Committed to guidance

One of the really great things from TechEd was to hear Andy Lees tell the world that Microsoft was committed to providing architectural guidance for common scenarios. I mean, how great is that? Especially when it is my job to get that done. The problem is, that this is really a very hard thing to do well.

First off - what are the “common scenarios” that we need to provide guidance about? 

Secondly - what is the best way to communicate architectural guidance?

When I read the comments from TechEd evaluations, I am often surprised to see one person saying that this was the “best session ever” while the next person complains that it was “too high level” or “too low level”. You see each person approaches the problem space from a different perspective, background and agenda. We try to take this into account as we design our guidance so that it will resonate with different audiences but I'm telling you, this is a very difficult thing to do.

This week I am summarizing the results of a usability test we have done and I wonder how we will ever get to the place where we can please most people. I don't mean to sound depressed or whiny, so enough of that. I am all for great solutions so what I want to hear from you is.

Question: What kind of architectural guidance (format, code, patterns, books, etc.) helps you the most? What do you want to see more of?

I'm all ears people - tell me how I can help you.