EA Best Practices: The Top 10 List and Case Studies Daniel Chong

EA Best Practices: The Top 10 List and Case Studies

Daniel Chong

Key Issues

1. What are the 10 best practices ofenterprise architecture?

2. What benefits do organizations see when they apply these best practices consistently?

3. What are the techniques for applying these best practices?

4. What can we learn from real world case studies regarding success?

The 10 Best Practices of Successful EA Programs

1. Charter Your EA Program

2. Develop (and Execute) a Communications Plan

3. Treat Each Iteration Like a Project

4. Start With the Business Strategy and Obtain Business Sponsorship

5. Do the Future State Before the Current State

6. Be Pragmatic

7. Don't Forget Governance

8. Set Up a Measurement Program

9. Track EA Program Maturity

10. Pay as Much Attention to Competencies as to Skills

The 10 Best Practices

1. Charter Your EA Program• The EA program charter represents the

agreement between the EA team and the stakeholders

• What is the value proposition?• Who are the stakeholders?• What are their obligations?• What are the obligations of the

EA team?• What is the scope of the EA?• What is the timeline for delivery?• What is the governance model?

2. Develop a Communications Program• Key Messages• Audiences and Their Key Issues• Messages by Audience

- Benefits/Value- EA Creation Process- EA Governance- EA Measures- Sponsoring Authority

• Media Used- Intranet- Publishing- Meetings- One-on-Ones

• Action Plan- Action Items and Responsibilities- Timeline: Actions and Milestones- Expanding Participation

• Feedback Process


3. Treat Each Iteration Like a Project

• EA is not a project —it's a process• It has a beginning, but never ends• Iterations ensure that the EA will

respond to change- In the business- In technology- In the external environment

• But without project discipline, it can meander

- Timelines- Milestones- Deliverables- Responsibilities

4. Start with the Business Strategy• Starting with the business

strategy ensures that:- The architecture supports the

business goals of the enterprise (and you can demonstrate it).

- You are engaging the businessleadership on a subject they care about (they don't care about technology or architectural purity).

- You can identify the business value that the architecture must deliver.

• Obtaining business sponsorshipensures that:- The business will support EA

decisions.- The business will understand the

value that EA provides.


5. Do the Future State Before theCurrent State

• EA is about what we haveto change, not what we currently have.

• Current-state analysis provides you with a very detailedpicture of how messed upyou really are.

• Developing the future state first constrains the level of detail required for the current state.

• "What do we need?" vs. "What can we do with what we have?"

6. Be Pragmatic• Don't model everything in sight.• Don't attempt to boil the ocean.• Focus on the strategic

imperatives of the enterprise and what's important (right now) to your business.

• Deliver value early and often.• Be alert for signs of "modelitis."


7. Don't Forget Governance

• EA governance

- Architecture creation

- Architecture compliance

• Characteristics of successful governance:

- Complements the business governance model

- Is lightweight

- Is integrated into the strategic and operational processes of the enterprise

- Has a waivering process (and the waivers have a shelf life)

8. Set Up a Measurement Program

Metrics Program

Program

Maturity

Program

Deliverables

IT

Benefits

Business

Benefits

Internally

Focused

Externally

Focused

Is the EA program

delivering what it said it would

deliver?

How mature is

the EA program

compared to best

and common practice?

How does the EA

program impact IT directly?

How does the EA

program impact

the business directly?


9. Track EA Program Maturity• Part of a continuous

improvement program• Focuses on critical constraints • What are the problems that are

preventing you from being effective?

• EA programs must change over time

• As the enterprise matures and changes

APMA Results

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

Architecture Scopeand Authority

Stakeholder Involvementand Support

ArchitectureDevelopment

Business Context

Architecture Content

Future-StateRealization

ArchitectureTeam

Resources

Architecture Impact

Self Reported Results

Gartner Average

Target


10. Pay as Much Attention to Competenciesas to Skills

• Skills- Create EA Documents- Manage EA Processes- Define EA Governance- And so on…

• Competencies- Conceptualization- Innovation- Enterprise perspective- Foresight- Consensus building- Facilitation- Leadership- Logic- Communication

Enterprise architects must possess the

necessary competencies

before learning the tools of the trade

What Are the Benefits of a Best Practices EA Program

To the business?

- Alignment with the business strategy

- Faster time to market

- Greater agility

- Greater consistency

- Better decision making

- Better ROI

- Better information

To the IT Organization?

- Reduced technology diversity

- Planned rather than Ad Hoc

- Reduced cost

- Support costs

- Project costs

- Increased reuse

- Operational stability

- Less "management by magazine"

- Reduced dependence on flavor of the month

To the EA team?

- Stability

- Job satisfaction

- Opportunities for personal and professional growth

- Recognition of the valueof the EA

- By the business

- By the IT organization

Tips and Techniques

• Time-box

- Don't try to change everything at once

- Rome was not built in a day

• Carry a bigger carrot than stick

- Make sure you understand the incentives and disincentives of your constituencies

• Make sure that you're focusing on the important stuff

- If it's not going to make a real difference, it's not worth doing — no matter how elegant the solution is

• Get management sign-offs (EA Charter, CRV, plan)

- If senior managers will not commit support in writing, the program may be in trouble

Case Study 1 – Banking

Organization • A multi-national Bank with one of the largest branch

networks in the world• One of North American top 10• Multiple lines of business – banking, trust, investment

services, insurance • Highly sophisticated organization – leading edge in many

areas Bottom Line• Technology architecture is often an IT focused initiative,

and for that reason prone to failure, or lack of relevance to the organization. This case study demonstrates how to overcome these traditional issues

Case Study 1 – Bankingcontinued

Background and Approach• EA team recently established and

looking to establish first iteration of the Technical Architecture

• Very complex environment with highly diversified infrastructure – the goal was to make this more manageable

• Technology knowledgeable business owners capable of making IT decisions and adopting line of business solutions – proliferating IT diversity

• Developed first iteration of Technology Architecture through a collaborative approach involving IT, business and EA

• Facilitated through interviews, workshops and stakeholder reviews

Results• Established a set of IT domain definitions,

and developed first specification of architecture “bricks”

• Identified IT and business stewards for bricks, as well as subject matter experts with overall responsibilities for architectural maintenance and renewal

• Established vendor management processes to streamline and manage IT and solution acquisition

- Eliminated direct buying from lines of business

• Full endorsement and adoption by the business of the bricks

- All new procurements require brick specifications in the RFP

- All variances driven from the business – no new technologies without granting of exceptions

• Governance framework and processes established to manage ongoing architectural renewal, as well as compliance and variance processes

Case Study 1 – Bankingcontinued

Lessons Learned• Participation of business and IT in

the development of the architecture was crucial

- EA did not “own” the resultant architecture

• Leveraged a virtual EA team- Highly knowledgeable business

staff as well as all IT areas named as stewards and SMEs

• To be successful, the architecture must be internalized into the day to day operations of the enterprise

- Architecture is a way of doing business – ingrained into the way business is enacted

• Governance was a key- Understanding ownership, decision

rights and processes allowed the architecture to be used effectively

Best Practices Applied Charter your EA program Develop and execute a

Communications Plan (this project was “branded”)

Treat each iteration like a project Start with business strategy and

obtain business sponsorship Be pragmatic (goal was not to

eliminate diversity, but to manage it) Don’t forget governance

Case Study 2 – Financial Services

Organization • A large regional Property and Casualty and Health Insurer

based in the United States• In business over 80 years. Over $15.5B in assets under

management, over $4B in policyholder equity• Offers auto, home, life & annuities, health, business and

farm & ranch insurance• Operates in 19 states Bottom Line• Many EA programs want to drive “up the value chain” in

terms of evolving their EA focus to be more business focused. However, engaging the business is often easier to propose that realize. This case study discusses a best practice example of how to achieve real engagement

Case Study 2 – Financial Servicescontinued

Background and Approach• EA team was already established.

Technical Architecture / Standards were in place – wanted to evolve to the next level of maturity

• Wanted to focus on business alignment and value – followed Gartner approach and developed a common requirements vision (CRV)

• Team involved representatives from key lines of business and strategic planning group and EA

• Used a six week time-boxed approach for CRV development – focused on a “good enough” product

Results• “Hugely” successful • Produced a set of key initiatives and

business solution requirements for the organization

• Produced a set of architectural principles to support and aid decision making and governance for the organization

• Full endorsement and adoption by the business at senior management levels

• Used by the PMO to assist in project prioritization and funding

• Now in second iteration – will become integrated with the overall strategic planning processes for the organization

Case Study 2 – Financial Servicescontinued

Lessons Learned• Scope was practical – focus of the

CRV was not organization wide but on 3 select business areas

• Used business plans and strategies to drive the CRV – this ensured relevance and alignment

• Future focused – did not analyze current initiatives or plans

• Full participation from the business – representatives at senior levels, with involvement in all workshops and reviews

- EA team focused on “doing the work” – business teams focused on “validating and approving the results”

• Time boxed – this prevented the CRV from endless iterations of successive refinement

Best Practices Applied Charter your EA program Develop and execute a

Communications Plan Treat each iteration like a project Start with business strategy and

obtain business sponsorship Be pragmatic

Case Study 3 – State Government

Organization

• A large State Government organization

• Facing numerous challenges due to the dire economic situation in the state – impacts on Social Services, Tax, Health, Criminal Justice and other agencies

Bottom Line

• Many organizations struggle with enterprise wide Information Architectures, particularly in governance and ownership – this is especially difficult in the public sector. This case study highlights a successful implementation, something rare in this domain

Case Study 3 – State Government continued

Background and Approach• IM team recently established for the

state, with a focus on developing state wide information architecture in conjunction with the technology architecture team

• Many different data warehouses and information sources across the state

- Varied and duplicate infrastructures- No common semantics - Extremely difficult to share and

exchange information• Emerging needs for analyzing data

across different agencies- E.g. criminal justice with education,

healthcare with welfare, etc.• Established a multi-agency task force to

collaboratively develop first iteration of a state-wide information architecture

- Team worked on defining requirements, analyzing alternatives, and ratifying recommendations

- IM/EA team developed alternatives and approaches

Results• Adoption of a strategy that supported an

enterprise wide approach for information sharing while maintaining individual agency repositories

• Developing of common semantics for shared information assets across the state

- Citizen - Locations- Etc.

• Developed a state-wide data warehouse that has allowed the state to alter health/human services outcomes, and save the state hundreds of millions of dollars

• Applications include:- Fraud detection (Health, Tax, Human

Services)- Cross agency withholdings- Improved program policy - And many others

Case Study 3 – State Government continued

Lessons Learned• Scope was practical – did not try to

rationalize all information sources across the state – but to provide an enterprise “slice”

• Multi-agency approach ensured buy-in and support from all stakeholders

• Focus not on technology/infrastructure, but on business issues and implications – semantics, data ownership and stewardship, data sharing agreements – these drive success, not concerns such as the DBMS

• Governance a key issue given the multi-agency focus and the government context

• Benefits measurement and quantification a CSF – understanding the value drives continued development

Best Practices Applied Develop (and Execute) a

Communications Plan Start with business strategy and obtain

business sponsorship Do the Future State Before the Current

State Be pragmatic Don't Forget Governance

Contact Information

Gartner Contact

Daniel ChongVice President, Gartner ConsultingTelephone: +1-416-228-7662E mail: [email protected]