Enterprise Architecture is evolving; the
new generation of Enterprise Architecture methods finally achieving their goals
to slash project times and reduce costs for organisations. This is critical as
companies strive to increase their competitive advantage, optimise their
operations, reduce costs and respond faster to market demands. To that end, Enterprise
Architects have positioned themselves to provide advice on using IT as a strategic
tool as part of the strategic decision making process with company directors.
Gartner heralds the impact of Enterprise
Architecture (EA) on delivering business value through the strategic use of IT.
“Overwhelmingly we find EA practitioners focused
on delivering on business value and strategic transformation," said Philip
Allega, managing vice president at Gartner. "Gone are the days of just
'doing EA' with little value or impact. Sixty-eight percent of organizations
surveyed stated that they are focusing their EA program on aligning business
and IT strategies, delivering strategic business and IT value, or enabling
major business transformation." [1]
Enterprise Architecture is supporting the development of IT operations and infrastructure into the new “Agile” paradigm. Enterprise Architecture needs to not only
deliver value but accelerate projects, operations while speeding up delivery
and time-to-value. Nautilus-PM [2] has chosen the open EA method to accelerate project management and development as it offers
the most pragmatic approach to delivering incremental project outcomes without
having to undertake the long winded processes commonly found in the traditional
software and enterprise architecture development methods. The future is “Agile”
with thought-leaders, such as Gartner predicting that by the end of 2012, agile
development methods will be used on 80% of all software development projects [3]..
The Visual Enterprise Architecture shapes the project activities and approach. “Agile” demands a
departure from the traditional waterfall approach to systems engineering that
saw monolithic system development and implementation that took high level
analysis through to detailed design. The complications arose as time elapsed and
changes would require repeating analytical and design cycles, which proved to
be cumbersome and difficult to manage.
The “Agile” incremental approach to developing systems focuses on delivering
prioritised clusters of system functionality for faster utilisation while
planning subsequent increments of reprioritised functionality as the capability
need grows. This enables a company to make operational use of these systems
earlier, while giving it the flexibility to respond and grow in response to
market and customer demand. A change in
market demand can affect the prioritisation assigned to system functions, which
can be brought into operation sooner if so required or can be postponed in
favour of higher prioritised functionality. This approach has been used
effectively in public sector organisations to streamline operations, reduce
systems and infrastructure costs while enabling personnel to deliver greater
value for money (VfM). The systems
procurement and acquisition processes in public sector organisations have been
scrutinised and found to cost too much money. Frequently, by using the
traditional systems engineering methods, functionality and systems are obsolete
by the time that they are delivered. Evaluations has found that the systems
have been too late, over budget and lacking in the functional richness needed
to provide user satisfaction.
The US DOD insist on an "evolutionary
acquisition" approach for all identified natural systems, i.e. they buy a
few items or the initial elements of the product, use it, learn from its
features or performance, then develop it further, rather than trying (and
failing) to specify all details from the outset [4].
The birth of the “Agile”
approach to EA has not been without tears. Similarly, when the Object Oriented paradigm
was introduced the “old guard” custodians of IT standards regaled “It will
never work”. Agile has received the same cynicism until the
weight and burden of demonstration has demanded a rethink. It is not surprising
that with the weight of investment into the traditional methods of developing
EA that there would be a resistance to the newer “disruptive” approaches. This
has been a familiar pattern: companies who invested heavily in mainframe
infrastructure resisted moving towards a flexible, open architecture due to
their perceived investment in these old systems, it is a matter of time before
the cost of maintaining older legacy systems outweigh the advantages realised
by new methods, structures and systems.
Fortunately for organisations, the adoption
of Enterprise Architecture to visualise Project timelines and roadmaps means that they do not lose their investment into
their infrastructure but are able to redeploy resources and applications to
leverage greater value and take control of their system portfolio.
Enterprise Architecture builds on the creation of blueprints and enterprise maps that visualise
Enterprise Views of concepts, issues, principles and key goals to build a
common understanding across stakeholder groups. Having a unified view that
supports discussions and decisions ensures the common ground for implementing
evolving information systems and business processes. The Nautilus project CPM (critical path
method) plans plug into this living enterprise view of road-mapping and time-lines.
While this approach may seem to be common
sense to Boards of Directors, Funders and other Stakeholders, it is a new
direction and a new paradigm for EA: This is The Visual Age. We have departed
from the strict demarcation of Business – IT – Technical and Implementation
Architectural views that have been promoted by methods and frameworks such as
TOGAF. It advocates a leaner, compact and multi dimensional approach more akin
to the Checkland [5]
soft systems methodology with its World-view (Weltaanschaung) and focus on
stakeholders, client views and business value. Engagement with business and IT communities
and provision of a common natural language engenders strategic alignment and
seamless threads from business vision and goals through to operations and
infrastructure. The organisation begins to work and think like a total
organism.
Through dialogue with key stakeholders and
executing an “Agile” approach organisations and project boards enjoy results
not within the average 12 months [6]
that was the usual time taken using previous methods, but within 3 months. EA provides key actionable products and blueprints using language that management,
developers and the wider community understand.
This accelerated approach to visualising the key concerns, issues,
concepts and requirements speed up decision making. The concepts illustrated
relate to multi dimensional aspects of the enterprise. They represent aspects
that need to be addressed and are illustrated in an “AS-IS” current picture of
problem areas, and “TO-BE” solution concepts and goal situation. Each dimension is then worked down into their
respective areas, such as information, business process, infrastructure and
technology while maintaining correlation and interdependencies.
In summary, the new generation builds upon
the natural world, is aligned with the demands and lessons learned from the
traditional systems engineering while providing new agility to corporations and
organisations.
Nautilus Project Management
Nautilus-PM is a niche innovation SME
development consultancy, relying on 34 years experience in the delivery of
multi disciplinary projects with EU or government funding, using CPM (critical
path method) and CIM (continuous inspection monitoring) systems.
Nautilus PM is a separate strategic
business unit within EU-Reconnect Ltd, a major contributor in transferring conventional
proven engineering design & construction management techniques into IT
enterprise architecture methods. In its profile Nautilus-PM relies heavily on
the Agile EA method for accelerating the journey between SME product &
services concept and commercialisation – Routes to Funding and Routes to Market.
Nautilus-PM can therefore be best
identified as a technical and commercially focussed consultancy operation,
dedicated to assist SMEs with boots-on-the-ground sustainable development. Its’
services include the following:
·
Levelling obstacles and
potential entry and exit points in business development, assisting SMEs to
compete with cognisant solutions; foundation research, collaboration and
routes-to-market on the basis of cooperation, and exploring co-evolution of
societal and technological change.
·
Connecting SMEs with the
innovation landscape of the EU and Government, and assistance with creating
collaboration with Large Enterprises and Universities, and through obtaining
development funds through Eurostars, smart grants, innovation vouchers and
R&D tax credits and Patent Box support
·
Using innovative IT, EA tools, i-visualisations and lean project
management of development programs, enabling effective routes to credits and
routes-to-market.
·
Introducing initiatives aimed
at increasing market growth and max ROI and access to EU funding (up to 75%)
·
Assisting SMEs as pathfinder
toward practical industrial technologies supporting:
o
Advanced manufacturing and
processing
o
Research and innovation
(policy, rules, routes and ethics)
o
Sustainable development and
international cooperation
o
'Access to funding/risk
finance, inducement prizes (participation in equity financing)
o
Practical, easy-to-apply
Information & Communication Technology, including securitisation
o
Innovation & change
program/project monitoring and evaluation
1 STAMFORD, Conn., January 15, 2013, Gartner Says Enterprise
Architecture Practitioners Significantly Influenced $1.1 Trillion http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2303215
2 Nautilus-PM Project Management method incorporating CPM www.nautilus-pm.eu
3 PMI Agile Certified
Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, http://www.pmi.org/Certification/New-PMI-Agile-Certification.aspx
4 UK Parliament, Defence Acquisition, Chris Donnelly, Session
2012-2013 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmdfence/writev/acquisition/m15.htm
5 Checkland, Peter B. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice, John Wiley
& Sons Ltd. 1981, 1998. ISBN 0-471-98606-2
6 Example of roadmap for traditional Enterprise Architecture: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/jan07/temnenco/index.html
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