The 4Cs
A practical framing for delivery:
Core. Configuration. Customisation. Context.
There are already plenty of sensible ideas in architecture and delivery: layered design, separation of concerns, configuration over customisation, and the general instinct not to break what is already stable. None of that is new.
What I have found useful is pulling those strands together into a simpler working lens: Core, Configuration, Customisation, and Context.
So this is not presented as a grand invention. It is better described as my practical framing of existing ideas for migrations, integrations, architecture, and delivery.
The four parts
🧱 Core
The stable foundation. The parts that should not be casually meddled with.
Examples: platform services, storage, identity, core structures.
⚙️ Configuration
The safe, intended way of shaping behaviour.
Examples: settings, roles, policies, schemas, retention rules.
🛠 Customisation
The engineered layer. Often necessary, always worth controlling carefully.
Examples: ETL, scripts, reconciliation logic, conversion steps, bespoke components.
🌍 Context
Everything outside the immediate platform boundary that still affects success.
Examples: source systems, handoffs, networks, suppliers, timing dependencies.
Alongside the common 4Cs
Other 4Cs already exist, especially in marketing, where people often mean Customer, Cost, Convenience, and Communication.
This version sits alongside those rather than trying to replace them. The difference is simply the job it is trying to do. The common 4Cs help with market thinking. This practical 4Cs helps with delivery, architecture, migration, and operational change.
Example
| Part | Voice file transfer example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Blob, Dataverse, identity platform | Stable base; protect it |
| Configuration | RBAC, retention, policies | Safe shaping of behaviour |
| Customisation | Checksums, reconciliation, conversion | Useful, but where much of the delivery risk sits |
| Context | Source system, transfer path, supplier handoffs | Problems often originate here |
Not a new doctrine. A useful working lens.
The value is not in pretending the ingredients are new. The value is in using them in a practical way that helps people deliver without breaking the foundations.