Enterprise Architecture question- how do you link a reference architecture back to the business need? We are currently building out a number of artefacts' to help with our Enterprise understanding of our organisation. As we start pieces of work with the business, we build out a business strategy, business capability model, tech catalogue amongst other things. How do you know which reference architectures you should be looking at, what is the trigger? How would I know that I need an API reference arch or an Application Security, what information is telling me to build those out?
Many thanks for you reply, and that is a great way of viewing it. Would you start with something that is "out of the box" which can guide us to make sure we have the right building blocks. Or do you build out your own Ref Arch. I am of the view that "you dont know what you dont know", so getting one out of the box helps us "check off" we have the right foundations for our enterprise. Does that make sense?
Hi Duncan,
I am a very big proponent of leveraging as much "out-of-the-box" as you say I can get my hands on. So, depending on your industry, there usually are references that you can use to jumpstart your efforts. One of the more advanced examples is in Telecommunications where there is the TM Forum - How to manage Digital Transformation, Agile Business Operations & Connected Digital Ecosystems. This member forum has process maps, application maps, shared data models frameworks for APIs and vendors who have built capabilities against these standards you can quickly implement.
If you are in an industry that doesn't have a forum with similar assets, then you are going to have to assemble more of the pieces yourself vs getting them "out-of-the-box." You can get processes from the APQC: Industry-Specific Process Classification Frameworks | APQC and you can get quality reference architectures from Gartner Reference Architecture (gartner.com). You may even be able to find some industry reference architecture examples for your business that may have been shared by an SI or other entity that has developed an EA in your domain.
Then, because technology never stands still, you can leverage well established frameworks like https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework and IT4IT | www.opengroup.org to successfully manage change in a rapidly evolving technology world because at the essence the exercise you are going through needs to be evergreen and constantly updated for the times. These frameworks exist because of the repeatable technology patterns that are agnostic of industry but common capabilities your business needs to manage digitization and digital products as I 1st mentioned.
If you mention 'business need', that could be interpreted as a requirement and requirement management aspect. That too is something that architectures should strive for, so that any architectural decision is tied to the requirements. That way, you can later on review why something was designed the way it is.
1. Today companies need to be digitized, meaning they have to have an operational backbone that automates repetitive processes, supports seamless end-to-end transaction processing, accesses single sources of truth for things like customers, suppliers and provides visibility into business transactions.
2. Additionally companies more and more need to provide digital product offerings to their stakeholders (customers, suppliers) and these offerings demand highly integrated systems (and ecosystems) and processes to deliver the experience that is expected.
To achieve both of these aims, there is a requirement for key technology resources and strategies to be employed that enable agility and innovation that is secure and adheres to the increasing regulation around data (privacy, right to be forgotten...).
Given this backdrop, you are going to have cross-cutting technology needs (e.g. cloud, security, integration, data fabric) across all business capabilities that are foundational to enabling digitization and digital product offerings. This is what drives your need for various reference architectures. Your business will also have discrete needs for things like CRM and ERP which will drive application specific reference architectures.
So triggers for me are the cross-cutting foundations and the discrete applications making up the whole of the Enterprise Architecture.