Chapter 6. Analysis

Leveraging the planning and measurement baselines described in the previous two chapters, this chapter introduces guidelines that are useful for developing alternative concepts for N1 Grid service implementations and their associated processes. These guidelines are also useful for developing the high-level architectures and predicting the capability of the solution design to meet requirements. This chapter provides examples of where to engage the N1 Grid service implementation in your environment, and it discusses the architectural and operational aspects of each target example.

This chapter opens with a discussion of techniques to narrow down the N1 Grid architectural decisions before it presents three approaches to make those decisions. The first approach emphasizes becoming more efficient in process improvement as a means to evolve into an organization of higher operational maturity. The second approach emphasizes improvements in the architectural engagement, where more focused decomposition sharpens the analysis that is needed. The third approach emphasizes the shift from efficiency to strategic flexibility, in which the basic infrastructure efficiencies are transformed into dynamic strategic business assets.

The chapter contains examples to help to distinguish between the available architectural choices and to introduce the means to close the gap between the business problem space and N1 Grid solution space. This chapter serves as the final stage of preparation for the strategic flexibility and solution focus of the rest of the book.