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Currently viewing the tag: "Enterprise Architecture (EA)"
Business and technology resources are aligned using Enterprise Architecture (EA) in order to achieve strategic results, improve organizational performance, achieve Cost Optimization and Operational Excellence, and guide departments to fulfill their central missions more efficaciously.
Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) does that for any U.S. federal agency and helps systems transcend interagency boundaries.
Planning is one of the most important elements for bringing about change in an organization, if not the most important. Planning methodology for the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework is called Collaborative Planning Methodology (CPM).
Collaborative Planning Methodology is the next-generation successor to Federal Segment Architecture Methodology (FSAM).
Collaborative Planning Methodology encompasses 2 phases and a total of 5 steps under these phases:
Organize and Plan phase lets planners facilitate partnership between sponsors and various stakeholders in order to ascertain and prioritize requirements, explore other organizations with same needs, and devise plans to tackle the stated requirements.
Implement and Measure phase has the planners in assist role to other key personnel working to implement and monitor change related activities by supporting investment, procurement, implementation, and performance measurement actions and decisions.
Each step under these 2 phases has a number of activities that need to be completed in order to obtain the outcome for that step. There are regular and essential iterations within and among the phases even though the phases have been displayed as successive. Let’s discuss the key steps of the methodology in detail.
1. Identify and Validate
The objective of the 1st step is to ascertain what is required to be attained, comprehend the main drivers for change, and afterwards delineate and prioritize the goals with stakeholders and operational staff.
Key outcomes of the step include:
- Identified and validated needs.
- Overarching set of performance metrics.
- Determination of who (governance) will ultimately oversee and approve recommended changes to meet those needs.
2. Research and Leverage
The aim of this step is to detect organizations and service providers who have already fulfilled or presently have requirements similar to those identified in Step 1. This necessitates studying their experiences and outcomes in order to discover if they can be used and leveraged or whether an alliance can be created to fulfill the needs together.
Key outcomes of the step include:
- Clear grasp on the experiences and results of other organizations.
- Determination by sponsors regarding applicability, usage of experiences of other organizations or formation of partnerships if the other organization is also planning to fulfill similar needs.
- Detailed analysis of alternatives.
3. Define and Plan
The purpose here is to form the integrated plan for the alterations essential to fulfill the requirements determined in Step 1.
Key outcomes of the step include:
- Sponsor and stakeholders hold an integrated set of plans and articles outlining what is to be done, when is it to be done, what benefits will be achieved and when, and a projected cost.
4. Invest and Execute
Point of this step is to carry out investment decision and effect the changes as delineated in the Integrated Plan produced in Step 3.
Key outcomes of this step include:
- Clear funding strategy and a decision to approve the investment of required funds.
- Implementation of recommendations for tackling the identified needs.
5. Perform and Measure
Objective of this step is to execute operations and measure performance outcomes against established metrics. The recently applied changes are leveraged by the organization in Performance Management.
Key outcomes of this step include:
- Performance outcomes gauged against pre-determined metrics.
- Production of significant outcomes e.g., feedback into planning with the view to making more adjustments in addition to what was implemented in Step 4.
Interested in learning more Collaborative Planning Methodology, its salient features, and the key activities in each step? You can download an editable PowerPoint on Collaborative Planning Methodology here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
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– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd
Business and technology elements are aligned by means of Enterprise Architecture (EA) so as to attain strategic results, augment organizational performance, and drive departments to deliver their central missions more efficaciously.
Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) achieves this for any U.S. federal agency and assists systems go beyond interagency boundaries.
We discuss here 1 of the 6 interconnected reference models of the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework—the Infrastructure Reference Model (IRM).
IRM takes care of definition of infrastructure technology elements, as well as provides direction for promoting favorable results across technology implementations.
IRM implementation aids in:
- Reduction of lifecycle costs through sharing and reuse, also helps in exploiting economies of scale.
- Increased interoperability throughout the government including its partners by identification and endorsement of demonstrated industry standards and associated platforms and products.
- Detection of pragmatic design-patterns as clusters of technology packets or blends of technologies that work well collectively to sustain efficient acquisition and deployment.
- Efficient control and sustainment of IT assets/resources through contribution to the delivery of consolidated and measurable infrastructure services and service levels as envisaged in Enterprise Architecture Management Maturity Framework (EAMMF).
- Supplying of realistic use cases and methods corresponding to IT capabilities to facilitate business initiatives and better access to information across enterprises.
Common Approach to Federal EA as well as Purpose and Outcome of IRM are, respectively, the root of IRM Guiding Principles. IRM guiding principles are:
- IRM ought to be a robust-enough taxonomy and approach to fulfill future requirements and adjust new technologies.
- IRM must be defined with regard to technology infrastructure services put forward.
- IRM has to be expounded as a hierarchy of IT infrastructure components.
- IRM should be developed in such a way to promote usability, convenience, and reporting.
- IRM should simplify interoperability and shared services.
- IRM ought to be criteria-based, both international and national, concurrence-driven standards organizations, with numerous levels of abstraction.
- IRM has to be accommodating of the Application Reference Model (ARM) and Data Reference Model (DRM) by touch points.
Enabled by the Common Approach to Federal Enterprise Architecture and supported by the IRM, 4 primary outcomes of IRM include the following:
- Service Delivery
- Functional Integration
- Authoritative Reference
- Resource Optimization
IRM scope encompasses hardware, platforms, networks, and the facilities that house the infrastructure. The 3 levels of the model include:
Level 1—Domain comprises of Platform, Network, and Facility.
Level 2—Area covers 13 areas, each belonging to 1 of 3 domain elements.
Level 3—Category consists of 90 total categories and each linked to 1 of 13 areas.
The interconnectedness of the IRM domains allows analysis of IT assets throughout the 3 dimensions.
For an implementation of an IRM-based categorization of assets to be useful, additional data points should be captured. These data points include:
- Manufacturer of the asset.
- Cost
- End-of-life/end-of-support date
- Mapping to the Security Reference Model (SRM)
Data points classified by IRM are relevant to detecting prospects of sharing services, decreasing redundancy, and stimulating consolidation.
IRM classification can be embraced, as part of implementation, by the ensuing extensively recognized best practices, guidance, and standards, both in the public and private sectors.
Interested in learning more about the FEAF: Infrastructure Reference Model (IRM)? You can download an editable PowerPoint on the Infrastructure Reference Model (IRM) here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
Do You Find Value in This Framework?
You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here’s what some have to say:
“My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.”
– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects
“As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.”
– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting
“FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight – it’s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.”
– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd
Enterprise Architecture (EA) denotes management best practice for lining up business and technology resources to realize strategic results, expand upon Organizational Performance and steer departments to achieve their core missions more successfully and achieve Operational Excellence.
Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) assists any agency of the Federal government achieve this through documentation and information that conveys a summarized outlook of an enterprise at various tiers of scope and detail.
The FEAF comprises of 6 interconnected Reference Models including Security Reference Model (SRM), linked through Consolidated Reference Model (CRM), each relating to a sub-architectural domain of the FEA framework.
Security is a worldwide concern pervading through all layers of the organization. Effect on security at any level has an impact on each successive level, both ascending and descending. Appropriate place for developing and charting Security standards, policies, and norms is the Enterprise Architecture Governance since it is the enforcement point for IT investments.
Security Reference Model (SRM) is a framework for maturing a security architecture created on Information Security and privacy standards. SRM is omnipresent, entwining itself through all of the sub-architectures of the all-encompassing EA across all the other reference models.
Enterprise and solution architects have to remain aware of entire technology, business, performance, and security drivers so as to suitably steer IT Strategy and design Information Technology systems and choose apposite technology that fits their needs. SRM offers all levels of architects a direction to understanding when and where those needs can be consolidated.
SRM facilitates in forming an even security architecture in 3 key areas:
- Purpose
- Risk
- Controls
All the layers of SRM are vital for the security posture and wellbeing of an entire agency and/or system. Highest levels of Federal architecture transform federal laws, regulations, and publications into specific policies.
Main principle of the SRM, at the enterprise layer, is to utilize the standards in place throughout the Federal or national IT security expanse to classify policy for a particular enterprise or agency.
Segment level transforms department specific policies into security controls and measurements. Policies set in place from the enterprise layer are utilized by SRM to categorize controls for a certain agency or segment.
SRM utilizes controls set at the segment layer to enable system-specific designs and/or requirements of the individual system. SRM employs controls chosen by the agency or segment to truly embed security into a system or application.
Proper security procedures ensure both risk reduction and regulatory compliance. Regulatory compliance is not an aim in itself, but a constituent of the course by which risks and controls, applicable to the circumstance at hand, are chosen. Risk mitigation is the eventual motive for the application of security controls.
In the same vein, chief goal of security is not to apply controls rather it is to diminish risks by means of layered security measures of which implementation of controls is a part. Attaining decreased risk profile means that controls ought to be integrated throughout the organization, vertically and horizontally, across system and solution deployments, layered progressively.
Consequences of security are far more challenging to measure, and differ based on the organization’s business. Metrics are signs of an organization’s advancement in security maturity and part of the overall IT Capability Maturity. Undeveloped organizations have diminished capability of defining or collecting metrics.
Interested in learning more about FEAF: Security Reference Model? You can download an editable PowerPoint on FEAF: Security Reference Model (SRM) here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
Do You Find Value in This Framework?
You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here’s what some have to say:
“My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.”
– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects
“As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.”
– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting
“FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight – it’s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.”
– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd
Information Technology works best when it is tied tightly to our company’s overall business goals. On the other hand, business unit executives
have remained doubtful about IT’s ability to support them in creating value. Despite the best intentions of managers of both sides, companies continue to struggle to integrate IT systems and to determine whether IT actually improves performance.
This problematic tension between the IT departments and business units has inflicted on many companies for years.
One approach to closing this gap is the discipline called Enterprise Architecture (EA).
What is Enterprise Architecture (EA)?
Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a logical framework that establishes the links between business strategy and organizational structures, processes, databases, and technologies. The goal of EA is twofold. The first goal is to add value through its support of business goals. Second is to enable companies to measure the value added.
If a company wants to capture better customer information in order to energize an effort to sell additional higher margin products and services to existing customers, the company can use an EA system to align its customer relationship management, information retrieval, and sales planning software. EA applications can also be set up for staff training, account management, and frequent assessments of the campaign’s efficacy.
Enterprise Architecture (EA) has been known to add value through its support of business goals, improve operational efficiency, and agility. There are identified changes visible upon the application of Enterprise Architecture on organizations.
The architecture of an enterprise is described with a view to improving the manageability, effectiveness, efficiency, or agility of the business, and ensuring that money spent on IT is justified.
The 4 Key Elements to Gaining Enterprise Architecture Maturity
Application of Enterprise Architecture (EA) requires certain levels of maturity. This is necessary for EA to be able to deliver greater impact on bottom lines. The amount of value our company gets depends on the level of maturity of the EA efforts.
There are 4 key elements to Enterprise Architecture Maturity that must be addressed.
- Strategic Alignment. The first key element ensures that the design of EA functions is included in both technology and the strategic planning process.
- Leadership and Talent Development. The second key element relies on the training and development of Enterprise Architects who understand the business and can further strengthen the organization’s EA capability.
- Performance Management. Performance Management accurately measures the results of EA efforts that show an impact on the business.
- Organizational Design. Organizational Design is the foundational element of Enterprise Architecture. It involves the frameworks, the tools, and the methodologies necessary in developing a functional capability.
Enterprise Architecture is not an easy task. But, is it worth it?
Based on a survey conducted by Booz & Company (now PwC), executives of 60 financial services companies and government agencies were asked to evaluate EA’s effect on performance.
Organizations that had implemented Enterprise Architecture (EA) reported that the approach had impact and value. It has decreased their cost, reduced complexity, reduced risk, and increased agility.
In this world where operational efficiency, risk mitigation, and agility have become essentially important to achieving competitive advantage and business sustainability, companies have no other recourse but take the road to achieve Enterprise Architecture (EA) maturity and readiness.
Interested in gaining more understanding of Enterprise Architecture: Elements of Maturity? You can learn more and download an editable PowerPoint about Enterprise Architecture: Elements of Maturity here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
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