Building an Enterprise Architecture Program at Saint Louis University Copyright 2007 Saint Louis University. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
Agenda Introductions Section 1: EA Overview Section 2: Getting Started at SLU Section 3: Advancing EA Section 4: When We’ve Arrived…
James Hooper Bredemeyer-trained Enterprise Architect 5 years as Director of Client/Systems Services and lead systems architect 5 years+ as a lead systems architect 15 years IT technical roles Degrees in Biology and Management Information Systems Introductions
Kevin Ballard Chief Architect Department head of Business Intelligence Functional DBA and Information Architect Corporate IT Background (19 years) Introductions
John Ashby 7 years in IT management: educational technology (classrooms, content/ distribution, computing) 12 years academic media management 14 years media services roles 17 years as adjunct faculty MA - Communication Introductions
Section One: EA Overview What is Enterprise Architecture? Common Metaphors for EA Two Manifestations of EA Questions EA Asks… Guiding Principles Everyone has an architecture…
The Purpose of Enterprise Architecture “EA provides a common basis for understanding and communicating how systems are structured to meet strategic objectives.” Source: Bredemeyer Consulting Section 1: EA Overview
More specifically… Enterprise Architecture (EA) is… Set of processes for describing the current and future state of the structures and behaviors of an enterprise. Includes people, process and technology as architecture components. For the purpose of aligning with the University’s strategies. Section 1: EA Overview
Insert New Diagram Here Jim H. Section 1: EA Overview
Common Metaphors More Like City Planning – High Level “Connect the Dots” The “glue” that connects Business and Technology. A “bridge” between business problems and technology solutions. EA: The Architecture of Business Capabilities Section 1: EA Overview
EA: Two Major Manifestations Establishing “IT Architecture Governance” as a part of “IT Governance” Enterprise Architects engaged in “strategic differentiator” projects to ensure alignment. Section 1: EA Overview
EA asks the following questions… What are the top to bottom linkages between business strategy, processes, projects and technology and where are the gaps? What technologies do SLU’s new projects require and do they align with business strategy? Section 1: EA Overview
…and EA asks…. What are the opportunities for reuse and simplification across organizations and projects? What is the business impact of planned project or technology changes? Source: http://www.architectureandgovernance.com/articles/05-reyes.asp Section 1: EA Overview
EA Provides Context Section 1: EA Overview http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/jan07/temnenco/index.html Section 1: EA Overview
Principles to Guide Architects Minimalist Architecture Principle Keep your architecture decision set as small as it possibly can be, while still meeting your architectural objectives. If a decision can be delegated to someone with a more narrow scope of responsibility, then do so! Decisions with Teeth Principle Only make a decision part of your architecture if you can make it stick There must be a process to ensure the decision is adhered to or you must be passionate enough about it to do what it takes. Connect-the-Dots Principle Show how decisions relate to higher level goals or decisions You must document and communicate this traceability Section 1: EA Overview
Section Two: Getting Started at SLU Drivers for EA at SLU First steps: Getting Started at SLU Initial focus: Organize the IT architecture Timeline on next steps
Drivers for EA at SLU Mitigate Risk Associated with Banner Upgrade and Related Projects SAS 112 / SOX IT control levels Lack of Standards and Documentation Inconsistent or Undocumented Architectural Decisions Lifecycle (Mis)Management Lack of Coordination across Technical Boundaries and organizational silos Section 2: Getting Started at SLU
How We Got Started Our CIO decided to launch EA We opted to “roll our own” Formalized “Architect” as a job title through Broadbanding Classifications Provided Training (Bredemeyer) to Enterprise Architects Separated the Effort Into Two Phases Section 2: Getting Started at SLU
Phase I – Getting ITS’ House In Order Form the Structure Recruit Architects Start Producing Results Right Away Create a Product Item Master to Document Standards Integrate with Project Management Framework Introduce Lifecycle Management Section 2: Getting Started at SLU
Initial Structure Enterprise Architecture (3 positions) Architecture Council (19 positions) Architecture Review Board proposed Different Governance, Vision, Charters Section 2: Getting Started at SLU
PIM beginnings… Section 2: Getting Started at SLU
Phase II – Putting the “E” in EA Gather and update University Mission, Values, Strategy documents Look Outward to Business Units, Functional Areas, Provost’s Office, etc. Adopt a Repository and Templates to support the framework and documentation needed by lines of business Identify Savings and ROI measures Section 2: Getting Started at SLU
Section Three: Advancing EA Finishing up Phase 1: Governance Proposal and Validation Publish the PIM, Integrate Governance with standards enforcement in IT business practice Phase 2 begins Maturity Advancement
IT Governance Relationships IT Business Office (purchase screening for standards) Change Control Board (standards enforcement in production systems) Project Management Office (gate review, design standards review) Section Three: Advancing EA
Proposed Entity Relationships
Who decides what: RACI diagram* * Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform Section Three: Advancing EA
Continuing: Addressing the Gaps Functional architects identify products and systems lacking architectural oversight, refer to governance Variability reduction (sure we have standards- lots of them!) Standardizing of architectural issue tracking, documentation templates Section Three: Advancing EA
Documentation and Repository Adopt a framework to guide documentation Standard templates and artifacts developed for consistency in documents University executive access via web-based repository- all lines of business Should all users have access to all artifacts? What is Public on the web? Section Three: Advancing EA
Repository for E2AF Documentation Framework
Maturing Enterprise Architecture Section Three: Advancing EA
Working Toward Maturity Level Two… Organizational Maturity Growth (up to Level 5) Metric Level 0 Level 1 Level 2 Administration No architecture governance Need for standards committees identified Need for committees for architecture governance identified; EA articulating roles; committees forming Planning No directed future state EA need identified; EA activities informal and unstructured Enterprise vision developing; EA tasks and resources being articulated; EA methodology in development Framework Architecture, processes, templates undocumented No unified architecture process across technologies, business lines EA program documented; architecture processes planned-tracked; templates and reusable information in development Blueprint Current standards undocumented Documentation of business drivers, technology strategy and standards informal and inconsistent Business drivers and strategy identified; repository need identified to store and disseminate artifacts Communication Executive level unaware of EA definitions or benefits Need for EA awareness identified; little institutional communication about architecture processes Executive level committed to EA definitions and benefits; EA awareness activities underway Compliance No compliance process in organization Need for standards compliance process identified; compliance unstructured-informal-unmeasured Organization has begun to develop compliance process to assure projects & enhancements are standards-based Integration No process to integrate IT investments across enterprise Need to integrate common IT functions with EA planning identified; projects typically designed in isolation of architecture context Need for Architecture Lifecycle and EA framework identified; basic mapping between EA & organizational business processes Involvement Duplicative work on a single issue; no program for architectural awareness Organization has identified need to make all staff EA-aware EA educational sessions and materials to organization; EA concepts beginning to appear in normal meetings. Section Three: Advancing EA
Section Four: When We’ve Arrived… Better, Faster Cheaper Positive Outcomes / Supporting SLU’s Value Proposition Action Architecture
Better, Faster, Cheaper “Consulting firm Meta Group Inc. says companies that embrace EA spend 30% less on IT and are more adaptive and make better decisions.” Source: CFO.com Section 4: When We’ve Arrived…
Top Outcomes / Supporting SLU’s Value Proposition To support decision making Inform the IT portfolio Deliver roadmaps for managed change Support systems development Manage complexity and reduce cost Source: The Institute for Enterprise Architecture Development Section 4: When We’ve Arrived…
EA Becomes “Action Architecture” A mature EA program solves real world problems… Opening eight application windows to answer a student’s question Managers scrambling for information they need to make decisions Projects not tied to strategic objectives Silos of applications Section 4: When We’ve Arrived…
Building an Enterprise Architecture Program at Saint Louis University Q&A Saint Louis University Information Technology Services 3690 West Pine Mall St. Louis, MO 63108-3304 Kevin Ballard Chief Architect kballar2@slu.edu James Hooper Enterprise Architect hooper@slu.edu John Ashby Enterprise Architect ashbyjm@slu.edu Building an Enterprise Architecture Program at Saint Louis University © 2007 Saint Louis University
Recommended Sites http://ea.slu.edu http://www.bredemeyer.com http://www.togaf.com http://eajournal.blogspot.com http://www.nascio.org/nascioCommittees/ea/EAMM.pdf