Architecture : balance between thinking and doing

Dr. Bas van Gils

b.vangils@bizzdesign.nl

Bas van Gils

+31-(0)6-484 320 88

b.vangils@bizzdesign.nl

http://linkedin.com/in/basvg

http://blog.bizzdesign.com

http://www.twitter.com/basvg

“Life is and will ever remain an equation incapable of solution, but it contains certain known factors.”--Nikola Tesla (1935)

Bas van Gils

Personal

Married, two kids

Born in Tilburg, living in Deventer

Too many hobbies

Education

Master in Information Management &

Technology (Tilburg)

PhD in Computer Science (Nijmegen)

Work

vtsPN

Strategy Academy / Strategy Works

BiZZdesign

Agenda

Survival • What does it take to survive

• Why is architecture important?

ArchiMate• A brief (and abstract) introduction

• Example

3 principles• Less is more

• It’s a journey, not a destination

• Conceptual elegance

Situations• No two situations are alike

• Support complex & complicated domains

Research• Completeness

• Value

• Adoption

(Unless someone has a better idea)

5

What many organizations look like

Question : how do complex enterprises survive?

The need for Enterprise Architecture (EA)

• Organizations these days are inherently complex

• In order to survive and thrive, this complexity must be managed

• An architecture (description) helps to build a shared understanding of the enterprise

• Note 1: complexity does not have to be a bad thing

• Note 2: not everything about an enterprise can be understood in great detail

If you can not measure it, you can not improve it

(Lord Kelvin)

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EA is a conceptual tool that helps organizations get a deeper understanding of their own structure and of the way they work. It provides a map of the enterprise and it is a “route planner” for business and technology change. Important uses of it are in systematic IT planning/ architecting and in enhanced analysis and support for decision-making.

handbook enterprise architecture, BiZZdesign, 2012

Architecture (models)

Real world

Perceive RepresentModel

Conception modelOrganization

of model

Fundamental organization

of model

Based on the FRISCO report

Structure and behavior

structure

behavior

Active / passive structure

Real world

Concept: computer

Context 1: the computer is

“active structure”

Context 2: the computer is

“passive structure”

The two contexts rarely coincide

Perceive

ArchiMate framework

Passive structure Behavior Active structure

Executed byInvolves

Business layer

Application layer

Technology layer

Supports

Supports

Motivation

Implementation & Migration

Model vs view: visualization

Real worldPerceive

Mental model

ArchiMate model

Represent / model

translate

Visualization (=view)

Represent translate

Services: what we do for the customer

Process: the main pattern

Process: one of the instantiations

IT and infrastructure support

Prediction is very difficult especially if it's about the future

(Niels Bohr)

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It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most

intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to

change

(Charles Darwin)

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Plans are worthless, but planning is everything

(Dwight D. Eisenhower)

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Implications

There is a need to get to grips with complexity…

… but not every aspect of the enterprise can be analyzed understood

We want to plot a route for business success….

… but we don’t know what the future will bring.

The 3 principles for successful architecture models

1

2

3

Model as little as possible, but not less

Maintain a (statement of) direction rather than plan to reach a specific goal

Strife for conceptual elegance but recognize that the real world is messy

Striving for (conceptual) elegance is not new

“Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a factor that decides between success and failure.”

“The lurking suspicion that something could be simplified is the world's richest source of rewarding challenges.”

“Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.”

Conceptual elegance in EA

How many managers feel as if they are in a maze because…

Maintenance cost of IT landscape is sky-

rocketing. We keep investing and the problems only get

worse!

The real world is messy. A “baseline architecture” helps to gain

an understanding of complexity

A crisp and elegant view of the future is a prerequisite for a reliable and agile

enterprise

EA in different situations

• Developing an architecture makes sense in a complicated / complex domain

• The real world = messy

• Developing an architecture for• Analysis• Shared understanding • Brainstorm solution alternatives

Some answers from the questionnaire

Ontwerpen in het groot (vanuit een overzicht) en ontwerpen in het klein (vanuit een probleemstelling).

We kunnen zeggen dat de architectuur het hoe beschrijft vanuit de behoefte tot samenhang in het totale ITlandschap, terwijl het design betrekking heeft op een specifiek onderdeel van dat landschap.

Architectuur is het stellen van kaders waarbinnen een ontwerp uitgevoerd kan/moet worden. Design is het ontwerpen van systemen binnen de kaders die gesteld zijn door architectuur.Dus Architectuur stelt de regels en design moet voldoen aan de regels.

Model as little as possible (but not less)

The setting

• Governmental organization

• IT landscape has ‘evolved’ over the years, yet has a basis rooted in law

• Restructuring is necessary. But how? In what order? Who will finance it? What is impact on innovation?

Assessment

• Complicated, not complex

• Model: components, main functions / objects as well as an outline of infrastructure

• Map out functional/ technical quality to assess priorities

Results

• Map out baseline in 10 weeks

• Developed high-level roadmap + first iteration based on a target architecture

• (Implementation is about to start)

Models in a complex situation

The setting:

• Large insurance organization

• Acquires (hostile take-over) a competitor after 2 major reorganizations in 3 years.

• During integration the relation has ‘evolved’ to a shouting match

Assessment

• Complex domain

• No “right or wrong” or “single best answer”

Results

• Used joint modeling sessions to gain a common language and shared understanding

• We crafted a process x department map and used it to pin-point pain points.

• This big-picture view helped brainstorm / experiment with solution alternatives

Research challenges

Language evolution

• What concepts / structures / … are missing for a great EA practice?

Value

• There is a lot of evidence about the value of EA. What does modeling contribute?

Adoption

• ArchiMate is widely adopted. Which parts are used the most? Mostly by IT or business? Why? Are there geographical / industry differences?

• Architecture – like long distance running – is an endurance game:

– it is hard work

– it takes a while before it pays off

– it gets you fit enough to face tough challenges

• There are many advantages to using architecture / ArchiMate modelling (when used correctly)

• Interesting research challenges remain

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