{"id":156,"date":"2022-11-05T17:20:24","date_gmt":"2022-11-05T17:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.psu.edu\/jaredmcuevas\/?p=156"},"modified":"2022-11-05T17:20:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-05T17:20:24","slug":"post-6-1-business-outcome-driven-enterprise-architecture-bodea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/?p=156","title":{"rendered":"Post 6.1 – Business-Outcome-Driven Enterprise Architecture (BODEA)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Introduction.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For this week’s first post we review the definition of Business Architecture (BA) and then dive into the evolution of major trends in enterprise architecture in it\u2019s approximate half-decade history.\u00a0 We examine some of the drivers for the change of EA focus through the years, most recently trending towards Business-Outcome-Driven EA (BODEA). While BA and BODEA are related, BODEA is more broad and encompasses other layers of the architecture, and should provide more reliable and substantial returns on investment for businesses.<\/p>\n

Definition – Business Architecture (BA).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Common definitions for IT architecture models and layers are tough to make because there’s so many frameworks \u2013 each with it\u2019s own set of models and definitions \u2013 but here we’ll use the Business Architecture Guild’s model of business architecture (https:\/\/www.businessarchitectureguild.org\/<\/a>).\u00a0 In that framework, BA is composed of (a) capabilities, (b) value streams, (c) organization, and (d) information. For those enterprises adhering to the Guild’s framework, business architects model the enterprise IT architecture from these four dimensions.\u00a0 This architecture is a complementary part of the Overall Enterprise architecture (EA) and complements the other, generally more IT-focused, technical layers.<\/p>\n

Key Personal Take-Aways<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 Diverse, Cross-Functional Models Help the Enterprise See the Big Picture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Business architects and enterprise architects add value to the organization by producing\u00a0cross-functional models<\/em> which tie together various parts of the business – “allowing the same problem to be seen from different viewpoints.” Often, functions in an enterprise are siloed and unaware of other functions; while this is OK for tactical-level operations, management and executives of each operational area need to have visibility across the enterprise.\u00a0 First, this helps them optimize their operations within their functional area by synchronizing with the rest of the enterprise.\u00a0 Next, cross-functional models help management and executives to better visualize the business as a whole – minimizing unnecessary internal competition.\u00a0 While some level of internal competition within a business is healthy, excessive levels (for example, excessive prioritization of metrics within any single department) can be counterproductive for the enterprise as a whole.\u00a0 Cross-functional models produced by BAs, EAs, business process analysts, and others help the enterprise to put higher organizational goals first by creating a common picture which \u201cprovide[s] insight into the complex, interrelated and interdependent parts of the organization to engage senior executives in design and investment decision making.”<\/p>\n

2) \u00a0Best-Practice Enterprise Architecture has Evolved from IT-centric (“Traditional EA”) to Business-Outcome-drive EA (BODEA).<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.1)\u00a0 Historical Context of EA.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0This post isn’t intended to be a complete definition or historical review of enterprise architecture.\u00a0 However, below we define some of the major historical time-bound trends in the evolution of EA as a field:<\/p>\n

2.1.a) \u00a0Framework-Driven EA.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

EA in brief historical context EA began as an IT-centric activity to identify, depict, and ultimately improve IT systems throughout a business or ‘enterprise’.\u00a0 Labeled by Gartner as a period of “Framework-driven EA”, it was primarily focused on identifying and depicting of existing IT infrastructure and processes, and creating models (“artifacts”) to represent them.\u00a0 This focus endured approximately 15 years, from 1987 with the publication of the Zachman framework to TOGAF’s framework in 2002.<\/p>\n

2.1.b)\u00a0 Process-Driven EA.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next phase of EA evolution (roughly 2002-2012) focused on ‘Process-Driven EA’, incorporating the modeling\/artifacts components of earlier periods but focusing more on development of new solutions and execution of identified improvements.\u00a0 Process-driven EA is\/was primarily focused on technology and solutions architecture.<\/p>\n

2.1.c)\u00a0 Business-Outcome-Driven EA.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

More recently, beginning in approximately 2012, best-practice EA evolved to a business-oriented approach in order to become more relevant to the business.\u00a0 Best-practice EA as an overarching professional should now begin with a strategic-operational\u00a0focus to better integrate all aspects of IT and business.\u00a0 This is because, according to Brand & Blosch (2020), “starting with, or focusing on, traditional enterprise architecture \u2014 solutions and technical-only architecture \u2014 will not meet the demands of digital business and will deliver little business value.”\u00a0 In the next section, we examine why these changes occurred and why the newest evolution of EA has benefited the overall organization and executive decision-making.<\/p>\n

2.2<\/strong>) Driver for a Transition to BODEA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brand and Blosch cite the main driver for transition away from traditional IT-centric EA to BODEA as a lack of demonstrated\u00a0business value from traditional EA products. While that might initially indicate EA is a not a critical activity, their study found the opposite – in 76% of surveyed organizations in 2020, Brand & Blosch found EA programs were “starting, restarting, or renewing.” The potential value of EA is clear, but as the Gartner study indicates, that value can only be realized when architects and senior IT executives focus first on gaining “insight into business strategies and outcomes … then linking IT efforts to business direction and strategy.”<\/p>\n

Summary & Transition to Post 6.2 (Business Architecture Landscape).<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the next post, we examine one of the modern frameworks for BODEA known as the Business Architect Landscape (BAL).\u00a0 This framework helps architects and executives model and understand the enterprise architecture in context with internal operations, financial and economic considerations, and a service (or product) perspective.<\/p>\n

Source<\/strong>:\u00a0 The Future Direction and Evolution of Business-Outcome-Driven Enterprise Architecture<\/em>, Brand & Blosch, Gartner,\u00a018 September 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction.\u00a0 For this week’s first post we review the definition of Business Architecture (BA) and then dive into the evolution of major trends in enterprise architecture in it\u2019s approximate half-decade history.\u00a0 We examine some of the drivers for the change of EA focus through the years, most recently trending towards Business-Outcome-Driven EA (BODEA). While BA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jaredmcuevas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}