variations on the architecture theme ea, ita and solutions architecture

© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Variations on the Architecture Theme:

Enterprise, IT and Solutions Architectures

Presented by Tim Westbrock & George Paras

Managing Directors, EAdirections

IASA World Summit 2010, New York

September 23, 2010, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM

[email protected]

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 2

Our Premise

EA is NOT really Enterprise Architecture the way it

is practiced in 99+% of organizations.

It is IT architecture.

What is missing?

Business-Owned

Enterprise Business Architecture and

Enterprise Information (not Data) Architecture


What is the difference

between Enterprise Architecture

and IT Architecture?


Enterprise Architecture vs. Architecture

• EA often mistaken for/positioned as:

– Business Architecture

– Information Architecture

– Application Architecture

– Technical / Infrastructure Architecture

– Solutions Architecture

– SOA

– ??? Architecture

– All of the above?

• EA is a separate and distinct discipline that is higher-level, more strategic, and longer-term focused, but should still be integrated with other architecture disciplines

Enterprise Strategy

Enterprise Architecture

Bus

Arch

App

Arch

Data

Arch

Tech

Arch

Project 1 Project 2 . . . Project n


Traditional View & Transitional View

5

Enterprise

Architecture

Business

Arch

Information

Arch

Application

Arch

Technology

Arch

5


Business

Arch

Application

Arch

Information

Arch

Technology

Arch


Transformational View

• Impressions:

– Separation of Business and IT

domains

– Work Activities and Information

are the domain of the business

– App, Data and Technology are

the domain of IT

– Business Activities drive the

Application Architecture

– Business Information drives the

Data Architecture

– Technology Architecture directly

enables data and applications

(not business process/function

and information)

6


IT Domain

Business Domain

Activity

Arch

Information

Arch

Application

Arch

Technology

Arch

Data

Arch


EA vs. ITA

• EA

– Provides the linkage

between business

strategy and the

changes that need to

occur throughout the

enterprise to achieve

executives intended

strategic direction

– Maintains an

enterprise-wide

perspective across all

components of the

enterprise

• ITA

– Defines a target state and

roadmap for the entirety

of the IT environment to

be aligned with business

direction, IT strategy, and

each component with

each other

– Maintains an IT-wide

perspective across the

entire application

portfolio, information

ecosystem and IT

infrastructure

7


How do you get started with

Enterprise Business

Architecture (EBA)?


So What Is This Thing Called EBA?

9

Enterprise Business Architecture is a

set of artifacts/methods that help

business leaders make

decisions about DIRECTION and

communicate the BUSINESS CHANGES

that need to occur in their enterprise to

achieve their vision.


Modes of BA We Have Seen

1. Getting Started by IT by themselves

– Varying degrees of quality dependent on business participation

– Ultimately limited due to lack of Business Ownership

2. Driven by IT, Participation from Business as Part of a

Large Implementation Effort

– Typically associated with an ERP or other large system

implementation

– Because of the tactical nature, the BA tends to be capturing

current state with some improvements

– Focused, rather than enterprisewide

– Results in EA-level artifacts

3. In Partnership with the Business as Part of a

Transformation Effort

– Strategic, visionary BROAD effort driven by the business

– SMART GRID, e-government, M&A, “Bank of the Future”

10


First thing to do?

• A 1-page picture of how your company operates?

– Enterprise Value Network

– Business Context Diagram

– Business Operating Model

11

HumanCapitalMgmnt

ProductDevelop-ment

Marketing

Customer

Sales

Support

ProductManage-ment

SalesOperations

Consulting

ExternalPartnerChannels

Finance/Accounting

RequiresResources

Value-added

products &

By-productsDelivery or Managed Delivery of Services

Accountability

• Citizens

• Businesses

• Other Govs

• Partners

• Associations

• Employees

• Judicial/Legal

Enforce.

• Media

• Ad Hoc Gps

• Planning/

Eval.

• Revenue/

Funding

• Regulation/

Monitoring/

Enforcement

• Education

&

Comm

•

Registration

• Prov. of

Service

• Represen-

tation

• Information

& Knowledge

• Services

• Standards &

Policies

• Certification/

Qualification

Clients Mandate Functions Products

Processes/Results

Generates

Policies

Statutes

Filters

CreateNeeds

• Social

• Economic

• Stewardship


What Have We Seen Comprise Initial BAs

Initially worry about 7 components when developing a BA:

• Business Strategy / Vision

• Organization

• Business Objectives*

• Business Processes

• Information Entities

• Business Capabilities

• Performance Metrics

12

* Business Objective is “near term‟ and measureable

“Does Business Process Modeling =

Business Architecture?”

No.

BPM is an approach to documenting a

key component of Business

Architecture.

• What are the components?

• Do we have all the components?

• How can we assemble them to achieve our vision?


What is the difference

between IT Architecture

and Solutions Architecture?


IT Architecture vs. Solutions Architecture

• IT Architecture (Focus on the WHAT)

– A broad, holistic perspective on how all the major pieces of the IT

ecosystem should fit together

• Includes greatest common view of how applications, data and

infrastructure serve the broadest set of business needs

– Standards, Shared Services, etc.

• Primary focus is the integrity of the overall IT environment

• Coordinated with Domain Architects and other SMEs

• Solutions Architecture (Focus on the HOW)

– Applies the common elements of the IT Architecture to specific

business solutions

• Maximize the leverage of standards, patterns and services across the

broadest collection of solutions

• Maintain continuity and integrity of the solutions portfolio

• Primary focus is the consistent and practical application of the EA/ITA

• Coordinates with Project Teams to resolve discontinuities between local

need and global need

14


Role of Solution Architecture

• Provide detailed guidance

on how to configure

elements of the IT

architecture for a given

business solution

– App Components + Data

Components + Infrastructure

Components

• A given solution

architecture could apply to

one or multiple projects

depending on the

uniqueness of the

business solution

– Solution architects should strive

for reuse

15

IT Domain

Application

Arch

Technology

Arch

Data

Arch

SolutionArch

Project 1 Project 2 . . . Project n


What is the relationship

between Enterprise Architects,

IT Architects and

Solution / Domain Architects?


Role vs. Title

• Many people may play the role of EA, ITA or

Solutions/Domain Architect whether their title suggests it or

not

• Important to identify the responsibilities associated with

each role and then identify the people (titles) that will fill the

roles

• One person may play many roles

• One role may be played by many people

17


Working Together: EA vs. Subject Area Architect vs. Solution Architect

En

terp

rise S

trate

gy

En

terp

rise A

rch

itectu

re

(Bu

sin

ess &

IT

Arc

hit

ectu

re)

Pro

ject

1P

roje

ct

2 . . .

Pro

ject

n

InterpretedBy

Provides

Facilitates

Collaborates

• Principles• Standards• Patterns• Policy• Models• Services Needed

• Strategic Context• Best Practices• Research• Guidance• Leadership

Consults / Advises / Reviews

Collaborates

SubjectAreas Projects

Provides

• Principles• Standards• Design Patterns• Integration Approach• Models

• Project Design• Tech Selection• Service Design• Integration Design• Models

FEEDBACK

FEEDBACK

FEEDBACK

SolutionArch

SolutionArch

SolutionArch

Bu

s

Arc

h

Info

Arc

h

Ap

p

Arc

h

Tech

Arc

h


Need for EA “Team”

• Too much work for One Person

• Too much work for One Centralized Group

• Coordination required across EA activities

• Nothing Stops! … while EA is going on

• Too much depth and breadth of knowledge and experience is required

– Collaboration is a key when trying to leverage multiple skillsets, subject matter expertise, and perspectives

• EA cannot be done effectively with only IT people involved

Business

Operations

Business

InformationIT

Infrastructure

Business

Solutions


Architect Skills and Competencies

Enterprise/Business/IT Architecture

• Broad Subject Area Knowledge

• Diversity of Experience

• Premium on Soft Skills– Facilitation

– Interpersonal / Communication

– Organizational

– Political

• Puts the “Big Picture” first, but understands the need for details

• Wide Business Knowledge

• Easily handles abstract concepts

• Long-term motivated

• Consultative

• Striving for Reuse

• Solution Oriented

• Strong Analytical Skills

• Focus/Perspective– Strategic

– Transformational

– Process-Oriented

Domain or Solution Architecture

• Deep Subject Area Knowledge

• Depth of Expertise

• Premium on Detailed/Technical Skills– HW/SW/NW Configuration

– Data & Information

– Application Integration

– Business Process Design

• Attention to Detail, but understands the big picture

• Narrow Business Knowledge

• Must turn abstract into the concrete

• Short-term motivated

• Consultative

• Striving for Reuse

• Solution Oriented

• Strong Analytical Skills

• Focus/Perspective– Execution

– Implementation

– Task-Oriented


Collaborate on Architecture Platforms

• Identify the needed platforms and capabilities

• Identify the needed services per platform

– TOGAF provides a pretty good starting point related to the TRM

• Identify existing service providers

– Including duplicates

• Declare standard (and alternate) service providers

– Use cases help when more than one alternative is available

• Use SQL Server data service provider for …

• Use Oracle data service provider for …

• Bundle services into Platform Configuration Document

• Identify missing services (no current provider)

• Identify candidate (and dependent) efforts to build platform

service

21


Application

Integration

Business Application

Deployment

Business Application

DevelopmentBusiness

Solution

Platforms

Collaboration

ERP

GIS

IDE

BI / Data Warehouse

Document Management

Content Management

Security

Data Management

Communications

Knowledge

ManagementTechnical

PlatformsWorkstation

Communications Publishing

Storage Management

Voice

Data

Example Platforms


Many Potential Reporting Locations

CEO/President

Corporate

ManagementBus Unit 1 Bus Unit n

Business

Strategy

Finance, HR, etc. Corp IT (CIO)

Office of CIO Shared Services

Operations

/Infrastructure

IT

Architecture (1)Corp Apps

IT Finance & HR

EPMO/Project Office

App Dev (many)

IT

Architecture (4)

IT

Architecture (2)

IT

Architecture (3)

Bus Unit IT

IT

Architecture (5)

Business

Architecture (rare)

IT

Architecture (6)


What are the 5 things

that make an effective

Enterprise Architecture Program?


Five Six Things for Effective EA Program

1. Linkage to Business Strategy

2. Linkage to the Project Portfolio

3. Integration with existing decision making processes and

groups

– Governance, Budgeting, Project Pipeline, Asset Management, etc.

4. Collaboration and Coordination among the Architecture

Community

– Proactive Communications and Visibility to EA thinking

– Recruit a strong virtual community

5. Creation of Audience-specific Deliverables from a

Common EA Knowledge Base

6. Balance between Top-down/Bottom-up Approaches –

Visionary and Innovative, yet Practical

25


IDENTIFY

STRATEGIC

CAPABILITIES

CONDUCT

IMPACT

ANALYSIS

PRIORITIZE

ACTIONS

DEVELOP

TRANSFORMATION

ROADMAP

DEFINE

ENTERPRISE

PRINCIPLES

DEFINE/REFINE

BUSINESS

STRATEGY

IDENTIFY &

ANALYZE

GAPS

PLAN

FUTURE

STATE

ASSESS

THE

ENTERPRISE

PLAN &

IMPLEMENT

ACTIONS

CONDUCT

ENVIRONMENTAL

ANALYSIS

EA is One Part of the Strategic Transformation Effort


About EAdirections

27

Tim Westbrock

George S. Paras

We Work WITH You To:• Improve the value of IT to your enterprise

• Improve Enterprise Architecture (EA) programs

• Refine/Tune Governance Mechanisms

• Create a Portfolio-Based Culture

• Integrate Management Disciplines

• Unify Business/IT Perspectives

• Operate a World-Class Office of the CIO

• Balance the Strategic with the Tactical

How We Do It:• Continuous Mentoring of IT Leaders

• CIO, EA Team, PMO, Office of the CIO, etc.

• Assess Org Structures, People, Teams

• Build Internal Support and Sponsorship

• Analyze and Drive Activity Plans

• Review and Improve Processes & Deliverables

• Contribute Relevant Examples & Research

• Provide Pragmatic, Objective, Unbiased and Prescriptive Feedback on Everything You DoSubscribe to our

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bQ4_

www.EAdirections.com

http://eepurl.com/bQ4_

http://www.eadirections.com/


Sidebar: What is the difference

between Business Analyst

and Business Architect?


BA vs. BA

• Business Analysis is about

understanding:

– Why the organization exists

– What are its goals and objectives

– How it accomplishes those objectives

– How an organization works

– How it needs to change to better

accomplish objectives or to meet new

challenges

• Who is the Business Analyst?

– Works as a liaison among stakeholders to

elicit, analyze, communicate and validate

requirements for changes to business

processes, policies, and information and

information systems

– Understands business problems and

opportunities in the context of the

requirements and recommends solutions

that enable the organization to achieve its

goals

• Source: International Institute of Business Analysis™

• Same thing can be said about

Business Architects, except:

– Business Analysts generally work

at the BU or project level, are driven

primarily by immediate/tactical

needs, translating them into

solution/application requirements

– Business Architects generally

work above the BU and project

levels, are driven by strategic needs

and trends, developing them into

strategic capability changes

• If a Business Architect finds

themselves doing Business Analyst

work:

– Are they overlapping?

– Does only one exist?

– Is one too high or one too low?

– Could your enterprise tell the difference?

• An Architect should be able to give

direction to the Analyst for long term,

and vice-versa for short term – but not

do each other’s jobs

29

variations on the architecture theme ea, ita and solutions architecture

Business

business direction

business activities

business participation

business changes

business processfunction

separation of business

business leaders

business app