FAQs

What is an Enterprise Architecture?

An Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a conceptual blueprint that defines the organizing logic for business processes and IT infrastructure. The intent of EA is to determine how an organization can most effectively achieve its current and future objectives while reflecting the integration and standardization requirements of the company. EA provides a long term view of a company’s processes, systems and technologies, which in turn enable the organization to build capabilities in these areas.

So what does EA mean?

EA is about aligning IT with business goals. It could mean different things through different perspectives – Strategy execution, IT strategy, technology planning, or IT as a strategy. In essence, EA is about organizing business to meet its goals and employing IT to facilitate the process.

Why do I need a technology plan?

A technology plan ensures maximum return on your IT investments, by keeping IT in harmony with business needs. Without a well thought out plan, you may end up investing heavily in automating different business processes using different tools and methods. Over a period of time, that would result in complex IT systems that create duplicate data sets, use duplicate processes, lack integration and compatibility, create barriers to information flow and decrease business productivity.

How does a technology plan help in strategy execution?

There’s no way to build a comprehensive technology plan without incorporating business strategy. Business strategy is the key driver for change in any organization, and an effective technology plan needs to address and anticipate change to keep IT tuned to the needs of the dynamic enterprise. Strategy execution is an inherent feature of a good technology plan.

What are the prerequisites for technology planning?

A technology plan needs to first clearly define and organize the following: organization structure, business strategy and goals, and business processes. In short, organization planning precedes technology planning.

What are the benefits of process modeling?

Business process modeling is one of the prerequisites of technology planning, and offers the following benefits:

• Remove duplicity, redundancy and inefficiency by streamlining processes
• Facilitate replication, through standardization of processes
• Facilitate coordination, through integration of processes

What is process streamlining? How is it useful?

A bigger process could be improved by improving the individual steps involved in the process through streamlining. It offers the following benefits:

• Reduced complexity
• Reduced cycle times
• Better adjustment to client expectations

What is process standardization? How is it useful?

Processes that get frequently repeated can be optimized for high performance and replicated to deliver high quality every time. For any enterprise, the ability to standardize processes could offer following benefits:

• Better control and coordination with subsidiary centers
• Better performance comparison and benchmarking across different units using same processes
• Easier outsourcing

What is process integration? How is it useful?

Process integration for EA is about sharing data or services across enterprise. This sharing could take place across customer, product and operations data or for services like customer care. Process integration is helpful when an organization wants to leverage on existing capabilities and IP for growth. Following are some benefits:

• Holistic view of systems
• Improved service and turnaround times
• Better information flow across different departments/systems.

What are the benefits of EA?

EA offers similar benefits to an enterprise as city architecture offers to a city. In context of the enterprise, following are the benefits:

What are the various components of EA planning?

1)    Getting started:

Produce a work plan, procure high-level management commitment for support, decide methodology and tools to use, and who should be involved.

2) Where we are today:

• Business process modeling
• Current systems and technology description

3)    The vision of where we want to be:

• Data Architecture – Definition of the major kinds of data needed to support the business.
• Applications Architecture – Definition of the major kinds of applications needed to manage that data and support the business functions.
• Technology Architecture – Definition of the technology platforms needed to support the applications that manage the data and support the business functions.

4)    How we plan to get there: Implementation / Migration Plans – Definition of the sequence for implementing applications, a schedule for implementation, a cost/benefit analysis, and a clear path for migration.

What sort of involvement is needed from my organization towards developing an EA?

EA cannot be accomplished without top level involvement and commitment. Various involvements needed are while defining the SCOPE (from vision and strategy makers), identifying processes (from process owners), and the base architecture (from CIO and the technology team).

What is the time frame needed to develop an EA?

The duration of developing EA depends on the complexity of an organization. On an average, it takes 4-8 weeks to complete an EA project.

What are key EA Deliverables?

A key deliverable of EA is the Blueprint document which describes the organization’s business and technology architecture.

Business Architecture:

1. Organization Chart
2. Business Processes (redefined or new discovery)
3. Management and IT scorecards

Information and Systems Architecture:

1. Data Architecture
2. Application Architecture (descriptions and relationships of different systems)

Technology Architecture:

1. IT infrastructure plan
2. IT capabilities plan

Other Artifacts:

1. Policies
2. Standards
3. Principles
4. Guidelines
5. Capability Roadmap
6. Product Roadmap
7. Infrastructure Roadmap

What is an EA roadmap?

EA goals can be achieved through accomplishing smaller milestones over a designated time frame. This plan is called the EA roadmap.

How do EA Processes relate to the Software Development Process?

EA gives us description of critical processes, governance patterns, and applications and technology to be used. These descriptions act as inputs for software architecture development and project management.

How does a project manager or solution architect ensure alignment to the EA when proposing a new project?

One of the byproducts of EA is the Architecture compliance assessment checklist. Project Managers or Solution architects can ensure alignment by going through the checklist.

How does the EA team propose new programs and projects?

The proposition is based on Application architecture, priorities list, time frames and cost.

How do I maintain EA in the midst of evolving systems and new business requirements?

EA has inbuilt mechanisms to respond to change by employing a migration plan.