Evaluation of ABACUS 4.3, 1

An Evaluation of ABACUS 4.3

Informational White Paper

Charles D. Madewell

November 3, 2014

INTRODUCTION

Enterprise architecture (EA) is not a simple endeavor. The field requires many

frameworks, ontologies, methodologies, concepts, and processes. EA spans the business

architecture, application architecture, data architecture, and technology architecture levels. EA is

also an iterative process that requires the process to be completed at various levels starting with

the enterprise and covering lower level architectures such as the division and workstation levels.

This iterative process is discussed in great detail in the article, Enterprise Continuum (TOGAF,

n.d.). To accomplish this great feat constructing an enterprise architecture, Minoli (2008, pp.

131-137) points out the need for an EA to use tools. This article evaluates the ABACUS 4.3 tool

for use in enterprise architecture.

DESCRIPTION OF ABACUS 4.3

The ABACUS 4.3 tool is a very capable and complex tool that integrates a whole suite of

tools into one package useful to EA. ABACUS 4.3 includes major components for business

strategy and goals, process modeling, enterprise modeling, portfolio management, standards and

governance, metrics-based analysis, 3D viewing, and a repository. It also has many features that

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allow the use of dashboards and charts. Common view in ABACUS 4.3 include: BMM, process

diagram, process diagram swim lane, project portfolio, organization chart, service map,

application landscape, and entity relationship dashboard. Custom charts are also supplied for:

response time, capability space, stem plot, scatter plot, and bubble chart. ABACUS 4.3 allows

the charts to be developed using multiple dimensions on each axis. Finally, ABACUS 4.3 allows

the output data from all products to be sent out through a report generation component using the

MS Report Builder tool. Two excellent videos outlining general use and capabilities exist. The

first video is Introducing ABACUS 4.0 (Avolution, 2012, May). The second video is Getting

Started with ABACUS (Avolution, 2012, December).

ABACUS 4.3 is has many notation formats in which to diagram and model business

processes. This list of notation formats is many and includes the Business Process Management

Notation (BPMN) format which is the most popular. ABACUS 4.3 allows the development of

BPMN diagrams which commonly includes pools, lanes, processes, and connections. The actual

drawing of the diagram is easy to do since the stencil palette is located on the bottom left of the

screen and includes the common graphic entities of: components, connections, shapes, and

connectors. The great thing about ABACUS 4.3 is that it allows the input of resources, cost, and

timings for all process components that at within a swim lane. Because of this, ABACUS 4.3

allows simulations to be run to show the predicted response of the process. The common outputs

for the simulation are utilization, total time, and cost, for example. This allows easy

comparisons between as-is and to-be options. All of these features are illustrated in the video,

ABACUS BPMN Walk Thru (Avolution, 2009).

ABACUS 4.3 has over one hundred architecture frameworks that are loaded as standard.

These include all of the major frameworks such as: FEAF, FEA, E2AF, TOGAF, ArchiMate,

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and DODAF. To start the development of an enterprise model, ABACUS 4.3 gives you the

choice of performing the setup in one of four roles (example: general EA user role). The role

selected sets up the type of diagrams and the specific dashboard display. Much like the process

modeling component, the enterprise modeling component uses the stencil with common graphic

entities for components, connections, shapes, and connectors. The general flow of an enterprise

model in this component goes from goals to programs/projects to service processes. ABACUS

4.3 allows the import of diagrams from MS Visio, as well. In the enterprise modeling

component, views can be established for requirements and the graphic entities are generally

described with attributes which can include things like requirements. Once the model is

complete, other diagrams can be developed from the models. This includes things like bubble

charts or roadmap diagrams. The enterprise modeling component also includes things like asset

lifecycle dashboards as well as compliance dashboards. Just like in the process model

component, this component allows analysis of the architectures with simulation and standardized

metrics. The enterprise modeling component is outlined in the video, ABACUS Enterprise

Modelling Basic Walk-thru (Avolution, 2010a).

Two very specific frameworks that ABACUS 4.3 covers include The Open Group

Architecture Framework (TOGAF) and ArchiMate 2.0. An excellent video, TOGAF for

ABACUS (Avolution, 2012b), can be viewed to illustrate the excellent capabilities within this

framework. Figure 1.0 below shows the overall view of ABACUS while the TOGAF framework

is invoked.

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Figure 1.0, TOGAF Module within ABACUS 4.3

Each of the component phases of the TOGAF model (A through H) can be selected. When

selected, each phase opens a pop up list of available items that can be selected and displayed.

For example, phase A is opened in Figure 1.0 above to show the diagrams available (stakeholder

map, viewpoint matrix, value chain diagram, and solution concept diagram). This makes

ABACUS 4.3 a very powerful tool with the use of TOGAF. Figure 2.0 below shows the

ArchiMate view that comes standard in ABACUS 4.3.

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Figure 2.0, ArchiMate 2.0 View in ABACUS 4.3

Just as before in the TOGAF view, each of the components within the ArchiMate view can be

opened to show the selection of diagrams available. For example, if Information Domain is

selected, a list of diagrams available is shown below in Figure 3.0. By working through each of

the domains and supplying the necessary diagrams, an enterprise architect can complete an

architecture construct using ArchiMate.

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Figure 3.0, ArchiMate Information Domain View

The ABACUS 4.3 portfolio management capabilities are impressive as well. Portfolios

for requirements, services, assets, projects, and applications can all be developed in the portfolio

management component. Furthermore, all of these are maintained in the ABACUS 4.3

repository. Development of portfolios is made easy with the ability to import existing files from

MS EXCEL. Once the data is input, there are many ways to view the portfolios. The

capabilities for portfolio management are found in the video, ABACUS Portfolio Management

Walk-thru (Avolution, 2010b).

Perhaps one of the most impressive components of ABACUS 4.3 is the ability to analyze

architectures using metrics. For example, the video Metrics-based Analysis with TOGAF 9

(O’Neill, 2012) illustrates the many capabilities within this component. ABACUS 4.3 basically

uses the metrics framework based upon five levels. From bottom to top, the levels are: project,

information technology (IT) domain, roadmaps for IT domain, roadmaps for business, and

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optimization. As can be noted, the metrics start very specific and go very broad by the time we

reach the highest level. Example metrics at each level from bottom to top include: within

budget, percentage reuse, portfolio performance, new product roll-outs, and new markets gained.

ABACUS 4.3 has near one hundred standard metrics that can be utilized so it can easily calculate

cost effectiveness and cost savings for multiple IT investment options. Charts for the metrics can

easily be displayed in many forms including matrix form or multi-dimensional radar graph.

Metrics can be calculated at many levels within the architecture including: swim lane level,

service level, and organization level.

Lastly, ABACUS 4.3 has a graphic visualization and navigation component like none I

have ever seen. Figure 4.0 below depicts how an overall network at the global scale can be

displayed within ABACUS. The network view can display nodes for: customer, IT, business

process, and organization nodes. The 3D viewer tool allows one to drill-down into any node and

see the network architecture that exists within the node. From there, one can drill-down even

further to the nodes in the sub-architectures. This can be repeated until one has drilled-down to

the technology architecture level and the actual piece of computer hardware is displayed with

attributes shown.

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Figure 4.0, ABACUS 3D Viewer

This tremendously useful component of the tool is illustrated in the video, ABACUS 3D

Flythrough #1 (Avolution, 2008).

DISCUSSION AND CONLUSIONS RELATED TO ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

The very most important thing that this tool (and any EA tool for that matter) is doing is

helping the architect insure that the information technology investments are aligned with the

strategic business goals of the company. Michael Porter (HBR, 2013) stresses the importance of

getting the strategy right so that the organization can gain a strategic competitive advantage over

its competitors. Thus, EA and tools are vital to the long-term health and well-being of an

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organization. Each of the major components of the ABACUS 4.3 tool relate directly to an area

of importance to EA. This includes enterprise modeling, repositories, process modeling,

portfolio management, performance analysis, and even the project implementation phases after

the architect has completed the construct. ABACUS 4.3 also covers many of the enterprise

architecture frameworks discussed in Minoli (2008) including: TOGAF, ArchiMate, and FEA.

For TOGAF, ABACUS 4.3 allows a user to drill-down into the three primary sections which

includes the Architecture Development Model (ADM). In fact, ABACUS 4.3 works directly

from the ADM in that the modules of the ADM can be selected and the artifacts supplied to fill

each necessary module of ADM. This helps ensure an effective architecture construct.

Without tools, enterprise architecture would be very time consuming to draw by hand the

many views from the many viewpoints required throughout the four levels of enterprise

architecture. Having these tools to help with the design and construction of the architecture

increases the productivity and efficiency of the enterprise architect. More importantly, the tools

help the enterprise architect construct the proper architectures that will provide efficiency, reuse,

effectiveness, performance, growth, and increased profit margin. Thus, the use of tools in

enterprise architecture is a necessity in this dynamic and global IT environment that exists today.

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REFERENCES

Avolution (2008, February). ABACUS 3D flythrough #1 [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm0x6pkDMWM&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGWR8Y34

2gMh0w&index=12

Avolution (2009, February). ABACUS BPMN walk thru [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-

gCWXCFJc&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGWR8Y342gMh0w&index=10

Avolution (2010a, December). ABACUS enterprise modelling basic walk-thru [Video file].

Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__u7BTG7v8U&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGWR8Y342g

Mh0w&index=8

Avolution (2010b, December). ABACUS portfolio management walk-thru [Video file].

Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y24P9j4y6Sw&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGWR8Y342g

Mh0w&index=9

Avolution (2012, May). Introducing ABACUS 4.0 [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ36OSBgRAA&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGWR8Y342

gMh0w&index=7

Avolution (2012a, October). ABACUS for ArchiMate 2.0 [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXaYdlLWhGA&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGWR8Y342

gMh0w

Evaluation of ABACUS 4.3, 11

Avolution (2012b, October). TOGAF for ABACUS [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcQeIMgJKtE&index=2&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGW

R8Y342gMh0w

Avolution (2012, December). Getting started with ABACUS [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IhT2UMHFzM

HBR (2013). HBR's 10 must reads on strategy. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.

Minoli, D. (2008). Enterprise architecture A to Z: Frameworks, business process modeling,

SOA, and infrastructure technology. Boca Raton, Florida: Auerbach Publications.

O’Neill, T. (2012,October). Metrics-based analysis with TOGAF 9 [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB3vUk2swSc&list=UUtGWxkZxvDGWR8Y342g

Mh0w&index=4

TOGAF. (n.d.). 39. Enterprise continuum. Retrieved from

http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf9-doc/arch/chap39.html.