Tom Graves discusses different perspectives on enterprise architecture. He argues that mainstream enterprise architecture is too IT-centric and inconsistent. Different perspectives can expose hidden assumptions. Using toy models like toy trains can help illustrate different stakeholder perspectives and how contexts interact. A transaction follows a consistent pattern of shared purpose, relations, agreement, interaction, and completion, but this is often overlooked. Ignoring contexts and stakeholders can undermine trust and viability. Architecture needs multiple perspectives to account for the human dimension.
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shared-enterprise / indirect-context
includes community, government, non-clients, anticlients, others
includes investors, beneficiaries
market / direct-context
includes competitors, regulators, recruiters, trainers, journals, others
transactional-context
includes suppliers / providers, customers / consumers, transactional partners
prospect prospectsupplier / provider
partner
client / consumer
partner
organisation
service-in-focus
…such as this…
15. The Architect’s Mantra…
I don’t know…
(but I know someone who does, or how to find out)
It depends…
(and I know what it depends on, and why)
Just enough detail…
(and I know what the right level of detail would be)
16. Everyone wants to sell us
ready-made answers...
...yet the real challenge is
to find the right questions
...“solutions!”
17. Finding the right questions
can be even more important
than finding the right answers
(in part because questions
tend to stay the same,
whereas answers will change
with time and context)
53. …which brings us back to…
a matter
of perspective!
- yeah, which way we look at things does kinda matter here…
54. Perspectives and journeys
Service-delivery is a journey of interactions
where ‘inside-out’ (the organisation’s perspective)
touches ‘outside-in’ (the customer’s / supplier’s perspective)
55. Outside-in…
CC-BY Fretro via Flickr
“Customers
do not appear
in our processes,
we appear in
their experiences”
Chris Potts, recrEAtion, Technics, 2010
57. A stakeholder
is anyone
who can wield
a sharp-pointed
stake
in our direction…
CC-BY-NC-SA evilpeacock via Flickr
Who are the stakeholders?
(Hint: there are a lot
more of them than we
might at first think…)
61. To make sense of this,
we need first to
map out the context
62. The entirety of architecture?
business
architecture
information-
systems
architecture
infrastructure
architecture
“enterprise
architecture”
organisation
67. market
(direct-interaction)
includes competitors, regulators, recruiters, trainers, journalists, analysts, others
transaction
across the supply-websupplier-
prospects
customer-
prospects
organisationsupplier customer
supplier’s
supplier
customer’s
customer
Outward to the market...
68. ...and beyondshared-enterprise
(indirect-interaction)
includes community, government, investors, non-clients, anti-clients, others
market
(direct-interaction)
includes competitors, regulators, recruiters, trainers, journalists, analysts, others
transaction
across the supply-websupplier-
prospects
customer-
prospects
organisationsupplier customer
supplier’s
supplier
customer’s
customer
69. In generic form, for any service...
services implemented by any appropriate mix of people, machines, IT
indirect-interaction
direct-interaction
transaction
service-in-
focus
partner partner
70. So far, so abstract.
And so yawn, too…
Instead, let’s make it come alive,
via the human dimension
– just with simple mini-figures
81. Enterprise stakeholders
CC-BY-SA Tetradian
(These interact only indirectly,
but sometimes with major impacts)
Infrastructure
and other
‘broad scope’
services
Families,
community
and more
Government,
politics, other
countries
Big-picture,
observers of
‘big-story’
Anticlients
– inherent,
betrayal
Hackers
and other
criminals
82. That’s a lot of stakeholders...
CC-BY-SA Tetradian
83. Each transaction or interaction
will tend to follow the same
consistent pattern
Using the human dimension
makes it easier to follow
how the pattern unfolds
85. Here’s the overall pattern...
transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
(delivery of service)
(completion of actions)
(completion for provider)
(completion for consumer)
(completion for enterprise)
(reaffirmed trust)provider consumer
(each step of the pattern will be supported by distinct services
– marketing, sales, delivery, accounts, customer-service etc)
91. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
provider consumer
Step 3: Agree a plan of action...
(this settles the details of what will be exchanged in each
direction – information, services, products, payments etc)
92. Establish / confirm agreement...
CC-BY-SA Tetradian
‘handshake’ on agreed plan of action
93. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
provider consumer
Step 4: Enact the transaction...
(the content for the transaction / interaction depends on all of
the previous stages – don’t over-focus on this stage alone!)
94. Set up and run the transaction...
CC-BY-SA Tetradian
take action on the agreed plan
95. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
(delivery of service)provider consumer
Service or product delivery...
(this is what we would map out in all the fine-detail of
conventional process-modelling and suchlike)
96. Engage the internal services...
CC-BY-SA Tetradian
others may do the actual work!
97. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
(delivery of service)
(completion of actions)
provider consumer
Step 5A: Complete the actions...
(completion has several distinct sub-stages, of which the first,
here, is to ensure that there is a clear end-event or marker)
98. Establish that work is complete...
CC-BY-SA Tetradian
typically in terms of a contract
99. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
(delivery of service)
(completion of actions)
(completion for provider)
provider consumer
Step 5B: Complete for provider...
(in a commercial context, this typically occurs when the
customer/consumer pays the supplier/provider)
101. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
(delivery of service)
(completion of actions)
(completion for provider)
(completion for consumer)
provider consumer
Step 5C: Complete for consumer...
(for consumer, completion may often occur some time after
completion of action – e.g. bought-food is eaten)
102. Completions may be different...
CC-BY-SA Tetradian
customer must satisfy their customer
103. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
(delivery of service)
(completion of actions)
(completion for provider)
(completion for consumer)
(completion for enterprise)
(reaffirmed trust)provider consumer
Step 5D: Complete for enterprise
(for long-term viability, all interactions must be seen as fair
and balanced, by all enterprise players – not just transactors)
107. transaction
shared-purpose
relations / policy
conversation / contract
transaction / interaction
(delivery of service)
(completion of actions)
(completion for provider)
(completion for consumer)
(completion for enterprise)
(trust ignored) consumerconsumer
(maximise
short-term
profit)
consumerprovider
The quick-profit trap...
(we may get better results in the short-term by focussing
only on our own needs – but we risk longer-term viability)
114. Contact: Tom Graves
Company: Tetradian Consulting
Email: tom@tetradian.com
Twitter: @tetradian ( http://twitter.com/tetradian )
Weblog: http://weblog.tetradian.com
Slidedecks: http://www.slideshare.net/tetradian
Publications: http://tetradianbooks.com and http://leanpub.com/u/tetradian
Books: • The enterprise as story: the role of narrative in enterprise-
architecture (2012)
• Mapping the enterprise: modelling the enterprise as services
with the Enterprise Canvas (2010)
• Everyday enterprise-architecture: sensemaking, strategy,
structures and solutions (2010)
• Doing enterprise-architecture: process and practice in the real
enterprise (2009)
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