone
Score of 3+ = "Ready"; fewer = more practice needed
Metric card: Discovery Audit, green = Ready (3+), yellow = Developing (1–2), red = Not Ready (0). One visual, no tables.
09Exercise Setup
The Hot Seat Exercise: Setup
One participant plays the Architect; one plays a stakeholder from the Polaris Industrial scenario (RFP in module folder)
Architect has 15 minutes to conduct discovery: using at least one Artifact Inquiry, one Inversion question, one Shadow Stakeholder diagnostic
Debrief: how many unstated constraints were surfaced? What question would have found one more?
Rotate roles so every participant plays the Architect at least once across the module. 15 minutes per rotation; 5 minutes debrief. Do not skip the debrief because it is where the learning happens.
10Close
Application: Before the Next Customer Call
Run an Absence Audit before your next discovery meeting: what Financial, Organizational, and Timeline questions do you not yet have answers to?
Prepare one Inversion question for the meeting: use it before you leave
Identify one shadow stakeholder by name before you write the proposal
After the meeting: did you surface anything from the Constraint Layer that wasn't in the brief?