Appendix D. Models

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

Buckminster Fuller

Sound enterprise architecture can be described (modeled) using a layered approach. Each layer brings enlightenment to the mission of the organization, allowing all parties to become active participants in defining the near-term architecture.

The business model specifies the enterprise's business goals, the products and services it produces, what additional products and services it desires to produce in the future, and the constraints restricting how these goals can be accomplished. It also includes such factors as time, budget, legal and regulatory restrictions, and so on. The ultimate goal of the business model is to define in a single location the near-term and strategic intent of the organization.

Information models demonstrate how business functions within an enterprise coalesce as a cohesive business unit. Business analysts and executives review the output of the business model and decide what processes and integration are required to achieve the goals of the business. The key to success in this layer is having sufficient information to make a valid conclusion. This model contains information about processes, resources, how processes interact, and associations among data elements being used to drive the business. Lack of information within this model points to weak data architecture within an enterprise.

An operation model describes the structure of a business and provides for allocation of resources to optimally address elements of an enterprise's information model. This model specifies the organization chart and assigns resources (people and materials) to the specified hierarchy. Many organizations have struggled with creating the right organization chart. Paradigm shifts occur at this level due primarily to many organizations adopting traditional organizational structures rather than aligning to their stated informational models.

Figure D-1. Business technology integration.

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Figure D-2. Roles and responsibilities.

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Organizational models scrutinize the processes described within the informational model and endeavor to provide optimal execution of those processes by creating diverse operational entities. This model contains an enterprise's various departments and traditionally includes functional areas such as engineering, sales and marketing, administration, and research and development.

Architecture models study the previous models and define the optimal technology topology for information systems. They will take into account systems or services being served today by humans who could allow for the business to increase agility if they were to automate using systems. This usually results in the creation of an architecture that includes distributed processing, middleware, and open systems.

Models of the current technology infrastructure capture the current state of technology decisions that have been made in the past and have been implemented. The model at this layer is constantly evolving and has the least amount of stability when compared to other models. Some components of an infrastructure have lives of only several weeks or months.

No enterprise architecture can be considered complete unless it addresses all the above layers. To be successful with enterprise architecture may require a divide-and-conquer approach since no one individual can do all the work. Figure out how to engage other resources within your organization to assist you with the task.



Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture, A
A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture
ISBN: 0131412752
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 148

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