I ran across this great post that takes a stab at contrasting the various architecture roles. I think Karthik Vijayakumar does a good job with the overview. See below:
EA - Enterprise Architecture
EBA - Enterprise Business Architecture
EITA - Enterprise IT (EIT) Architecture
EITIA - EIT Information Architecture
EITAA - EIT Application Architecture
EITTA - EIT Technology Architecture
EITSIA - EIT Software Infrastructure Architecture
EITHIA - EIT Hardware Infrastructure Architecture
SA - Solution Architecture
This is topic is an area in which people in general struggle with. I am glad he put some effort in defining. I have used similar ways to articulate these roles as well. This view gives us the relationship between these roles. I think this is important to see. I have used spider diagrams as overlays on the other roles to show how the competencies overlap.
Also, I show these how these roles are not hierarchal by viewing them in terms of breadth and depth. This type of illustration shows us the scope and context of the various architecture roles.
Thoughts / Comments?
Tags: Enterprise Architecture
If you thought you were heading for Funky Town, think again... :) This is an interesting illustration from Architecture and Governance Magazine of the Web 2.0 space based on the Tokyo rail system.
http://www.architectureandgovernance.com/articles/09-visualize.asp#
I just ran across an article from the IASA organization that was released late last month called "IASA Announces SunTrust Bank as Founding Corporate Partner for Training Program".
With quote like the below it shows that enterprises are starting to understand the value of architecture and really put some money behind certifying their architects.
“We rely heavily on our IT team and recognize that architects play a key role in our IT strategy and growth,” said Norm Small, Professional Development Manager at SunTrust Bank. “In providing a source of objective training and career development through their well-structured curriculum, IASA has created an opportunity for organizations like ours to further invest in the development of our IT people. We are enthusiastic about this partnership and look forward to the benefits it will deliver for our staff and for SunTrust Bank.”
So let's take a step back and look at the industry as a whole. What is the impact on certifications in the IT community?
A recent U.K.-based report, conducted by ITJobsWatch (http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/togaf.do), cited salary increases for certified TOGAF practitioners increasing at an annual rate or more than 21 percent. According to the same survey, over 50 percent of permanent IT jobs in the U.K. include TOGAF as a required skill set. Furthermore, average salaries for TOGAF-certified individuals increased by approximately six percent in 2008 over the previous year, while average compensation fell more than eight percent for people with certification and skills in other architecture frameworks (http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/zachman%20framework.do).
As I mentioned in other posts I think that IASA is a great tool for junior and aspiring (people that are not architects yet but want to be) architects. On the surface the ITAC from The Open Group is a certification that appears to compete with IASA certification but this is not the case. ITAC is geared towards the existing architects that wish to tune or validate their skills.
Tags: Enterprise Architecture
Today I received a press release that SOA Software had acquired LogicLibrary. LogicLibrary is an architecture repository tool with great integration into many IDE tools in the market (including Visual Studio http://www.logiclibrary.com/vsadd-in.asp). They had once had built a portal on MSDN that showed how the MSDN assets would be represented in an architecture repository.
SOA Software says this about the value proposition that LogicLibrary provides them:
"The combination of SOA Software's governance products, with LogicLibrary's strategy to provide federation with other leading repositories, creates a single solution that provides unparalleled lifecycle and policy governance across all major platforms," said Alan Himler, chief executive officer and chairman of LogicLibrary. "We are excited to join forces and capitalize on our complementary capabilities by creating the most comprehensive, closed-loop Integrated SOA Governance Automation solution."
The EA and SOA tooling market is consolidating a rapid pace. I am hoping that with the consolidation that the market can mature at a more rapid rate. There is obviously a great deal of potential as larger organization combine their ability to augment and enhance their offerings to customers.
As for how Microsoft is affected by this acquisition... Well, SOA Software and Microsoft has been doing a great deal of work together recently. I do not see that changing anytime in the future.
Tags: Enterprise Architecture
There is a new book out called Microsoft 2.0: How to Stay Relevant in the Post Gates-Era written by Mary Jo Foley. There has been some buzz about this book so I thought I would check it out and take a read. Plus, I heard that I was in the book in some capacity so I thought I would take a look. It turns out that Mary Jo has some of my quotes regarding Office Business Applications.
So far I have only made it through the forward (by the famous mini-microsoft blogger) and skimmed a few pages but I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the book over the weekend.
For me this is really cool because the book includes friends and colleagues of mine at Microsoft. Dan Fernandez has put together a review on his blog as well. He also has a complete list of Microsoft people in the book.
Check out Dan Fernandez's Blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/danielfe/archive/2008/05/05/list-of-microsoft-employees-mentioned-in-microsoft-2-0.aspx
If you are a SharePoint 2007 shop or thinking about becoming one check out this article on how a Microsoft Partner called Provoke built a custom metadata repository and surfaced it up through SharePoint. I see this method being a trend for enterprises as we start to mature in the practice of information architecture.
The process for the information architecture design took place within two weeks in what would normally take place over several months. Therefore, a lot of the IA work was based on assumptions, and the tag driven system we created allows flexibility for future iterations. Expertise in information architecture accelerated the process a bit.
One row from the metadata set:
Attributes by content type:
Using well known and heavily used consumer blogging methods such as tagging added to the usability of the system. This combined with metadata makes the system usable and extensible so that surfacing information is more meaningful to the context of the user.
Dave Linthicum attempts to address this question in a recent blog post on his Real World SOA | David Linthicum blog. See the article here:
http://weblog.infoworld.com/realworldsoa/archives/2008/04/should_we_conti.html
Check out this post as it is a good read to at the very least give a sanity check on your EA efforts. I also find being the "Devil's Advocate" at times is also healthy. Always hanging out on the band wagon for too long can cause of a lot of damage.
Here is a snippet from Dave's post:
Truth-be-told most enterprises are not spending that much on enterprise architecture. Indeed, for most of the Global 2000 there is a lone architect, with a couple of staffers, that has no budgetary nor referential authority, thus no results. You can't "influence" your way to success, you have to have some kind of hammer drop on somebody's head if they don't follow the core architectural principles…it's called governance.
To take a step back I really like articles that challenge the ideals of a practice. For me there are some themes in the article that make a lot of sense. These include:
- EA Viability - If EA is broken evaluate if you should really continue it? Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is tweak, augment, enhance, etc.
- Architecture Governance- There needs to be "teeth" in architecture development processes. I can't emphasize that enough. However, what I do disagree with is the "traffic cop EA" or "dropping the hammer". That isn't productive and ultimately pushes teams away from EA. Let the auditors and compliance guys do that.
- EA Authority - EA's have no budgetary or referential authority thus no results. I agree with the first bit but not the second. I can speak from experience that I was able to effectively change the organization by not having direct reports nor a budget. I was a trusted partner and a technology enabler. From a senior management perspective my job was to keep the company out of the Wallstreet Journal. This was attractive to LOB CIOs and above. But the common architect working on SOA activities valued EA's because they could help validate their thinking, mitigate risk and help with the design.
- Validate the need for EA - "Perhaps it's time to send a message, and pull the plug [on enterprise architecture]. At least that will drive some change." I wanted to highlight this message because I think if EA isn't working for you, try living with out it for awhile. See if you revert back to that thinking or if there are business or technical drivers lead you back.
One last comment that I will make is that architecture in general is maturing. This is in the definition of what architecture is, the process in which we derive to an architecture and the role of an architect. With standards bodies such as the OpenGroup we are seeing a 230 percent increase in certifications and 50 percent of permanent IT jobs in the U.K. include TOGAF as a required skill set. This was a survey done by ITJobsWatch this year.
So even though I feel that EA is a great practice to have it's not for every organization. EA is a hard thing to do and most organizations iterate through several different models before they get it right. There is nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day you are tailoring it to your business needs. And if you do not need EA do not do it for the sake of doing EA. This is true of other processes like Six Sigma, ITIL, etc.
Thanks David for asking the hard questions and for your candid observations. Great stuff!
Tags: Enterprise Architecture
Gartner just recently published an article titled "Top EA Challenges Are People and Business Issues".
If you have a subscription you can find the article at:
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=640107&subref=browse
Gartner did a great job gathering up resources and surveys on this.
Tags: Enterprise Architecture
Yesterday I attended the Architecture track at the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) Summit. The format was quite different than other forums. The architect forums was based on a collaborative approach where three is no agenda or themes and it is up to the participants to create it. It was very effective and thought I would share my thoughts with the rest of you.
So I facilitated two sessions on Enterprise Architecture. The first asking the question, what is EA? And the second, what are the important standards in the EA space?
The goal of the second session wasn't necessarily trying to get at what are the standards but rather what are the more prevalent and most impactful.
After a bit of white-boarding with the group and dialog we quickly derived to a way to classify the standards that we have been talking about.
The image above show the segments or classification of these standards. By asking basic questions such as How, What, When, Who and Why we can also simplify this a bit. Starting from the bottom up lets talk about what was discussed and I'll add some of my thoughts as well.
Taxonomy and Ontology
Every system has an architecture. In fact, a system could have many architectures. In IEEE 1471, an architecture is a conception of a system. There may be many conceptions of a system.
What this provides to the enterprise architect, solutions architect or domain architect is a way to have a constant set of terms for describing what it is they are building. This should be at the core to your architecture activities. Downstream benefits include further reuse of architectures, design patterns, architecture modeling and traciablity of systems to business capabilities.
The beauty of all this is that this taxonomy is flexible. Meaning that System, Mission, Environment and Architecture, are all conceptual in nature. There are no requirements ("shalls") in the standard pertaining to these entities. The requirements in the standard apply to the items below which pertain to the concrete representation of an architecture.
For more information on IEEE 1471 go to their web site at: http://www.iso-architecture.org/ieee-1471/index.html
Information Model and Decision Support
The Zachman Framework was brought up many times during the conversation but in various forms. We ended up classifying Zachman as decision support. The reason for this was that Zachman and other derivatives of Zachman focus more on:
- What are the right questions
- How do I organize those questions
- What do those answers mean
The Zachman Framework excels at these activities. However where things start to break down is how to orchestrate those questions. Meaning what is the process in which I get the information, consume it, process it and ultimately make it actionable.
The ideal goal here would be to use the Zachman Framework in conjunction with the Process Capabilities coupled with a defined Architecture Taxonomy.
For more information visit the Zachman Framework web site at: http://www.zachmaninternational.com/2/Zachman_Framework.asp
Process Framework
As mentioned above when talking about decision support, there is a need for a process to wrap how we make our decisions. This gives Enterprise Architects the ability to have repeatability in their processes.
Below you will see the TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM) "crop circle" which outlines the process framework.
ADM provides a framework which can support man other standards and frameworks. It is technology agnostic and is more focused on how architecture processes should be orchestrated. This allows organizations to:
- Preserve existing organizational structures (if desired)
- Use homegrown processes and existing frameworks and standards
Having this higher level process framework is essential to architects. Thee are a series of benefits for the organization:
- Constancy in how solutions are created
- The right people are selected for the right job
- Proper metrics can be obtained to gauge health of the EA process
- Predictability of results which lends to being able to apply some level of risk management to decisions
Actors
Out of all the topics, this was discussed the most. There is a great deal of ambiguity in the industry around what are the required skill sets of an architect. There are some bodies that help with that task.
- OpenGroup ITAC Program - This is for the practitioner. When you have many years of experience and you want to be accepted in the industry as a credible architect.
- IASA - For the aspiring architects that is largely academically focused. This program provides a program for those that have little architecture experience and want to get into architecture.
Both have a role and are valid in their own ways. However, each one of these has a specific niche.
Manage
This topic is indirectly related but still very relevant. This aspect covers PMO based processes, service management and IT Governance aspects. In the service management area specifically we are seeing closer alignment with EA. The latest version of ITIL has alignment with EA practices.
See my previous blog post: http://blogs.msdn.com/mikewalker/archive/2007/07/06/itil-moving-towards-enterprise-architecture.aspx
Putting it all Together
Thankfully there have been other like minded individuals folks at OpenGroup and alike that have thought about this problem. Below are some overlays and descriptions of putting these pieces together.
TOGAF + Zachman
Read this article for more information:
http://www.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap39.html
TOGAF + IEEE 1471
TOGAF adoption of IEEE 1471 happened in 2000 with TOGAF version 6.0. There is a great article that gives an impact assessment on this and the benefits of using 1471 with TOGAF.
http://www.enterprise-architecture.info/Images/Documents/IEEE-1471-togaf-impact.pdf
Other Important Standards & Frameworks
It's important to not that there are a lot of standards out there. We haven't scratched the surface on all the various specifications and standards for EA. Below you will find other standards that you may be interested in as well.
Other EA Frameworks
- DODAF
- TEAF
- FEAF
- CADM
- MODAF
Tags: Enterprise Architecture
Sorry, this is only in Japanese. However you can try out the new Live Translator Service to view the page in Jap-Glish.
http://www.windowslivetranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=LandingPage&MKT=en-US&lp=ja_en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fitpro.nikkeibp.co.jp%2Farticle%2FNEWS%2F20080414%2F298870%2F
「EA（Enterprise Architecture）を支援するツールのユーザー・インタフェースは今後， Microsoft Office Wordが主流にな
る」。こう語るのは，米MicrosoftのMike Walker氏（Architecture Strategy Team，Financial Services Architecture Strategist，写真）だ。Walker氏は，同社が無償で提供するEAの支援ツール「Microsoft Enterprise Architecture Tool Kit（EATK）」の普及に携わっている。
EATKは，EAを定義する業務標準や開発標準に関する情報を管理するソフト。論理，物理，ネットワーク，セキュリティといった様々な観点でまとめられたアーキテクチャに関するデータを整理して管理する。パターン化された業務フローやソフトウエア・コンポーネントなどの情報も管理対象にできる。Walker氏が言及しているのは，EATKを採用したときのユーザー・インタフェースのことだ。
http://itpro.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/NEWS/20080414/298870/
Tags:
Enterprise Architecture
So I am a little late with this content... But I have a good excuse :) The post is a bit delayed as there has been very limited internet connection at the resort. I guess in Japan a resort is really meant to be a resort. Meaning no connections with work. I like that idea...
The second and last day of the of the Japan Strategic Architecture Forum (SAF) had two keynotes from both a customer and Microsoft on the future of S+S.
Unfortunately the majority of the sessions were in Japanese so I can't give you a great recap of the events but I can share with you what the announcement was from my presentation.
Enterprise Architecture Toolkit Alpha Announcement
The Enterprise Architecture Toolkit (EATK) was announced at the the forum. The EATK pre-release is in Alpha release form. Initially, we will offering the EATK to a limited set of customers that are interested in the solution accelerator.
The EATK capabilities include:
- Repository - Meta-data repository for uniting enterprise processes, storing existing architecture assets and a catalog for patterns (Software Factories in Microsoft terms or Architecture Building Blocks (ABB) in TOGAF ADM terms)
- Architecture Management - Portal and Workflow assets that aid in the processes and govern architecture creation through the SDLC or through post production service management processes.
- Strategy Management - Portal and Workflow that aid in the creation of as-is or current state architecture, to-be or future state architectures and the management of technology life cycles of architectures.
- Community - Portal technologies that aid in the communication and collaboration, vetting of ideals through-out the enterprise, communication of Principles, Policies, Standards and Design Patterns, Add-Ins and Templates for architecture development.
- Modeling - Usage scenarios for how to leverage Microsoft Visio to correlate architecture information from the Architecture Meta-Data Repository to Visio diagrams and shapes.
Since this is a solution accelerator the EATK capabilities are implemented as a series of scenarios.
Over the course of the next several months I will be publishing content to both the Microsoft Enterprise Architecture Portal and to my blog on how I feel the EATK addresses the various challenges of the EA space.
If you are interested in providing feedback, piloting or just having a conversation into this process, it isn't too late. Please send me an e-mail request at mikewalk [at] microsoft.com. We have a limited number of early adopter slots for both the Japanese and America geographies.
I have included my presentation in both Japanese and English below. I would encourage you to take a look and provide feedback to the overview of the tooling and concepts presented below. I may also include audio at some point.
Local Japanese Content
Below is the localized Japanese content for the customers and partners that attended the Strategic Architecture Forum.
EATK Poster
Presentation
English Version of Content
Poster
Presentation
Tags: Enterprise Architecture
Today was the first day of the of the Japan Strategic Architecture Forum (SAF). So far there have been some great sessions. We will also be posting the presentations online.
The Keynote
My boss, Simon Guest was the first keynote speaker of the day. He presented Microsoft's architecture strategy for Software + Services (S+S). He outlined a S+S taxonomy for describing the various elements of S+S. What was great about this presentation is that it highlighted various patterns for common solution types such as:
- A simple HTML site
- A Community Wiki (e.g., wikipedia.org)
- A Photo Sharing Site (e.g., Flickr.com)
- A Social Network Site (e.g., MySpace.com)
Each one of these patterns where overlayed over the taxonomy to show the architect how to orchestrate services provided by Microsoft for these types of solutions. Essentially it provides a great planning and road mapping tool when trying to determine how build or how to extend existing web based applications into the Web 2.0 and S+S architecture types.
Enterprise Architecture in Japan
My trip here I have found that there has been a great deal of work in the EA space here in Japan. Like many other geographies Visio and Word are used by architects to describe their IT assets. Automation is essential here.
The toolkit provides templates and integration adapters from Office 2003 tool sets to a repository. For the customers in Japan this is used as a jump start to EA activities.
You can find out more here (no English though):
http://www.microsoft.com/japan/business/industry/gov/download/EATool.mspx
News from Japan SAF
Another interesting tidbit is that Yahoo! Japan is launching some new search services using Silverlight technologies. The goals are to make search multi-dimensional instead of based on a hierarchy.
A video is provided on the Microsoft Japan Site that shows the beta version of the new Yahoo! Search.
Press Release: http://www.microsoft.com/japan/presspass/detail.aspx?newsid=3411
Application Specifics: http://www.microsoft.com/japan/products/expression/creatorsEX/gallery_y.html
Will try to update you more...
Hello everybody! For those of you that read my blog and will just so happen to be in Japan for the Strategic Architecture Forum on the week of April 7th come by my two sessions at the event! I will be talking about Enterprise Architecture at this one.
At this event I will be announcing something special for the enterprise architecture community! BE sure to stay tuned to the blog and the EA portal on MSDN over the following weeks.
If you have never been here is a look at last years event: マイクロソフト アーキテクト フォーラム 2007.