Learn the methodologies, frameworks, and tricks used by Management Consultants to create executive presentations in the business world.
Customary practice to Capital Budgeting for satisfying needs of Information Technology development and support pursues a fragmented process and considers requests as stand-alone projects, each with its particular business justification.
The approach bases most of the capital allocation on historical expenditure patterns and financial projections. It handicaps the underlying Enterprise Architecture making it inflexible and layered with unnecessary complexity. The practice results in inferior outcomes with far greater expenditure. It also increases the fixed costs of IT operations because of reluctance to retire legacy systems.
Conventional approach to Capital Budgeting for IT projects is too outdated and sluggish for today’s Digital Age, where technology has taken a more strategic role.
In the Digital Age, technology needs to be rapidly developed to support not only the operations of the organization, but also to directly support Corporate Strategy. Thus, we need a faster, more agile approach to IT Strategy.
Capabilities-driven IT Strategy uses an approach where a comprehensive view to IT is adopted based on unique proficiencies of the company. It shapes an organization-wide justification for Information Technology. It also puts IT function and business unit together for developing the IT Strategy. Capabilities-driven approach highlights the strategic worth of visionary IT leadership, particularly in assisting companies comprehend which strategies are most feasible.
The approach presses the company to base judgment on the manner in which the company creates value, on the investment required for distinguishing capabilities, and on the contribution that IT ought to make. Capabilities-driven approach centers investment on limited distinctive capabilities that set the company apart.
Quite a few companies have employed such strategies, over a short period of time, and have attained a new kind of IT and operational leadership.
Capabilities-driven IT Strategy is achieved through a 4-phase approach:
- Determine our Distinctive Capabilities in Relation to IT.
- Prioritize our IT Project Portfolio.
- Develop Technology Roadmap of IT Investments and Activities.
- Develop Culture and Governance to Support IT Strategy.
The phases are sequential, where in each phase, a fundamental question regarding the role of IT in the organization is answered.
Let us probe some aspects of the phases a little more deeply.
Determine our Distinctive Capabilities in Relation to IT
The question answered in this phase is regarding Distinctive Capabilities of the company—capabilities that sustain the company’s strategic priorities and gives it a Competitive Advantage—and how Information Technology can play a part in improving them.
Prioritize our IT Project Portfolio
The question answered in this phase is how should the IT projects that will enhance the distinctive capabilities identified in phase 1 be prioritized?
To do this, an IT investment portfolio matrix—based on Strategic Importance and Value Potential criteria—is used that places the IT investment in 1 of the following 4 categories:
- Invest to Grow
- Invest to Sustain
- Invest to Refine
- Invest to keep the lights on
Develop Technology Roadmap of IT Investments and Activities
The question answered in this phase is regarding the order of investment and activity that will permit the company to achieve the goals set and fill the gaps that need closing.
Develop Culture and Governance to Support IT Strategy
The issue to tackle in this phase pertains to the nature of Cultural and Governance support needed to put this IT strategy into practice.
Interested in learning complete details of Capabilities-driven IT Strategy and its phases? You can download an editable PowerPoint on Capabilities-driven IT Strategy 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) conveys management best practices for positioning business and technology resources to fulfil strategic goals, enhance Organizational Performance, and guide departments to achieve their core missions more successfully via Operational Excellence.
The Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) realizes this goal for U.S. Federal agencies and assists systems surpass interagency boundaries. FEAF facilitates through documentation and information, and conveys a summarized outlook of an enterprise at various tiers of scope and detail.
The FEAF comprises of 6 interconnected Reference Models, linked through Consolidated Reference Model (CRM), each relating to a sub-architectural domain of the FEA framework.
Data Reference Model (DRM) is a FEA tool for ascertaining the data that the Federal government has and the process through which that data will be shared when business/mission requirements occur.
DRM is propounded as a theoretical framework from which actual implementations may be derived.
DRM offers a uniform way to describe, categorize, manage, share, and reuse data/information within and across the Federal government. DRM also enables detection and communication of core information across organizational boundaries.
What DRM is not is static and invariable nor is it a data management manual for how to build and maintain data architectures. It is neither a pan-government conceptual data model nor an all-embracing / fully attributed logical data model. DRM is not supposed to be a comprehensive collection of XML schemas or a substitute of prevailing data structures within the agencies.
DRM works in consonance with other reference models in various ways. For example, it identifies opportunities for strategic coordination through relationships among data sources by linking with Performance Reference Model (PRM) while improving business processes and decision-making performance through data sharing with Business Reference Model (BRM).
Data Reference Model arrangement is demarcated by a 3 layered hierarchy. The 3-layer arrangement of the Data Reference Model delineates domains, subjects, and topics.
- Domains – Uppermost level of the hierarchy comprises of 4 Domains.
- Subjects – Central level of the hierarchy covers 22 Subject elements.
- Topics – Lowermost level of the hierarchy consists of 144 Topic elements.
DRM refers to data and information required to execute Federal business and mission functions. In order to assist agencies in consistently categorizing, describing, and exchanging their data, there are 3 fundamental method areas associated with the DRM:
- Data Description
- Data Context
- Data Sharing
Let us delve a little deeper into the DRM methods.
Data Description
Data Description offers an approach to consistently arrange, portray, and share data. Customarily, Data Description was exclusively concentrated on arranging and describing structured data. To tackle the challenge of unstructured data, DRM Data Description section was revised to focus on Metadata.
Metadata is broadly classified into 2 types, business or technical.
Data Context
Data Context is any information that gives added sense to data and a perception of the reason for which it was created. Data Context permits Data Governance and forms the basis for exhaustive Data Description. Data categorization methods such as Data Asset Catalog and Information Discovery and Search portray common data architecture artifacts.
Data Sharing
Data Sharing concentrates on architectural patterns for sharing and exchanging data. Data Sharing assists in retrieving and swapping of data, where access involves supplementary requests and exchange involves permanent, repeating transactions between interest groups.
Interested in learning more about the Data Reference Model? You can download an editable PowerPoint on FEAF: Data Reference Model (DRM) 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
Business and technology resources are aligned using Enterprise Architecture (EA) in order to achieve strategic results, make organizational performance better, achieve Cost Optimization, and guide departments to fulfill their central missions more efficaciously through Operational Excellence.
Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) does that for any U.S. federal agency and helps systems transcend interagency boundaries. FEAF offers a shared approach for the consolidation of strategic, business, and technology management as a component of Organization Design and Performance Management. The Enterprise Architecture methodology introduced under FEAF transcended several interagency boundaries.
The FEAF comprises of 6 interconnected Reference Models, linked through Consolidated Reference Model (CRM), each relating to a sub-architectural domain of the framework.
These Reference Models convey word-based abstractions of original architectural data and deliver a structure for relating significant elements of the FEA in a collective and uniform manner:
- Strategy Domain -> Performance Reference Model (PRM)
- Business Domain -> Business Reference Model (BRM)
- Data Domain -> Data Reference Model (DRM)
- Applications Domain -> Application Reference Model (ARM)
- Infrastructure Domain -> Infrastructure Reference Model (IRM)
- Security Domain -> Security Reference Model (SRM)
Discussed here is 1 of the 6 reference models of the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework—the Business Reference Model (BRM), its structure, framework, touchpoints with other reference models, and BRM Taxonomy.
BRM is employed to explain the type of business functions at the system, segment, agency, sector, Federal, national, or international levels rather than giving an organizational vantage point.
Cross-government cooperation between the Executive departments and subsidiary agencies—as well as external partners—is promoted by describing the Federal government in this manner enabling:
- Uncovering of possibilities for cost reduction.
- Collaboration.
- Shared services.
- Solution reuse in agency IT portfolios and collaboration between and within agency.
BRM elucidates the “what we do” of the organization via the delineation of outcome-oriented and measurable functions and services.
BRM’s real usefulness and worth is gained when it is put to use effectively in business analysis, design, and decision support that aids in improving the working of an agency, bureau, or program.
BRM classification is organized as a 3-layer order, embodying Executive Branch Mission Sectors, Business Functions, and Services.
- Mission Sector – Pinpoints 10 business functions of the Federal government in the Common Approach to Enterprise Architecture.
- Business Function – Defines the Federal government functioning at high level, by means of budget function classification codes.
- Service – Elaborates further what the Federal government does at a subsidiary or section level.
Mission Sector is exclusive to the executive branch of the Federal government. This layer should be used appropriately for other organizations.
The 3 layers allow arrangement and analysis of IT investments and applications for an assortment of purposes.
All reference models are envisioned to work jointly. BRM’s further mappings to other reference models contribute added context for the investment or activity. Input for BRM is through Performance Reference Model (PRM) enabling BRM to feed other reference models.
BRM is intended to deliver agencies with a uniform means to classify their capital investments, detect areas for collaboration and reuse, centered on delivery of business capability.
BRM also aids in refining the general IT architecture to further improve mission outcomes. It extends decision-support abilities to stakeholders and various levels of staff, within and outside an agency, and across the Federal government. From a Federal viewpoint, BRM permits discovery of prospects for joint effort and reuse of shared services, government-wide. This collaboration takes 2 forms:
- Inter-agency
- Intra-agency
BRM is usable in combination with several architecture, development, or analysis methods to deliver all-inclusive standardized design, development, and governance abilities. There are 3 primary types of BRM methods:
- Business Architecture for Decision Support
- Business Process Modeling
- Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
Interested in learning more about the FEAF Business Reference Model? You can download an editable PowerPoint on FEAF: Business Reference Model here and FEAF associated series PowerPoint presentations 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
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