One of my favorite essays is the Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis. It is quoted often, thus I shall not need to repeat it here – if you are unfamiliar with this great work I encourage you to stop now and acquire a copy with haste. Yet, even so, I see an element unfinished…
Broken in 67 Places
I am angry. I’m frustrated. But most of all I mourn a loss I cannot wrap my heart and head around. Not the kind of morning I’m used to, not the kind of mourning like when my friend died after we had played together in a band. Not the kind of sadness after the passing…
The Urgency of Defense Aviation Modernization
On January 29, 2025, a mid-air collision involving an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near DCA led to the loss of 67 lives. The incident highlights longstanding issues in modernizing avionics, specifically the lack of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, necessitating urgent reforms in funding and equipment modernization. (Cover Photo from theaviationist.com)
How to CRAFT Value
I recently gave an interview with a government project office on applying Value Streams in complex systems architectures. It made me think about the connection between value streams as an architectural concept and value statements as an element of organizational dynamics. Corporations often have value statements. Most of them are meaningless. Allow me a few…
An Armchair Theologian’s Nativity Ephiphany
Ever wish you could just sit down with some ancient sage and ask some tough questions over a beer? I had a number of good theological conversations this year, perhaps importantly as the first time since my pandemic-induced hibernation that dialogue has started to thaw and people are actually meeting for lunch and beers after…
A Call to Action via Modular Collaboration
Practice makes perfect, well, sort of. Unfortunately, very few technical professions take the word “practice” literally. I have always considered it uncomfortably necessary to think of a doctor as having a “practice”, yet am comforted by two things: first that the doctor is constantly learning and second that my situation has the potential to be slightly…
Slinging Wisdom – The Tyranny of Brevity
Every year for the past 20+ years, since I was first introduced to Dr King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” I have endeavored to read one of his letters on “MLK-J Day.” This introduced me to one of my favorite works of literature, his 1967 Christmas Sermon where he noted, ironically, that “our world is…
The Paradox of Quick Learning: A Journey of Continuous Diligence
This article is reposted and expanded (slightly) from the original on my LinkedIn profile, here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paradox-quick-learning-journey-continuous-diligence-john-stough-slvje/ I have been accused in the past, in fact the very recent past, of being a “quick learner”. This would be a mistaken label, I fear, and I would offer some advice to save you from a perilous journey…
Software Architecture Book Published!
Last fall I had the privilege of joining the world’s foremost researchers in Software Architecture at the International Conference on Software Architecture (ICSA) Lite. The results of our time together were collected and we continued to collaborate over the next several months remotely. I am honored to be listed amongst the authors of the newly…
Acquire Like You Fight: DAU MOSA Series
In August of 2023 I was invited to be the guest speaker for the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) “Let’s Be Modular and Open Series” of talks. Here is the video of that webinar (direct link) Let’s Be Modular and Open Webinar – MOSA Implementation with PEO Aviation | http://www.dau.edu Description: DoD MOSA is an integrated business…
My Brief at the 2022 Defense Standardization Program
In the fall of 2022 I was invited to speak on behalf of PEO Aviation at the Defense Standardization Program (DSP) conference. My remarks begin at just after 23 minutes into the video, below, following the PEO Ground Combat Systems presentation and is followed by open Q&A.
Enterprise Architecture for the World’s Largest Aviation Fleet
I recently had the privilege of publishing an article on the Architecture & Governance magazine for our work in Army PEO Aviation. Read it here:https://www.architectureandgovernance.com/elevating-ea/enterprise-architecture-for-the-worlds-largest-aviation-fleet/
Exocubic 