Implementation Methodology How to Establish, Maintain and Use an Enterprise Architecture Copyright © 2013 Curt Hill.

Implementation Methodology

How to Establish, Maintain and Use an Enterprise

Architecture

Copyright © 2013 Curt Hill

Introduction• Implementing an EA is a project

– Often a substantial project requiring project management skills

• An EA framework suggests what sort of documentation that the project will produce

• The methodology is the process of how to approach the project

• Here we look at the methodology• Some things mentioned here will later

get their own presentation


Four phases• Establishing the Project • Select the Framework and Tools• Generate the Documentation• Maintain and Use • These four phases have 20 steps

spread across them


Phase I - Establishment• Before any documentation can be

made the game plan is set• The chief officer in charge of the EA

is sometimes known as the executive sponsor– In FEA this is the CIO, but may be

anyone from senior management – usually a VP or above

• This executive must be able to provide resources to the project

• Typically the project is started by the executive


Phase I – Step 1• The establishment starts with the

executive officer• The chief architect is hired or

found to lead the program• The chief architect then forms a

team• Team contains other enterprise

architects and representatives of the various stakeholders


Phase I – Step 2• The team agrees upon a

methodology• This one may be used as is or with

modifications• There are many others as well• These are the ground rules on which

the project is based– They need to be agree upon in advance

• Once agree upon the team needs to hold to the rules


Phase I – Step 3• Establish EA governance• Typically done by the executive

officer and the chief architect• Connect with other management

processes:• Workforce planning• Capital planning• Strategic planning• Security• Project management

• This is one reason the executive has to be relatively senior


Phase I – Step 4• Devise the communication plan

and then sell it– The selling is to get all the

stakeholders to be informed and thus approve the process

– This is easier done if they feel like they are being kept in the loop

• Propose a schedule for Phase II through IV activities


Communication Plan• A written document that details

the implementation plan• Should avoid any kind of technical

jargon– Must be easily understood by all

stakeholders

• Includes:– Why this EA project is important – How it will positively impact the

enterpriseCopyright © 2013 Curt Hill

Audience Participation• What is Phase I all about?• Who should the executive officer

be?– What characteristics should this

person have?

• What sort of duties does the chief architect have?

• What is the relationship between the officer and architect?


Phase II• The methodology was chosen in

Phase I, now we get everything else ready for the building of the architecture– Not yet making the artifacts, but

getting ready to do so

• An artifact is any form that documents an aspect of the EA

• Text document• Diagram• Spreadsheet• Anything else used to record the enterprise


Recall EA3


Recall Again• Front face is abstractions goals and

initiatives at the highest level and network and infrastructure at the lowest

• Top face illustrates segments which are slices relevant to individual lines of business

• Right face are the components– Horizontal components are enterprise

wideCopyright © 2013 Curt Hill

Phase II – Step 5• Choose the framework for the

documentation• Done by the chief architect in

consultation with the EA team– Any framework may be used but the

textbook recommends EA3

– Could also be done with choice of methodology in step 2

• This and next step are where scoping issues are determined– Choose the range of abstraction


Phase II – Step 6• Choose which lines of business will be

considered• These LOBs may be recognized as

separate by the enterprise or established by this EA– Businesses are more often organized more

by history than by logic

• The LOBs are also prioritized for completion here

• Horizontal or cross-cutting components may be done here for future use


Horizontal Again• Horizontal or cross-cutting

components should be similar or identical throughout the enterprise– Email is an example component – An enterprise with multiple emails is

needing fixing

• Once this done in one segment it is usually done for all segments– Even those not yet described


Phase II – Step 7• Choose the rest of the components that

are used in this line of business– Those that are not horizontal

• The intersection of the abstraction level and the line of business level produces potentially unique components that need to be documented– At the top level we record initiatives that

affect this LOB– At the bottom level we might have a map

of network nodes


Phase II – Step 8• How are we to document those things

chosen in the last two steps?– There are two sub-questions

• How is the information gathered?– Interviews, referencing existing

documents

• What is the form of the artifact?– Text, diagram, etc.– These need to be accessible and

understandable to the stakeholders who will use them


Phase II – Step 9• Choose tools and software• Those who gather the information

need tools to create the documents• In general the MS Office suite is not

adequate– These capabilities are required but many

beyond as well

• Many of these are not just text– If we determine that UML diagram is

needed we need a tool that makes it easy to generate and store the diagram


Phase II – Step 10• Choose the form of the online

repository• Easy to access by any stakeholder

– Perhaps only the team may modify

• This includes software and a database of sorts

• There are specialized tools for this but they are not always necessary


Audience Participation• What is Phase II all about?• What is an artifact?• What risk factors are in this

process?


Phase III• The system for recording the

information is now established• We have determined:

– What do document– How to document– Who will do the work

• What remains is the hard work of gathering and recording this information

• Unleash the architects!


Phase III – Step 11• Gather existing documents• Each needs to be analyzed• Each needs to classified into the

framework• This is conducting an exhaustive

survey of all existing business documentation


Phase III – Step 12• Create the remaining artifacts• After step 11 there will be plenty of

holes in the framework– We fill these now

• This is done with interviews among other ways


Phase III – Step 13• Consider several future directions that

are possible for the enterprise– These deal with external environment

• Scenarios to consider– Little changes in the current

environment: emphasize efficiency– A very good possible future environment:

exploit opportunities– A very bad possible environment: survival

• These scenarios need to be realistic and possible


Audience participation• What kind of things should we try

to anticipate in this step?• Lets consider higher education• What are the candidates for

shaking up VCSU?– What technologies?– What economic changes?


Phase III – Step 14• For each scenario in step 13

consider how this would pressure the enterprise

• What changes in this environment would be important to the organization?

• The stakeholders will need to react to these


Phase III – Step 15• Create a future EA from the

scenarios and reactions recorded in last two steps

• Consider two time frames– 1-2 years out– 3-5 years out

• We should have input from both upper and middle to lower management


Phase III – Step 16• Create a management plan• We know where we are• We have a guess as to where we

want to go• How do we get there?


Audience Participation• What is Phase III all about?• How do we classify business

documents?• Is there a possibility that a

document exists but is not being acted upon?

• How do we find out about the business processes?


Phase IV• Maintenance is important• If we are to make money in this

project, this is where it will happen• It would be criminal negligence to

spend all this money to create the EA and then only use it for a short time

• If it is not maintained it will fall out of sync with reality– Become worthless


Audience Participation• It has been said:

It is harder to obtain than maintain.

• What factors make this true?• In what areas is this not true?


Phase IV – Step 17• Use the repository for planning

– This is a function not vested in the EA team

– Must be throughout the enterprise for which an EA exists

• The characteristics of the repository are now important– The relevant facts should be

immediately available– Such as called up in a meeting


Audience Participation• Why is buy-in crucial?• What can be done if the repository

is not used?– How would this be detected?


Phase IV – Step 18• Updating• Both the current and future

architectures are moving targets• They need to be regularly updated

so they stay current• The enterprise that is not changing

has usually ceased operation– Or soon will


Audience Participation• The people interviewed in creating

the EA have other things to do. How is the EA kept current without causing the EA team to be a pest?

• How can the EA be kept up to date?


Phase IV – Step 19• Maintaining and improving tools• Most of the tools will have licenses

to be kept current• Upgrading the tools to newer

versions– Different and better products may

also appear

• These costs need to be part of the annual budget


Phase IV – Step 20• Annual updates• There is a reporting function

administered by the chief architect• All the stakeholders need to be

kept informed by these reports• The project needs to be sold

– Many managers will see this team as profitless overhead


Audience Participation• What is Phase IV all about?• What are the costs associated with

an EA?• What characteristics of the

executive officer are now visibly important?


Implementation Methodology How to Establish, Maintain and Use an Enterprise Architecture Copyright © 2013 Curt Hill.

Documents

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