The LIght EA Framework (LEAF)

Light EA Framework (LEAF)

by

John Chi-Zong [email protected]

www.liteea.comDate 1/15/2015

Presentation goals

Propose the light EA framework (LEAF) to illustrate a comprehensive and adaptive EA.

Suggest the three main goals of EA are: Align IT with Business; Enable enterprise agility; Adapt to change.

Tailor EA paradigm into three architecture disciplines to achieve these goals and clarify EA confusion.

Recommend to practice EA in a three tiers approach instead a big bang approach.

Demonstrate that that EA can be light In a three tier approach comparing to the big bang approach.

The three main goals of EA

The main goals of EA are: Align technologies with business need; Enable enterprise agility via reuse Adapting to change in time of need.

It take three architecture discipline to achieve these goals.

The Alignment Architecture discipline in vertical direction, The Agility Architecture discipline in horizontal direction The Adaptive Architecture in circular direction.

The three architecture discipline of EA

Alignment, Agility and adaptive are separate disciplines:

Alignment Architecture discipline (Vertical) to analyze enterprise structure and align enterprise resources (human resources, financial resources and technology resources) with business need.

Agility Architecture Horizontal Architecture discipline (Horizontal) to minimize redundant effort via learning experience of the other and reuse and enable enterprise agility in horizontal architecture.

Adaptive Architecture discipline (Circular) Architecture discipline in adopting to change via performance gap analysis, strategic planning, capital investment, change management and configuration management.

Three disciplines to clarify EA confusion

EA is confusion under the deeply rooted vertical architecture concept. For example: The confusion of Reference models and mistaking EA as

an enterprise solution architecture. For the solution architects in vertical architecture training, reference

models are frequently confused as reference architecture because there is no need to learn from the others in the stove pipe culture.

EA is nothing new but an enterprise wide solution architecture. The vertical architecture centric EA community consider reuse and

sharing as a architecture mutation by looking for opportunities to interoperate and reuse.

For the network engineers in horizontal architecture training, the OSI reference model is essential to bring both party on the same page.

A paradigm shift from vertical architecture concept to recognize the horizontal discipline horizontal can clarify the confusion of many EA confusion.

1: The Alignment Architecture Discipline

IT and business professionals unable to bridge the gap between themselves. This rift generally results in expensive IT systems that do not provide adequate return on investment.

Business-information technology alignment, the "holy grail" of organizations, integrates the information technology to the strategy, mission, and goals of the organization

Business – IT alignment is the capacity to demonstrate a positive relationship between information technologies and the accepted financial measures of performance. (from wikipedia)

EA for business-IT alignment Typical EA Frameworks are

used to achieve Business-IT Alignment, for example: The National Institute of Standards and Technology) EA model.

Align information to business. Align application system to

information. Align data to application

systems. Align technologies application

and data.

Alignment to plan not to develop Alignment Architecture is a planning effort rater than a

development effort. In a layman’s term, It is a plan on how to use the cars rather how to develop new cars.

Alignment Architecture is not an enterprise Solution Architecture to design the enterprise blueprint.

As a planning effort, the alignment architecture does significant investment of time and resources.

EA is light as a planning effort to align IT with Business without the burden of to designing the blueprint.

Key characteristics to achieve alignment. First, the organization must view information technology as

an instrument to transform the business Second, an organization must hold customer service, both

externally and internally, at the utmost importance. Thirdly, an organization must rotate both IT and business

professionals across different departments and job functions Fourth, an organization must provide clear and specific

goals to both the IT and business employees. The fifth characteristic ensures that IT and business

employees understand how the company makes or loses money.

Lastly, organizations must create a vibrant and inclusive company culture (from wikipedia)

The Alignment Matrix

“Alignment” refers to the arrangement of items in relation to one another.

An alignment tool provides a method to illustrate this relative arrangement so that others can understand how IT align to business.

2: The Agility Architecture discipline

EA to overcome the challenge of redundant effort in stovepipe culture via reuse and consolidation.

EA enable the enterprise agility in adapting change in time of need.

The agility architecture discipline Reference Model to learn the right experience of

the others. Interoperability analysis to support networking. Engineering of reuse via pattern analysis to

identify enterprise primitive and support SOA. Engineering of consolidation based on workload

analysis to support cloud computing. Standardization. Reference Architecture.

Horizontal Architecture Practice

Network SOA CloudBusiness Social

networkBusiness As Service

BusinessCloud

Application Application Network

ApplicationAs Services

ApplicationCloud

Data InformationNetwork

Database As Services

DatabaseCloud

Technology TechnologyNetwork

PlatformAs Service

PlatformCloud

Modern technologies requires both vertical and horizontal architecture practice. For example: Network, Service Oriented Architecture and Cloud computing.

The following matrix illustrate a holistic view of horizontal architecture practice.

Reference Models to keep on same page

EA reference models are the key of the horizontal architecture discipline. It enable the EA community to say the same thing in the same way.

Without the reference model, the EA community say the same thing in many different words or say the same word to many different thing.

EA have introduced the concept of reference model for the purpose for interoperate, reuse and learning experiences of the others.

Scientifically, It is considered as the architecture taxonomy which must be establish with authority and consensus.

A holistic Agility architecture ReferenceModels

Interoperbility

EstablishStandards

Reuse Consolidation Reference Architecture

Business BRM BusinessInteroperbility

BusinessStandards

BusinessReuse

BusinessConsolidation

BusinessReferenceArchitecture

Processes

ProcessRM

BusinessInteroperbility

ProcessesStandards

ProcessReuse


ProcessReferenceArchitecture

Application

ApplicationRM


ApplicationStandards

ApplicationReuse


Application ReferenceArchitecture

SOA SOARM


SOAStandards

SOAReuse


SOAReferenceArchitecture

Data DRM BusinessInteroperbility

DataStandards

DataReuse


DataReferenceArchitecture

Infrastructure

TRM BusinessInteroperbility

InfraStandards

InfraReuse


InfraReferenceArchitecture

3 : The adaptive architecture discipline

EA community have focused on mechanical architecture effort without realize the process architecture of Governance, Compliance and adapting to change is an integral part of EA.

Governance, Compliance and Change adapting processes are integral part of EA because: Enterprise is organic and the value of EA is to adapt change. EA architect overcome the challenge of stovepipe not only on the mechanical architecture side but also on the process of governance,

compliance and change adaption.

EA is a holistic process architecture approach as shown in the Governanc, Risk management and compliance framework.

Adapting to change according to the priorities in Risk Management.

Executing adapting to change via governance and compliance.

Governance and compliance are considered a the enterprise field.

EA as a integrated process architecture

ADAPTING TO CHANGE

Adapt change continuously

Enterprise is organic which change constantly with ticking time.

EA is a continuous effort without a end unlike to a project which have a end.

EA adapt to change continuously in the iterative direction as shown on the figure on the right (From CIO practical guide to federal Enterprise Architecture)

The Adaptive Architecture discipline

In adaptive architecture discipline, Enterprise Architects adapt to change via:

Performance gap analysis Risk management, Strategic planning, Capital investment, Project management, Change management Configuration management. Release management

Change management here is defined as documenting the change and should not be confusing as adapting to change.

A holistic Adaptive Architecture Performance Gaps

Strategic Planning

CPIC ProjectManage.

Change Manage.

ConfigureManage.

ReleaseManage.

Business Processes

Process performance gaps

ProcessStrategicPlanning

ProcessCPIC

ProcessProjectManage.

ProcessChangeManage.

ProcessConfigureManage.

ProcessReleaseManage.

Application

Application performance gaps

ApplicationStrategicPlanning

App.CPIC

App.ProjectManage.

App.ChangeManage.

Appl.ConfigureManage.

App.ReleaseManage.

SOA SOA performance gaps

SOAStrategicPlanning

SOACPIC

SOAProjectManage.

SOAChangeManage.

SOAConfigureManage.

SOAReleaseManage.

Data Dataperformance gaps

DataStrategicPlanning

DataCPIC

DataProjectManage.

DATAChangeManage.

DataConfigureManage.

DataReleaseManage.

Infrastructure

Infraperformance gaps

InfraStrategicPlanning

InfraCPIC

InfraProjectManage.

Infra.ChangeManage.

InfraConfigureManage.

InfraReleaseManage.

Practice EA in three tiers

Light EA is light in comparing to the big bang approach which requires significant investment of time and resources to design the enterprise architecture blueprint.

EA does not have to be complicate and it not only for large organization.

The initial EA is light to architect the notional architecture which is a high level overview which does not require significant effort of time and resources.

LEA adapt to change via segment architecture in a light and manageable scope to identify as, design the target and planning for transition.

Notional EA, Segment EA and Daily EA EA adapt to change via a three tier architecture approach.

The Notional EA is the high level architecture concept. The executable EA in segments is an continuous effort to

close the business performance gaps. The daily EA work with management daily in decision making. The daily EA work with solution architect to enable agility in

adopting to change.

Source: US Federal Segment Architecture

Tier 1 :Notional EA

The initial EA should be simple and comprehensive.

It is a high level and notional instead of a big bang enterprise wide architecture blueprint.

The purpose of Notional Architecture: Notional architecture provide an overall Enterprise

Architecture concept to see the whole. Notional Architecture prepare in architecture drawing

form for every one to comprehend. Notional Architecture serve as the long term enterprise

architecture guide line similar to a city plan

The Notional Architecture Artifacts The Notional Architecture is

prepared in architecture drawings for general comprehension.

Enterprise Architects prepare the notional architecture as the other architects do.

Notional Architecture consist of :

The Business Architecture. The Application Architecture. The Information Architecture. The Technology Architecture.

Notional architecture & Enterprise Map The Enterprise architects develop the enterprise Map and

notional architecture in parallel effort. Initiate the initial enterprise map skeleton and Conduct

the notional business architecture to populate the enterprise map.

Conduct notional application, data and technology to align IT with business.

Use the initial enterprise map to facilitate collaboration for the knowledge we do not know and update the Notional Architecture accordingly.

Notional and Segment Architecture Notional EA

connection to Segment EA via segment Plan.

Segment plan enable segment architecture without segregation.

The segment plan is analogy as the business floor plan and serve as a major enterprise architecture component as a floor plan do for a house.

Tier two: Practical EA in segment architecture

The EA community have initiated the segment architecture as the practical EA after realizing that it is not practical to EA in a big bang approach.

Segment Architecture is an effort to elaborate the notional architecture for the purpose of closing the business performance gaps due to change.

It is an on demand EA approach only for the area of need.

Segment Architecture to adapt change Segment Architecture is the practical EA. It is futile to EA in a big bang approach which

become obsolete before ink dry. It is the holistic architecture design in adapting to

change. It is EA on demand.

The enterprise segment heat map Segment Plan is part

of Notional Architecture

Analyze segment Performance gaps due to change.

Prepare the segment Heat map use color code to identify the underperform segments

Good

Fair

Warning

Hot Spot

The Segment Architecture approach Enterprise architect

conduct segment architecture under the guideline of notional architecture.

The figure on the right (by US FEAPMO) illustrate the segment architecture process.

Apply popular EA approaches on segment

Enterprise Architects design Segment Architecture via popular EA method such as EAP, FEAF, TOGAF, PEAF, DoDAF.

As a matter of fact, these methods are more practical in the scope of segment architecture rather than in a big bang EA approach.

A big bang approach to identify As-is, plan the target architecture, conducting gap analysis and planning for transition has been an overwhelming experience for most of EA practitioners.

Tier 3 : Daily EA

EA is a daily business. After deliver the enterprise blueprint, Enterprise Architects does not go back to their ivory tower.

The purpose of daily EA is to deliver EA value every day rather than design architecture every.

After the hard work to design the enterprise blueprint in a big bang approach, the architect realize that the real challenge is buy-in from the stakeholders not the design effort.

Command and control via authority and budget is not the solution. Under this approach EA has become a burden rather than a value.

The Enterprise Architect must proactively taking the responsibility to deliver EA value and earn buy-in from stake holders Instead of live in an ivory tower and expect someone else to enforce the enterprise architecture blueprint.

EA is in complement to Solution Architecture

EA is in complement to solution architecture. EA is not an enterprise wide solution architecture to step

all over the solution architecture. Enterprise Architects as specialize to see the whole,

learning experiences of the others and enable enterprise agility in adopting to change in time of need.

Solution Architects are the subject matter experts to focus on a set of requirements.

EA enable the Solution Architect to see the whole, know the resources for reuse and facilitate collaboration.

EA is an emerging discipline and solution architects does not automatically become an EA by designing large scale solution architecture.

EA and the organization

EA let every one to see the whole and enable agility in adapting to change in the following area.

Strategic planning Capital investment. Solution Architecture

design. Procurement. Project management. Application development. IV & V. Security management. And more.

EA are the “Glue” not the “Guru” EA community have realize the EA is a daily

business however they also like to portray Enterprise Architect as the architecture “Guru” to provide advice and guidance or every acting like a architecture police to enforce the standards.

In this approach, EA become a burden rather than a value.

The true value of daily EA is to deliver EA value and earn buy-in from the stakeholders.

The Enterprise Architects are “the Glue” not the “Guru”

Conclusion EA community need a comprehensive EA

framework to understand what is EA. The main goals of EA are Align IT with business,

enable enterprise agility and adapting to change in time of need.

EA consist of the three disciplines of Alignment, Agility and adaptive. It is not an enterprise wide solution architecture.

Practice EA in three tiers rather than in a big bang approach.

EA can be light to begin with, it is a continuous effort.

References Governance, Risk Management and Compliance

framework (GRC Framework) 2009 US Federal Segment Architecture Method (FSAM), US

Chief Information Officer Council, 2008 A Practical guide to federal Enterprise Architecture. US

Chief Information Officer Council, 2001 US Customs Service Enterprise Architecture Blueprint , US

Customs Service, 1999 IT-Business definition in Wikipedia. FEAF TOGAF NIST Federal Reference Model

The LIght EA Framework (LEAF)

Engineering

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