TOGAF Framework

Last month, I attended the TOGAF training. It was a quite interesting experience. We conducted the case study based on TOGAF framework. It was interesting to follow the Architecture Development Method (ADM) for the case study.

TOGAF framework provides good ADM process to develop Enterprise Architecture in the organisation. It provides the insight to the IT Architects who most of time focus on Technology Architecture and remain ignorant about the Business and Information Architecture.

I feel most of people in IT industry relate Enterprise Architecture to Technology Architecture.

And may be most of Enterprise Architecture programs in organisations keep doing the Architecture Domain analysis. And never able to effectively prepare Migration Planning for the Architecture. It is not easy task with ever changing landscape in Business and IT.

In Search of Patterns in the Enterprise

My understanding of the Enterprise Architect role improves with every quarter. For last few quarters, my focus was on Technology Architecture and Governance.

Its a good beginning for me to understand the Mutual Fund business domain. In my view, Enterprise Architect role demands good understanding of Business Architecture. And to add more, its easy to read the architecture domains as described in TOGAF framework as compared to analyse the complexity of inter-relationship between the architecture domains.

I have seen Enterprise objectives, vision and goals for very few companies and they look more or less same. And its interesting to find the pattern on how these are related to initiatives in the different Enterprise.

Another interesting place to find pattern is between the mapping of the Business process, applications and technology stack. And for the similar kind of business process in different business unit of same Enterprise which all applications and technology stacks are used.

Interestingly, I am still trying to identify the similar resolution pattern for the identical recurring problem at conceptual level in different units of the Enterprise.

May be Enterprises needs to define Architecture Policies, Standards, Best practices to abolish the pattern of re-inventing the solutions for the recurring problems at Enterprise level.

Run a country without governance

Idea looks quite weird to run a Country without governance. Even thought is scary that if no governance is present in country, what will happen to state of a nation.

Think of a Country which is composed of States. And there is no central governance present, what will happen to States. Few States might be able to self govern, few will loose direction and few will become rogue States. With time, it will become difficult to manage the Country as a whole. Vision of country will be blurred and lost. States won't be able to leverage each other strengths. States will try to run their own charters and soon forget that they are part of Country. Most of States will have their own priorities, goals and budgets.

Still not convinced and think that Governance is overhead in a Country. Just for information, check the link Somalia , which is the only country in the world where there is no government.

Now just replace the Country with Enterprise and States with Projects. Hope you understand that missing governance in Enterprises is one of most common reason for complex IT state.

Tactical Projects and Flyover in City

Just a thought, if Enterprise Architecture is analogous to City planning than Tactical project becomes analogous to flyover in City.

Flyover is constructed to reduce the bottleneck at one junction/crossing. Similarly Tactical project is executed to provide the short term solutions.

Flyover results into traffic jam on subsequent crossing after the flyover. Now we need to build another flyover to remove this bottleneck. Is it right approach? Or do we need long term planning to handle increasing traffic and a better public transport to take care of public. A better infrastructure and proper city blueprint to avoid all these traffic jams.

Same thing happens to Tactical project, which results into another tactical and another tactical. We need Enterprise Architecture to prepare Blueprint and vision of enterprise. This will help in reducing risk and cost of IT.

ROI from Enterprise Architecture

It is difficult task to measure the ROI on Enterprise Architecture. Few activities of Enterprise Architecture includes -
1) Defining standards and guidelines.
2) Preparing reference architecture
3) Defining and maintaining IT roadmap
4) Governance activities.
5) Consultancy
6) Defining Strategy for moving from "as-is" to "to-be" architecture

Point number 1 and 2 produces various kinds of artifacts about Application, Information, SOA, Security, Content Management, B2B architectures. Various teams refers to these document and extend project architecture from these artifacts.
ROI - Is it possible to find out how reference architecture benefits the project architecture. How it saves time, add value, improve quality of project?

Point number 3 produces the IT roadmap for different elements across the layers. Any project should refer to this roadmap before finalizing the technology stack and aligns with it.
ROI - Is it possible to find out the operational and maintenance cost saved by aligning with predefined roadmap? Is it possible to find the effort saved by project when it adopt the preferred technology from roadmap instead of evaluating different products, technology and protocols.

Point number 4 includes activities like reviewing and approving architecture for projects. Assuring that projects are following standards and guidelines.
ROI - Is it possible to find the value of improved quality in project due to assurance from EA?

Point number 5 includes EA mentoring, coaching and guiding Solution Architects to align with standards, directions to follow best practices, refinement of the solution architecture of projects.
ROI - Is it possible to find the whether directions were right or wrong, whether they are adopted or not?

Point number 6 requires vision and leadership qualities. EA defines the long term strategy inline with Business Architecture. This helps in reducing the cost of IT in long term. It increases the agility of business. It simplify and standardize the architecture and implicitly increasing the stability, flexibility and extensibility of IT.

Above points shows lot of activities, but is it possible to measure the extent of benefits from these points. These benefits increase with time, they are like snowball which gathers momentum and becomes bigger as it falls. All these points prevents problems to occur in future.

May be it is easy to measure the benefits at enterprise level instead of project level. Identifying major architecture issues in enterprise like re engineering of legacy application, producing enterprise level reusable components, product engineering, improving integration of various application or deciding Build vs Buy. All these benefits of EA provides the ROI and help in building the metrices for EA ROI.

Story about a sweet couple (OOAD and Business Analyst)

Once upon time, technologist OOAD met visionary BA. We all know opposite attracts, they were surprised to see the differences among each other. OOAD used to do work without thinking and BA only thinks and no work.

But they were destined to work together for many years. As time passes by, they fell in love with each other. Now both of them are trying to live together and are blessed with two prodigy sons. Currently, these kids are undergoing training in big enterprises.

Let me tell you little bit about them before introducing -
1. Put both of them on any project and forget about project. Only God knows when they will deliver it.

2. It is hard to measure how much work they have completed.

3. They take guidance from their parents but their way of working is totally different.

4. Both of them are very naughty and it is quite hard to understand what they are delivering.

5. They are too young and new to world. It is hard to have confidence in them. Sometime it gives impression that they will fail.

Some wisdom - give them space and time, let them grow with time and they are destined to change the world. Trust them. Two sons are SOA and Enterprise Architecture.

Who is this Enterprise Architect?

A good white paper from Guy Hoffman on role of Enterprise Architect.
Who is this Enterprise Architect?

What can happen to IT Ecosystem w/o EA ?

Sometimes picture depicts more than hundreds of words

How to select EA Tool ?

Corporations across the industry are recognizing value of Enterprise Architecture. It provides Enterprise wide streamlining/aligning of Business and IT. It reduces the overall cost of IT in long term. As EA group matures, it needs to handle more and more information on daily basis. At this juncture different EA tools available in markets becomes useful.

As this arena is still not considered mature enough to handle all the requirements of EA teams.

Few hints about selection of EA tools -
1) Identify all the information which is to be managed.
2) Identify stakeholders and users within enterprise
2) Go through market survey done by Gartner, Forrester and IFEAD etc.
3) Interact with vendors to understand the landscape
4) Prepare mapping of EA requirements and features available in EA tool
5) Frameworks and methodologies supported by EA tool
6) Last but not least check cost and vendor support

Above is not extensive list, but good enough to start the search.

What is Enterprise Architecture ?

Every complex problem is composition of simple problems. Similarly, Enterprise architecture consists of Business, Application, Technology and Information Architectures. Understand one at a time and relationship among them, it will make the big picture clear.

Another way to understand complex problem is try analogy. Consider an application architecture analogous to single building architecture. On the same lines, Enterprise Architecture is analogous to whole city architecture.