Enterprise Architecture TBTLA Quarterly Event November 2007 Bill Webb Steven Young The University of Tampa Sam Joseph Gartner

What is Enterprise Architecture? “Enterprise architecture is the business of architecting the enterprise.” Noun and Verb The goal of the process is to take the business strategy and translate it into effective change of the enterprise The process itself involves creating key principals and models that describe the enterprise’s future and enable its evolution.

What is Enterprise Architecture? The scope of enterprise architecture includes the enterprise’s people, processes, information, and technology and their relationships to each other and the external environment Enterprise architects are the people who create the solutions to address the business challenges and support the enterprise in implementing those solutions.

Why is Enterprise Architecture Needed? System Complexity : Information systems and business processes are complex and will become increasingly complex in the future. As system complexity increases, the costs to build and maintain those systems increase and take more of an organizations resources in time, money, and personnel.

Why is Enterprise Architecture Needed? Poor business alignment: While costs are increasing, it is becoming harder for organizations to make sure that IT systems and spending are aligned with business needs IT costs are increasing while the value they bring to an organization is decreasing if the IT and business goals are not aligned.

History of Enterprise Architecture The field now known as enterprise architecture first came about 20 years ago. In 1987, J.A. Zachman wrote an article entitled “A Framework for Information Systems Architecture” in the IBM Systems Journal. Zachman originally described as information systems architectural framework, but it was soon renamed enterprise-architecture framework.

Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architectures John Zachman describes the framework as, “Simply a logical structure for classifying and organizing the descriptive representations of an Enterprise that are significant to the management of the Enterprise, as well as the development of the Enterprise’s systems.” Source: http://www.zachmaninternational.com/2/Home.asp

Zachman Framework Source: http://www.zachmaninternational.com/2/ZachmanFramework.asp

How it works? Rows- illustrate different descriptions of an enterprise from a certain perspective. Source: http://www.zachmaninternational.com/2/ZachmanFramework.asp

How it works? Columns- One aspect of the enterprise from top to the bottom from different perspectives. Source: http://www.zachmaninternational.com/2/ZachmanFramework.asp

Strengths and Weaknesses Strength- End result (table) Weaknesses – No process

The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) Divides enterprise architecture into four categories: Business architecture—Describes the processes the business uses to meet its goals Application architecture—Describes how specific applications are designed and how they interact with each other Data architecture—Describes how the enterprise datastores are organized and accessed Technical architecture—Describes the hardware and software infrastructure that supports applications and their interactions

Architecture Development Method ADM or Architecture Development Method is the process for creating the enterprise architecture

How it works? Source:http://www.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/Figures/prelim.gif

How it works? Source: http://www.developer.com/java/ent/article.php/3374171

Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths- provides a process for developing an architecture. Flexible so can be tailored to a company’s organization Weakness- Open/generic, no specific end result

Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management (TAFIM) was one of the first attempts at enterprise architecture by the Department of Defense in the mid 90’s Influenced the Clinger-Cohen Act which stated that federal agencies should improve their IT investments Over time Government efforts in enterprise architecture lead to the creation of FEA

How it works? An enterprise is built of segments: There are two types of segments Core mission area segments Business-services segments Also use enterprise services which span political boundaries

Segment Map of the Federal Government Source:http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/architecture/bb466232.aspx

FEA Process Step 1: Architectural Analysis—Define a simple and concise vision for the segment, and relate it back to the organizational plan. Step 2: Architectural Definition—Define the desired architectural state of the segment, document the performance goals, consider design alternatives, and develop an enterprise architecture for the segment, including business, data, services, and technology architectures. Step 3: Investment and Funding Strategy—Consider how the project will be funded. Step 4: Program-Management Plan and Execute Projects—Create a plan for managing and executing the project, including milestones and performance measures that will assess project success.

Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths- clearly defines output and provides a process for creating a framework Weakness- Government architecture so it has not been applied to a business before General Accounting Office (GAO) reported that, “Only 20 of 96 agencies examined had established at least the foundation for effective architecture management. Further, while 22 agencies increased in maturity since 2001, 24 agencies decreased in maturity and 47 agencies remained the same”.

Gartner Enterprise architecture is the process of translating business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change by creating, communicating and improving the key principles and models that describe the enterprise's future state and enable its evolution.

GEAF Three primary viewpoints enterprise business architecture (EBA) enterprise information architecture (EIA) enterprise technology architecture (ETA). Introduces the Enterprise Solution Architecture Framework (ESAF) - deals directly with: combining and reconciling the loosely coupled and often conflicting viewpoints into a unified architecture for an enterprise solution. Gartner Enterprise Architecture Framework: Evolution 2005 Result of Gartner acquisition of META Group. Gartner was strong with frameworks and constructs; META was process oriented. The GEAF is the reconciliation of these complimentary approaches.

Gartner process model The Gartner EA Process Model provides organizations with a logical approach to developing an EA. It is a multiphase, iterative and nonlinear model, focused on EA process development, evolution and migration, and governance, organizational and management subprocesses. It represents key characteristics and a synthesis of best practices of how the most successful organizations have developed and maintained their EA. Gartner's body of applied research knowledge increases with each exposure to our clients' EA issues. This leads to the recognition of consistent approaches beyond the original scope of our EA Process Model that was developed in 1996. In its first incarnation, the EA Process Model only addressed technical architecture. In 1999, EA began going beyond the technical realm to a holistic EA. Enterprise business architecture has taken the discipline firmly beyond the borders of IT. Indeed, the EA process has become a major mechanism for building a true partnership between business and IT staff groups at several organizational levels.

Strengths and Weaknesses Practice guidance Maturity model Business focus Weakness Information availability Reference models Gartner has build a business upon providing practice guidance to it’s clients – architecture is one of Gartner’s most recognized subject domains. (Contrary to Roger Sessions article) Garter has strong maturity model. They provide toolkits and assessments for maturity assessment, and continue to develop additional models. E.g., Enterprise Architecture Maturity Assessment, Enterprise Personality profile, etc. Gartner was a pioneer on recognizing the concept of business architecture, and has depth in this viewpoint. The common requirements vision (CRV) document captures the business strategies of the enterprise, environmental factors that impact these strategies, and the implications of these strategies and environmental factors on business processes, information and technologies. Unlike the other frameworks, Gartner provides it’s frameworks under license to clients. The GEAF is a part of Gartner’s core business of research and advisory services. Information is not freely available to non-clients. However, as a product of a commercial enterprise, Gartner is motivated to continuously improve the framework and the supporting products and services. Gartner cautions inexperienced enterprise architects to avoid overemphasis on focusing upon model creation to the exclusion of model usage. Therefore, prescribing reference models has not been as critical to the GEAF. (No need to mention in the presentation, but useful footnote when reading Roger Sessions’ article: Also vendor neutrality is not a strength of GEAF, however, it is not necessarily aligned with vendors – rather, some elements are the result of connections Gartner has with other organizations. Sessions’ rating of a 1 would be better refactored to 2.)

Q & A