Halfway to CTA: Initial Impressions of the Program

I've now reached (about) halfway through the CTA journey and wanted to take a moment to sit and reflect. My hope for this blog is that it will provide value if you are curious about what the CTA program is like from someone currently enrolled or want to know what the value it could bring you or your organization.

The CTA program is a 12 week course designed for experienced ServiceNow architects. You'll be part of a group of 60 people (called a cohort) who meet in virtual sessions to review presentations and content. Even though your cohort is up to 60 people, you'll be randomly sorted into study groups with four or five other people to join forces and find a way through each week's case study. This is not Hogwarts style house sorting - in my group we have a good variety of expertise in different areas of the platform and in experience levels; that diversity of skillset really brings a lot to the program.

With that preamble out of the way, I'm going to answer a few questions for information I wanted to know about when I started the program.

🤔 What skills and effort do you need to have to be successful?

First and foremost, this is a program that makes better architects, in a true sense of the word. I feel too often in our industry (both partner and client-side), Architect can be a stand in for senior developer.

This program is all about the elements that are unique and separate from development- it is more about product strategy than product knowledge. We are less concerned about the specifics of how to implement but rather why to implement each feature. It is assumed that you have core product knowledge and healthy understanding of the platform and its nature. The only product specific areas (that we've covered yet) have been for general technologies that don’t tie into specific product.

So, this course will be helpful for you if you are a super dev and want to make the leap into architecture. It will also be helpful if you are already an architect- it will help you hone your craft and begin to think about it more theoretically (embracing content from frameworks like TOGAF and IT4IT, though in brief).

🤔 What type of content is there and what level is it?

As I've already stated, the content is focused on strategy and high-level understanding of a wide variety of technologies and approaches for ServiceNow. I'll also note that the program runners and instructors are doing a great job incorporating past cohorts' feedback and keep the program evolving in each iteration. That may mean what someone went through a few months ago won't be your experience (it certainly was the case for me!).

As I've already noted, the content is predominantly on product strategy- getting an understanding of when you might want to use core features of the platform and for whom it is a best fit. Items like domain separation, instance data replication, and several different agile frameworks all factor in. Governance is a big part of the work; its facets span several weeks- it's been great to get a rooted understanding in elements of our work that I learned on the job.

This content is all at surface level. For example, it covers the basics of TOGAF but in a 20 to 30-minute bite-sized serving. It gives you enough to understand it at a conceptual level, know what it's about, and then moves on to other topics.

The live sessions have been full of polite debates/discussions on these principles but focused on us asking each other "when have you seen this? What kind of client is this good for?" and challenging each other on ways to improve. What you will not find is content on the surface of "when to use ternary operators" and questions like it, i.e. other code and development debates.

🤔 What's the workload and what kind of work is it?

When I was preparing for the program, I had heard all sorts of estimates for how much work to expect from it, ranging from 2 hours a week to upwards of 20 or more. I have found in my experience 10-15 is to be expected, depending on if I'm presenting that week.

The core of the work is in 3 parts:

Self-paced content and Virtual sessions

Meeting with your study group to discuss the content and weekly presentation

Each study group submits a 10-minute recording of a presentation on the week's topics in response to a case study; 2 groups each week are chosen to present live

🕰️ Breakdown of where I am spending my time:

2-3 hours: Self-paced content that is released on Friday afternoons

2 hours: Live Virtual sessions held Fridays

2 hours: Two one-hour sessions with my study group on Monday and Wednesday

1-2 hours: Review of this week's presentation

3-5 hours: If you're presenting for your study group on a given week, I'd encourage you to take point and have a deck prepared by the time you meet with your group. Whenever you prepare it, expect to spend some devoted time to think out the initial strategy to propose and get some slides together. This time also includes revisions and practice run-throughs ahead of a final recording.

Add onto that time spent reviewing the class's discussion boards. It's optional but there is a lot of good conversation and insight in mine.

If you're thinking "3-5 hours to prep for a 10 minute presentation!?!", then this program might be right for you. It is all about getting better as a speaker and conveyor of information - strong presentation design is a component of that. Additionally, it takes time to digest the case study more fully and come up with thought out recommendations that will hold up to a room of 30 people.

👍 Some things that helped me along the way

I took some steps ahead that gave me a leg up in the CTA program. There are 3 that I want to call out for anyone considering taking the program:

1.  Talk with someone who has done it ahead of the program.  Talk to multiple people given everyone's experience is going to be slightly different. Find friends in your network or colleagues at your company to talk to. If you can't, come talk to me. I'm happy to give you more information to help you on your journey.

2.  Continue talking with those people throughout the program and seek feedback from all sorts. Your study group will be your core support through the program but it doesn't need to end there. If you're preparing a presentation, ask a CTA (or CMA) to review it too. Ask your manager. Ask that one person in your company that makes awesome presentations that you admire. All of this is going to provide value to you that aligns with what you get in the program- it's all about getting more perspectives on how you present and what you say.

3.  Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte. This book helped me more than I could have expected ahead of the CTA. I had picked it up and skimmed it a few weeks ahead of time for a separate reason, but it really leveled up my PowerPoint game. It's readily available on Amazon for 15 dollars or less - it is an evaluation of how to design slides to support presentations. It is not a guide on how to use PowerPoint. If you're going into the CTA program, please read this book. It's awesome and has a permanent spot on my shelf.

4.  Make sure you have the support of your company. I've got to give a big shout-out to Astrica for allowing me the space to do this program the right way. This extends beyond financial- CTA will consume space in your week and headspace that will draw away from full focus on client or technical concerns. There will be reserved spaces in your week that you must attend to be successful in your course. Expect some time to come out of your weekend too- my group meets on Mondays so we all spend a few hours on the weekend reviewing content so we can come informed.

Questions?

As I've already mentioned, I'm happy to speak with anyone who is interested in additional perspectives on the program or to provide a presentation review. Interested in joining a team that supports you through enablement programs like this? Head over to astrica.ai and take a look at our Careers page. We're on the lookout for passionate and smart ServiceNow consultants of all tiers. Keep an eye out in December for my final thoughts!