variations on the architecture theme ea, ita and solutions architecture
DESCRIPTION
Most organizations that claim to be practicing “enterprise” architecture are really just doing “IT” architecture (ITA), and many of those are primarily focused on “solution” architecture. If they are all “architecture”, do the distinctions matter? Absolutely! And all these variations of “architecture” are important. Our research and client observations reveal that most organizations do not have clarity on how to leverage these roles or even how to set expectations and measure their contributions. For an organization to extract the highest value from architecture, and for the practitioners to get the most satisfaction and rewards for their work, it is critical that the stakeholders understand the differences. It is also imperative that the organization learn that all these roles must exist and that they must work together to achieve the organization’s objectives. Join George Paras and Tim Westbrock for a thought-provoking discussion on the dynamics of Solutions, IT, and Enterprise Architectures, what they mean to your enterprise, and what they mean to you.TRANSCRIPT
© 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
© 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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 3
What is the difference
between Enterprise Architecture
and IT Architecture?
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 4
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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
Traditional View & Transitional View
5
Enterprise
Architecture
Business
Arch
Information
Arch
Application
Arch
Technology
Arch
5
Enterprise Architecture
Business
Arch
Application
Arch
Information
Arch
Technology
Arch
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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
Enterprise Architecture
IT Domain
Business Domain
Activity
Arch
Information
Arch
Application
Arch
Technology
Arch
Data
Arch
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 8
How do you get started with
Enterprise Business
Architecture (EBA)?
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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.
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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
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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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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
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* 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?
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 13
What is the difference
between IT Architecture
and Solutions Architecture?
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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
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© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 16
What is the relationship
between Enterprise Architects,
IT Architects and
Solution / Domain Architects?
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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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 18
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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 19
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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 20
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
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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
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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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 23
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)
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 24
What are the 5 things
that make an effective
Enterprise Architecture Program?
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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
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© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 26
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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved. 28
Sidebar: What is the difference
between Business Analyst
and Business Architect?
© EAdirections 2010. All Rights Reserved.
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