m Enterprise Architecture
- jimm1
Key Points
Infrastructure teams typically create, manage, support
- design - infrastructure design and modeling
- plan - design and plan the future technologies and platforms the business runs on
- services - all the business logic for front ends and external clients
- apis - vendor and platform api integrations, design, testing
- data - manage all data sources, types, integration, transformation, delivery produced, consumed by internal and external clients
- reporting - all intelligent, automated reporting services consumed internally and externally
- infrastructure - provide full runtime infrastructures across all platforms
- devops - provide full CI support for all environments,
- production support - provide all production AAA support for all teams on all runtime environments
- security - secure services & connections, CA management, directory services, audits
- networking - network all environments, ecosystems from dev to prod for internal and external systems
- operations - operations management of the infrastructure
- continuity - BCP ( business continuity planning ) and recovery meeting defined business recovery points, priorities
References
| Reference_description_with_linked_URLs___________________________________ | Notes______________________________________________________________ |
|---|---|
| Togaf - Enterprise Architecture Framework | |
| m Design | |
| m Design Engineering Themes | |
| Design Tools | |
| Other API resources | |
IBM API Economy | |
IBM API Connect | |
| https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rajkgrover_enterprise-architecture-practice-on-a-page-ugcPost-7015658400252366849-qDlX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop | Rajg Enterprise Architecture Overview |
| Other Enterprise Architecture Models - the Open Group | |
| Federal Enterprise Archtiecture Guide | |
| Togaf - Enterprise Architecture Framework | |
Key Concepts
Introduction to Gartner IT Score for Enterprise Architecture & Technology Innovation
Introduction to Gartner IT Score for Enterprise Architecture & Technology Innovation
Functional leaders use Gartner IT Score for Enterprise Architecture & Technology Innovation to measure the maturity of their function in key activities, prioritize areas of improvement and plot the function’s path to improvement. This is an excerpt from a full report, which provides detail on a wide range of functional activities. Gartner IT Score for Enterprise Architecture & Technology Innovation Management covers 24 functional activities across 6 functional objective:
1. Measure the performance of the function in terms of:
• Maturity. We ask a series of yes/no questions about how your function approaches and executes each one of a range of key activities and objectives specific to your function.
• Importance. We ask you to indicate how important each of those activities is for your function to meet its enterprise objectives.
2. Prioritize.
• See your maturity levels at a glance. On a simple bar graph, we plot the maturity level of each activity and its importance — and you get your first glimpse of where maturity and importance aren’t aligned. For example, your function may be highly mature in activities that aren’t very important to driving business priorities or highly immature in activities that are.
• See your priorities in rank order, based on those gaps between maturity and importance. Immediately you can see what should be your highest priorities for improvement if your function is to drive business goals effectively. You also see which activities need less attention.
3. Improve. We provide you with steps to take on your path to improvement in whatever activities the data shows to be the biggest significant opportunities for improvement.
• “A Pathway to Maturity” lists action steps required to reach the next level in each specific activity.
• Recommended related resources provide associated insights. In some cases, a Gartner advisor delivers the report and helps with prioritization and action planning.
Why Businesses Need Enterprise Architecture
Digital Transformation Tip 022: Why businesses need #EnterpriseArchitecture?
1. Strategic alignment ( IT alignment with business objective)
2. Clear understanding of the organisation, vision, goals and values
3. Improved efficiency and agility
4. Enhanced interoperability and integration
5. Standardisation and consistency
6. Optimal resource allocation and utilization
7. Risk mitigation and compliance
8. Enhanced decision making
9. Scalability and future readiness
10. Change management and adaptability
Image Source: Deloitte
Rajg Enterprise Architecture Overview
Goal: Articulate the long-term future course of action for business and IT
Question: How is the business environment changing and what should we do to react on these changes?
Instances: Single or several for highly decentralized organizations, e.g. one instance for each line of business
Nature: Continuous and largely unstructured
Integration: Integrated with regular strategic management activities, e.g. environmental analysis, identification of competitive advantages and goals formulation
Timing: Aligned to the annual business planning cycle, important business dates, periods and events, e.g. ends of the financial year, board meetings or updates of a business strategy
Actors: Business Leaders and Architects
EA Artifacts: Considerations and Visions, e.g. Principles, Policies, Business Capability Models and Roadmaps (see Enterprise Architecture on a Page) Other Documents: Organizational mission and values, strategic goals, objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs) and balanced scorecards (BSCs) as well as high-level strategic business plans
Content: Development of rules and directions for business and IT and their explicit reflection in Considerations and Visions
Activities: Informal discussions, meetings, presentations and workshops as well as periodical formal approvals and sign-offs
Techniques: SWOT and PEST analyses, Five Forces and other strategy frameworks
Inputs: Fundamental factors of the external business environment
Outputs: High-level strategic plans for business and IT reflected in Considerations and Visions
Technology Optimization
Goal: Improve the overall quality of the organizational IT landscape
Question: What is wrong with the current IT landscape and what should we do to improve it?
Instances: Single or several for highly decentralized organizations, e.g. one instance for each business division
Nature: Continuous and largely unstructured
Integration: Not integrated with any regular processes or activities
Timing: May be carried out independently without any systematic schedule, often on an as-necessary basis or even opportunistically, e.g. in the absence of other higher-priority activities
Actors: Architects alone
EA Artifacts: Standards and Landscapes, e.g. Technology Reference Models, Guidelines, Landscape Diagrams and Inventories (see Enterprise Architecture on a Page)
Other Documents: None
Content: Analysis of the current IT landscape, update of Standards and maintenance of Landscapes
Activities: Numerous informal discussions and periodical formal approvals
Techniques: Total cost of ownership (TCO) and architecture debt management
Inputs: Current structure of the organizational IT landscape
Outputs: Technical rationalization suggestions reflected in Standards and Landscapes
Source: Svyatoslav Kotusev
Enterprise Architecture Practice on a Page.pdf file
Managing Architecture Deliverables as Consumables
Goal is not to rebuild the world
Goal is to identify opportunities and strategic directions that add value
Identify higher value solutions that can be implemented given where we are now that don't conflict with long-term value strategies
Invest in those next step solutions having identified the level of contribution to strategic directions
Deliver using an SDP process that looks at both the producers AND the clients side of the planned services
"If you build it, they will come" rarely works well
Process
- Understand the customers, the opportunity, the needs, the strategy
- Define the VCRS metrics clients and providers use to measure the solution in operation ( Value, Costs, Risks, Success Keys )
- Focus on solutions that customers understand, will use
- Deliver using an Agile process that engages the clients at all phases
- Validate with the business and clients the results at each stage making any necessary changes
- In sequence, create > transform > automate > accelerate solution usage
see architecture themes for how to add value to a solution design
m Design Engineering Themes#BCECRCTSSSSMTVLAV
Architecture consumables concept - artifacts that can be reused for solutions
https://architecturalthinking.net/2012/11/22/not-deliverables-but-architecture-consumables/
We should stop thinking in terms of architecture deliverables, and start thinking in terms of architecture consumables. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
- Make it clear what type of work products you are planning to produce; there is only a few possible of types: 1) a strategy or position paper; 2) a plan or roadmap; 3) a (current or target) model; 4) a gap analysis; 5) a technology evaluation paper; 6) a policy or standard; 7) a service definition; 8) a service or application. Granted: this is not a complete list, but you get the idea…. A good architecture practice will produce a healthy mix of those consumables.
- Make it clear how your consumable fits in the overall IT value chain. In other words, be explicit on who your consumer/customer is (within IT or business). Simple rule: no customer, no value!
- Think and communicate what the purpose of the work product is; why will be be useful to those consuming it, in other words, what’s the value proposition.
- Be explicit on the planned completion date. Be realistic and explicit (too many architectural efforts go on, and on, and on…)
- Communicate the dependencies (in other words describe what’s the previous step in the value chain), but expect to be challenged. There will always be dependencies, but you have to make a call on whether you enough data to proceed with your work or not.
- Define the success measures. A very important measure is probably your consumers/stakeholders’ satisfaction, but you should be able to have other measures too. For example, for a plan or roadmap securing the funds for its execution is a good success criteria. For a standard, its degree of adoption (anyone can define a standard that nobody follows…).
No more deliverables, but architecture consumables…
EA Services Relevant, Practical, Consumable Business Architecture the Key to Enterprise Transformation
EA Services
Solution Design Process
Value Chain Engineering Aligns Value > Strategies > Capabilities > Solutions
Value Chain Engineering Solution Process
Business Model Alignment: Strategies, Processes, Capabilities, Value Stream
Coordinating Strategy, Policy, People, Solutions, Infrastructure, Organization
Business Process Change Model - p1
Business Capability Change Model - p2
Business Architecture Content Framework - strategies, models, capabilities, value chains, product offerings, transformation plans, operations & support
Business Capability Example: Plan > Capabilities > Service Offerings > Service Metrics
Data Architecture Transformation Trends
Innovation Role in Digital Transformation
how innovation contributes to the digital transformation journey:
1. Future Readiness
2. Driving #Sustainable Growth
3. Managing #Disruption
4. Designing and Developing New #BusinessModels
5. Creating Competitive Advantage
6. Enabling #DataDriven Insight
7. Identifying New Opportunities
8. Improving Customer Experience
9. Fostering Agility, Flexibility and Adaptability
10. Talent Attraction and Retention
11. #RiskManagement
12. Encouraging Continuous Improvement
13. Cultivating #Collaboration and Partnerships
14. Enhancing Efficiency and Productivity
15. Employee Empowerment
Potential Value Opportunities
Architecture Modernization
Architecture_Modernization_v9.pdf. link
Architecture_Modernization_v9.pdf file
legacy architectures are a business risk and a competitive disadvantage
carefully designed modern architecture is a powerful competitive advantage
Potential Challenges
Candidate Solutions
LeanIX ecosystem for Enterprise Architecture Management
https://www.leanix.net/en/products/enterprise-architecture-management/integrations
LeanIX_Poster_Enterprise-architeture-roadmap.pdf. link
LeanIX_Poster_Enterprise-architeture-roadmap.pdf file
TOGAF ARCHI Tool set
IT Planning Tools
https://leadingage.org/strategic-it-planning-tools/
https://leadingage.org/strategic-it-planning-tools-2/
Government IT Management Methods & Tools
https://digital.gov/topics/product-and-project-management/
https://strategy.data.gov/practices/
https://www.infotech.com/research/ss/build-an-it-strategy-for-us-government-organizations
Step-by-step guide for Example
sample code block