3. Introduction to IT Architecture
What is IT Architecture?
Why Do We Need It?
What Are the Specific Business Benefits?
4. What is IT Architecture?
Is the technical foundation of an effective IT strategy
core of any successful modern business strategy.
A technology plan for managing your IT Investment which
defines the components of overall information system
provides a plan from to procure / develop systems that will work together
enables you to manage your IT investment in a way that meets the needs of
your business.
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6. Why Do We Need It?
Critical to business survival and success
• competitive advantage through IT
• management and exploitation of information through IT is the key to
business success
• provides a strategic context for the evolution of the IT system in
response to the constantly changing needs of the business
environment
Enables managed innovation within the enterprise
• Balance between IT efficiency and business innovation
• It enables managed innovation within the enterprise
• Individual business units can innovate safely in their pursuit of
competitive advantage
• the needs of the organization for an integrated IT strategy are
assured, permitting the closest possible synergy across the extended
enterprise
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7. What Are the Specific Business Benefits?
A more efficient IT operation
• Lower software development, support, and maintenance costs
• More application portability
• Improved interoperability and easier system and network management
• A better ability to address critical enterprise-wide issues like security
• Easier upgrade and exchange of system components
Faster time-to-market
• Faster time-to-market for new products and services, leading to:
• Increased growth and profitability
Contd…
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8. Better return on existing investment, reduced risk for future investment
• Reduced complexity in IT infrastructure
• Maximum return on investment in existing IT infrastructure
• The flexibility to make, buy, or out-source IT solutions
• Reduced risk overall in new investment, and the costs of IT ownership
Faster, simpler, and cheaper procurement
• Buying decisions are simpler, because the information governing procurement is readily
available in a coherent plan.
• The procurement process is faster - maximizing procurement speed and flexibility without
sacrificing architectural coherence.
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9. Flexibility for business growth and restructuring
• Maximum flexibility for business growth and restructuring
• Real savings when re-engineering business processes following internal
consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions
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10. In short, an effective IT architecture can make the difference between business success
and failure. By investing in IT architecture, you are investing in:
Business success
Independence from suppliers
Control over your own destiny
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13. Top Four Enterprise-Architecture Methodologies
The Zachman Framework
The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)
Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA)
Gartner
A Comparison of the Top Four Enterprise-Architecture Methodologies – Roger
Sessions
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466232.aspx
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15. What Is TOGAF?
The Business Executive's Guide to IT Architecture, http://www.opengroup.org
• TOGAF is an architectural framework - The Open Group Architectural Framework. It is a
valuable tool for developing a broad range of different IT architectures. Most importantly,
it enables you to design, evaluate, and build the right architecture for your
organization. The key to TOGAF is a reliable, proven method - the TOGAF Architecture
Development Method (ADM) - for developing an IT architecture that meets the needs of
your business
The Open Group Architecture Framework, http://en.wikipedia.org
• TOGAF is a high level and holistic approach to design, which is typically modeled at four
levels: Business, Application, Data, and Technology. It tries to give a well-tested overall
starting model to information architects, which can then be built upon. It relies heavily on
modularization, standardization and already existing, proven technologies and products
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16. Structure of the TOGAF Document
PART I (Introduction) provides a high-level introduction to the key concepts
PART II (Architecture Development Method) step-by-step approach to developing an
enterprise architecture.
PART III (ADM Guidelines and Techniques) collection of guidelines and techniques
available for use in applying TOGAF and the TOGAF ADM.
PART IV (Architecture Content Framework) a structured metamodel for architectural
artifacts.
Contd…
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17. PART V (Enterprise Continuum & Tools) provides appropriate taxonomies and tools to
categorize and store the outputs of architecture.
PART VI (TOGAF Reference Models) provides a selection of architectural reference
models.
PART VII (Architecture Capability Framework) discusses the organization, processes,
skills, roles, and responsibilities.
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21. Deliverables, Artifacts, and Building Blocks
Deliverable
• contractually specified, formally reviewed, agreed, and signed off by
the stakeholders
• represent the output of projects
Artifact
• describes an aspect of the architecture
• generally classified as catalogs, matrices, and diagrams
Building Block
• (potentially re-usable) component of business, IT, or architectural
capability
• can be combined with other building blocks to deliver architectures and
solutions
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22. Building blocks can relate to "architectures" or "solutions“,
Architecture Building Blocks (ABBs) typically describe required capability and shape the
specification of Solution Building Blocks (SBBs).
For example, a customer services capability may be required within an enterprise,
supported by many SBBs, such as processes, data, and application software.
Solution Building Blocks (SBBs) represent components that will be used to implement
the required capability.
For example, a network is a building block that can be described through complementary
artifacts and then put to use to realize solutions for the enterprise.
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27. Architecture Development Method
tested and repeatable process for developing architectures
includes establishing an architecture framework, developing architecture content,
transitioning, and governing the realization of architectures
“All of these activities are carried out within an iterative cycle of continuous
architecture definition and realization that allows organizations to transform their
enterprises in a controlled manner in response to business goals and opportunities.”
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29. Phases of ADM
The Preliminary Phase describes the preparation and
initiation activities required to create an Architecture
Capability including customization of TOGAF and definition of
Architecture Principles.
Phase A: Architecture Vision describes the initial phase of an
architecture development cycle. Defines the scope of the
architecture development initiative, identifying the
stakeholders, creating the Architecture Vision, and obtaining
approval to proceed with the architecture development.
Phase B: Business Architecture describes the development of
a Business Architecture to support the agreed Architecture
Vision.
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30. Phase C: Information Systems Architectures describes the
development of Information Systems Architectures to
support the agreed Architecture Vision.
Phase D: Technology Architecture describes the
development of the Technology Architecture to support the
agreed Architecture Vision.
Phase E: Opportunities & Solutions conducts initial
implementation planning and the identification of delivery
vehicles for the architecture defined in the previous phases.
Phase F: Migration Planning addresses how to move from
the Baseline to the Target Architectures by finalizing a
detailed Implementation and Migration Plan.
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31. Phase G: Implementation Governance provides an architectural
oversight of the implementation.
Phase H: Architecture Change Management establishes
procedures for managing change to the new architecture.
Requirements Management examines the process of
managing architecture requirements throughout the ADM .
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34. What is Enterprise Continuum?
The Enterprise Continuum provides methods for classifying architecture and
solution artifacts, both internal and external to the Architecture Repository, as they
evolve from generic Foundation Architectures to Organization-Specific
Architectures.
The Enterprise Continuum enables the organization of re-usable architecture
artifacts and solution assets to maximize the enterprise architecture investment
opportunities.
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37. Architecture Partitioning
Architectures are partitioned because:
• Organizational unit architectures conflict with
one another.
• Different teams need to work on different
elements of architecture at the same time
• Effective architecture re-use requires modular
architecture segments.
“It is impractical to present a definitive partitioning model for architecture. Each
enterprise needs to adopt a partitioning model that reflects its own operating model.”
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39. Integration
Creation of partitioned architectures runs the risk of producing a fragmented and
disjointed collection of architectures that cannot be integrated to form an overall big
picture
In order to mitigate against this risk,
standards for content integration should be defined
architecture governance should address content integration - architectural
compliance
Content frameworks, can be used to specify standard building blocks and artifacts
that are the subject of content integration standards
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41. Architecture Repository
High level classes of architectural held within an Architecture Repository:
The Architecture Metamodel describes the organizationally tailored application of an
architecture framework.
The Architecture Capability defines the parameters, structures, and processes for
governance of the Architecture Repository.
The Architecture Landscape presents an architectural representation of assets in use.
The Standards Information Base captures the standards to which architecture must
comply.
The Reference Library provides guidelines, templates, patterns, and other forms of
reference material .
The Governance Log provides a record of governance activity across the enterprise.
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47. Architecture governance is the practice and orientation by which enterprise
architectures and other architectures are managed and controlled at an enterprise-
wide level.
Architecture governance typically operate within a hierarchy of governance structures,
Corporate governance
Technology governance
IT governance
Architecture governance
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48. Characteristics of Governance
Discipline All involved parties will have a commitment to adhere to procedures,
processes, and authority structures established by the organization.
Transparency All actions implemented and their decision support will be available
for inspection by authorized organization and provider parties.
Independence All processes, decision-making, and mechanisms used will be
established so as to minimize or avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Accountability Identifiable groups within the organization - e.g., governance
boards who take actions or make decisions - are authorized and accountable for
their actions.
Responsibility Each contracted party is required to act responsibly to the
organization and its stakeholders.
Fairness All decisions taken, processes used, and their implementation will not be
allowed to create unfair advantage to any one particular party.
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49. Architecture Skills Framework
A typical architecture team undertaking the development of an enterprise architecture
as described in TOGAF would comprise the following roles:
Architecture Board Members
Architecture Sponsor
Architecture Manager
Architects for:
Enterprise Architecture (which for the purpose of the tables shown next slides
can be considered as a superset of Business, Data, Application, and Technology
Architecture)
Business Architecture
Data Architecture
Application Architecture
Technology Architecture
Program and/or Project Managers
IT Designer
And many others ...
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60. TRM as Foundation Architecture
• which defines terminology, and
provides a coherent description of
Taxonomy the components and conceptual
structure of an information system
TRM • which provides a visual
representation of the taxonomy, as
Graphic an aid to understanding
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62. The high-level TRM seeks to emphasize two major common architectural objectives:
Application Portability
• via the Application Platform Interface
Interoperability
• via the Communications Infrastructure
Interface
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64. Integrated Information Infrastructure Reference Model
• which defines terminology, and provides
a coherent description of the
Taxonomy components and conceptual structure of
an integrated information infrastructure
• which provides a visual representation of
III-RM the taxonomy, and the inter-relationship
of the components, as an aid to
Graphic understanding
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73. Content Metamodel
The content metamodel provides a definition of all the types of building blocks that
may exist within an architecture, showing how these building blocks can be described
and related to one another.
For example, when creating an architecture, an architect will identify
applications, "data entities" held within applications, and technologies that implement
those applications. These applications will in turn support particular groups of
business user or actor, and will be used to fulfil "business services".
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75. Core and Extension Content
The role of TOGAF is to provide an open standard for architecture that is applicable in
many scenarios and situations. In order to meet this vision, it is necessary to provide a
fully featured enterprise architecture metamodel for content and also to provide the
ability to avoid carrying out unnecessary activities by supporting tailoring.
The metamodel must provide a basic model with the minimum feature set and then
support the inclusion of optional extensions during engagement tailoring.
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81. TOGAF is not a tool but a framework to implement the Enterprise Architecture
in an organization
It is divided into Content Framework, Architecture repository and ADM process
Implementation of TOGAF involves more of logical work of understanding
business and align IT infrastructure & services according business needs (Actual
physical implementation is done by app. Development team which in turn is
managed by PMO)
TOGAF can be implemented along with other frameworks such as ITIL, COBIT,
SOA etc.
It gives the complete picture of existing IT infrastructure and targeted
architecture which aids in quick decision making and proper planning.
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