Skilling and Enterprise Architecture as an HR issue

Presented by Louw Labuschagne

Louw is passionate about all aspects of information management and had the opportunity to act as strategist, architect, speaker, trainer, analyst, modeller and developer within this field over the past 16 years.

As a leader, Louw places a high value on team work and expect all team members to take individual and collective accountability for delivery of work products. Louw have the ability to act as team member or team leader depending on what the situation requires. This has led to his promotion to team leader and practice manager on several occasions within organisations, while his ability to build strong relationships has made him a natural mentor or coach for team members. These project specific relationships have mostly transitioned into longer term personal and professional relationships that have outlasted the initial project origins.

His personal interest in information management has led to Louw collecting, discussing and studying methods, techniques, practices and principles about information analysis, design and management and resulted in him being a subject-matter expert and consultant within the field.

Organisational memory or knowledge management depends on people within the organisation sharing their experiences and moving tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge and using information structures to formalise it for the organisation. Louw understand this very well and have a natural strength of sharing, discussing and teaching others within his field of experience, while also being able to design and develop the platforms to manage this.

Louw is also registered at the NMMU as a Ph.D. (Information Technology) student and is busy with research on defining the set of capabilities required by South African Enterprise Architecture professionals.

Personal Profile

What skills are required by Enterprise Architecture professionals

The role of HR in developing and evaluating EA Skills Tips & Techniques for developing EA skills 

Objectives

Definition of Enterprise Architecture No universally accepted definition of Enterprise

Architecture (EA)

“ Enterprise Architecture is the continuous practice of describing the essential elements of a socio-technical organization, their relationships to each other and to the environment, in order to understand complexity and manage change.” (Enterprise Architecture Research Forum, 2009)

Preferred definition because :• It addresses the representation, profession and process of EA• Reference the ISO/IEC 42010:2007 standard• Reference work published by John Zachman

Complexity within an socio-technical organisation require understanding.

Understanding of the complexity is achieved through describing the essential elements of the organisation and their inter-relationships

The understanding is then used to manage enterprise change

What are the essential elements of a socio-technical organisation?

The role of the Enterprise Architect can be identified based on the definition“ Enterprise Architecture is the continuous practice of describing the essential elements of a socio-technical organization, their relationships to each other and to the environment, in order to understand complexity and manage change.”

understand complexity socio-technical organization

describing the essential elements

their relationships to each other

Relationships to the environment

understand complexity

socio-technical organization

manage changeunderstand complexity

Generalised Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology (GERAM)

GERAEEMEMLs

EETsPEMs GEMCs

EMsEMOs

EOS

Used to implement

Used to build

Support

EmploysUtilise

Implemented in

Support

Generic Enterprise Reference Architectu

re

Enterprise Engineering Methodolog

y

Enterprise

Modelling Language

s

Generic Enterpris

e Modelling Concepts

Partial Enterprise Models

Enterprise Engineerin

g Tools

(Particular)

Enterprise Models

Enterprise Modules

(Particular)

Enterprise

Operational

Systems

Human Concepts

Technology

Concepts

Process Concep

ts

IFIP-IFAC Task Force, 1999)

GERA Entity life-cycle & life-history

Identification

Concept

RequirementsPreliminary

DesignDetailed Design

Implementation

Operation

Decommission

Life-cycle Phases

Time

Decommissioning Project

Continuous improvement Project

Enterprise EngineeringProject

Enterprise EngineeringProject

IFIP-IFAC Task Force, 1999)

Relationships between GERA Entity Types

Identification

Concept

Requirements

Preliminary Design

Detailed Design

Implementation

Operation

Decommission

Manufacturing Entity (Type

3)

Strategic Management Entity (Type

1)

Construction Entity (Type

2)

Engineering Entity (Type

2)Product: Enterprise Design

Product: Enterprise Installation

Product: Enterprise Concept

Enterprise Product (Type 4)

Manufacturing Entity (Type 3)

IFIP-IFAC Task Force, 1999)

Methodology Entity (Type

5)

Zachman Product

Framework

Zachman ProfessionalFramework

Zachman Enterprise Framework

The Zachman framework is an ontology (Zachman, Concise definition) of a socio-technical organisation that is divided into six columns of communication interrogatives and six rows of reification transformations.

Based on the Zachman framework the scope of the work of Enterprise Architects can be limited by mapping the GERAM entity types onto the Zachman framework and then identifying those concepts and components that relate to the Zachman Framework Row 3 System Logic. WHAT HOW WHERE WHO WHEN WHY

STRATEGIST Scope Context

EXECUTIVE LEADERBusiness Concept Semantic models define business concepts

ARCHITECTSystem Logic Schematic models represent system logicENGINEERTechnology Physics Blueprint models specify technology physicsTECHNITIONSComponent Assembly

WORKERSOps Instance Classes

Zachman Framework

Key HR Issue in EA There are no knowledge areas or skills defined for

Enterprise Architecture that are applied consistently within certification programs

South African Qualifications Authority do not have a set of skills defined for EA

Enterprise Architecture cannot fully develop into a professional discipline without a defined set of knowledge areas and skills

Current EA Skills Frameworks The skills frameworks listed below are used within South

Africa as reference frameworks, but they are not aligned resulting in non-standard Enterprise Architecture role definitions.

There is no clear definition or alignment of knowledge areas and skills across the following common frameworks:• TOGAF• ITAC• Cutter Consortium• European e-Competency Framework• Skills Framework for the Information Age• IIBA• IASA

IIBA Competency Model

IASA

TOGAF 9 Skills Framework

SFIA version 4G

Open Group ITAC

European e-Competence Framework

Cutter Consortium / Bredemeyer

TOGAF / ITAC http://www.opengroup.org/

Cutter Consortium / Bredemeyer Skills Framework http://www.bredemeyer.com/pdf_files/ArchitectCompetencyFramewor

k.PDF

European e-Competency Framework http://www.ecompetences.eu/

Skills Framework for the Information Age http://www.sfia.org.uk/

IIBA http://www.theiiba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

IASA http://www.iasaglobal.org/iasa/Certification.asp?SnID=640126778

No Standard definition of EA Skills within different Frameworks

Evaluating EA Skills A skill is the ability to do something well; expertise

(Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English, 2008 ).

The word skilled is used to describe special abilities (Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English, 2008 ).

A skilled Enterprise Architecture practitioner can be defined as a person with expert knowledge in all areas of Enterprise Architecture and the ability to apply this expert knowledge.

To measure the knowledge of these practitioners, an effective assessment framework is needed.

Three Enterprise Architecture Certification Programs

TOGAF certification: Level 1 exam = 40 questions in multiple choice format.Level 2 exam = 8 complex multiple choice scenario questions

ITAC:Experience and skills based. Submit experience documentation and be interviewed by a panel in the UK.

Zachman certification:Completion of Zachman course material, workshop and multiple choice exam

Current Enterprise Architecture Certification programs

A Togaf Key Learning Point (Business Architecture):

Knowledge of the Business Architecture is a prerequisite for architecture work in any other domain (Data, Application, Technology), and is therefore the first architecture activity that needs to be undertaken, if not catered for already in other organizational processes (enterprise planning, strategic business planning, business process re-engineering, etc.).

Current EA Certification programs Example

Question 1:Complete the sentence: Business Architecture is the first architecture activity undertaken since __________

A.  it finalizes the Architecture Vision and Architecture Definition Documents

B. it provides knowledge that is a prerequisite for undertaking work in the other architecture domains

C.  it focuses on identifying and defining the key applications used in the enterprise

D. it mobilizes supporting operations to support the ongoing architecture development

E. it defines the physical realization of an architectural solution

Current EA Certification programs Example

The correct answer is B

Knowledge of the Business Architecture is a prerequisite for architecture work in any other domain (Data, Application, Technology), and is therefore the first architecture activity that needs to be undertaken, if not catered for already in other organizational processes (enterprise planning, strategic business planning, business process re-engineering, etc.).

Current EA Certification programs Example

A TOGAF Key Learning Point (Business Architecture):

A key step in validating an architecture is to consider what may have been forgotten.

Current EA Certification programs Example

Question 2:Gap analysis is a key step in validating the architecture in Phase B: Business Architecture. Which one of the following statements is true?

Current EA Certification programs Example

A. Gap analysis highlights the impacts of changeB. Gap analysis can be used to resolve conflicts amongst

different viewpoints C.  Gap analysis highlights services that are availableD. Gap analysis identifies areas where the Data Architecture

needs to change E. Gap analysis highlights services that are yet to be

procured

The correct answer is E

A key step in validating an architecture is to consider what may have been forgotten.

Current EA Certification programs Example

Congratulations !

From the Open Group’s Website:

Why Certification

“…individuals have the expertise and experience required to get the job done.” (The Open Group, 2010)

?

Is this a good example of Business Architecture?

Apply your Knowledge

Apply your Knowledge

The correct answer is…

it depends

Assessment using electronic technologies (including Web 2.0)

Blogs (Google Blog)

Wiki (Wikipedia)

Tagging / Sharing / Social Bookmarking (Flicr, YouTube)

Micro blogging (Twitter)

Real-time Collaboration (GoogleWave)

LMS (Moodle)

RSS

Alternative Assesment Example

Johnathan_Aris_Assessment_QA.pdf

Contributing factor to RSA not achieving the targeted six percent growth rate (Erasmus & Breier, 2009).

Highest demand for ICT professional skills include (IT Web, 2008):o architecture ,o process management, o business intelligence, o knowledge management, o business analysis, o systems analysis, o project management.

Enterprise Architecture practitioners listed as top earners within South Africa in ITWeb Salary survey (IT Web, 2009).

What is the impact of the current skills shortage in South Africa?

Enterprise Architecture skills development programs in South Africa are required to alleviate the shortage of Enterprise Architecture skills.

The limiting factor for training interventions can be summarised into two questions:

Is this a skilled Enterprise

Architecture practitioner?

What Next?

What are the skills that practitioners require?

How do we measure the skills of practitioners?

PhD Study: A Framework for the assessment of

Enterprise Architecture practitioners in South

Africa

PhD Study: A Skills Framework for

Enterprise Architecture practitioners in South

Africa

Validated Skills framework with

assessment criteria

Thank you