External Business Environment

(Economy, technology, society, demography, legislation, regulation, competitors, partners, suppliers, customers, etc.)

Fundamental Urgent
Environmental Business
Factors Needs
IT Initiative N
Strategic Planning Questions Questions .....................

Goal: Articulate the desired future course of action for business and IT
What role should IT play in
our organization?
What should IT deliver to the
business in the long run?
IT Initiative 1 (Business Initiatives with IT Components)
Question: How is the business environment changing and what should we do Which IT capabilities should be Where should future IT
to react to these changes? provided organization-wide? investments go?

Focus: Long-term and mid-term future What IT-related policies should What types of IT investments
be complied with? should be made?
Instances: Single, or several in highly decentralized organizations, e.g. one
instance for each line of business
What level of business continuity
and security is required?
When should IT investments
be made?
Planned
Which IT-based business In what sequence should IT Business
Nature: Continuous and largely unstructured innovations should be adopted? investments be made?
Needs Questions
Integration: Integrated with regular strategic management activities, e.g.
environmental analysis, identification of competitive advantages and goals What does the proposed
formulation IT solution look like?
How will the proposed IT solution Step 1:
Timing: Aligned to the annual business planning cycle, important business
dates, periods and events, e.g. fiscal years, budgeting cycles, board meetings
Strategic Planning
modify our business processes?
What is the tactical and strategic Initiation Initiative Delivery
or updates of a business strategy business value of the IT solution?
What is the overall business Goal: Deliver optimal IT solutions for specific needs
Actors: Business Leaders and Architects impact of the IT solution?
Dialog Question: What is the best way to address the requested need and all the
EA Artifacts: Considerations and Visions, e.g. Principles, Policies, Business What are the costs and timelines
Capability Models and Roadmaps (see Enterprise Architecture on a Page) of the proposed IT solution? associated requirements?
Business Leaders Architects Focus: Short-term and immediate future
Other Documents: Organizational mission and values, strategic goals,
objectives and KPIs, balanced scorecards (BSCs) and strategy maps, business Cancelled Instances: Multiple, one instance for each active IT initiative, e.g. project or
motivation models (BMMs), high-level strategic business plans and more Business Leaders program
detailed programs of work
IT Initiatives
Outlines Dialog Nature: Sequential with two inherent steps: Initiation and Implementation
(see Enterprise Architecture on a Page)
Content: Development of rules and directions for business and IT and their
explicit documentation in Considerations and Visions
Considerations Visions Integration: Integrated with regular project and program management
(see Enterprise Architecture on a Page) (see Enterprise Architecture on a Page) 1. Overview and Goals 8. Business Process Changes
.................................. Process 1 Now (10 days in total): activities, e.g. scoping, estimating, scheduling, resourcing and monitoring
Activities: Informal discussions, meetings, presentations and workshops, as Principle 1: Standardized Business Processes
2. Scope and Stakeholders Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

well as periodical formal approvals and sign-offs Statement: .............................................

Business Strategy .........................................
3. Essential Requirements
3 days 5 days 2 days Timing: Linked to the established initiative delivery phases and gates, e.g.
Process 1 Will Be (5 days in total):

Rationale: ............................................... Goal 1 Goal 2 Goal 3 ........................................

Step 1 Step 2 scope, evaluate, plan, build, test and deploy
Techniques: SWOT and PEST analyses, Five Forces and other strategy 4. Business Benefits

frameworks
Implications: ........................................... Capability 1 Capability 2 ..............................
5. Capability Impact
2 days

9. Architectural Overview
3 days
Architects
Principle 2: Single Customer View Capability 1.1 Capability 1.2 Capability 2.1 Capability 2.2 • Order Fulfilment (High) Process 1

Inputs: Fundamental factors of the external business environment

Statement: .............................................
Rationale: ...............................................
Capability 1.3 Capability 1.4 Capability 2.3 Capability 2.4
• Order Management (Low)
• Customer Analytics (Low)
6. Involved Partners
• IBM
Client 1
Step 1

App 1
Step 2

App 2
Step 1: Initiation
Implications: ........................................... Capability 3 Capability 4 • Accenture
Outputs: High-level strategic plans for business and IT reflected in Capability 3.1 Capability 3.2 Capability 4.1 Capability 4.2
7. Estimations
DB 1 DB 2

Considerations and Visions Principle 3: Business Continuity Time: 6-8 months

Cost: $1.2-1.5 million
10. Key Risks
...................
Actors: Business Leaders and Architects
Statement: ............................................. Capability 3.3 Capability 3.4 Capability 4.3 Capability 4.4

Meaning: Strategy-to-portfolio, i.e. convert an abstract business strategy into Rationale: ............................................... EA Artifacts: Outlines, e.g. Solution Overviews and Options Assessments
Regular Important Strategic
more specific suggestions regarding the desired portfolio of IT investments Implications: ...........................................
(see Enterprise Architecture on a Page)
Other Documents: Business proposals and business cases
Strategic Strategic IT
Directions and Capabilities and Content: Analysis of possible solution implementation options, their
Requirements Constraints Initiative explicit documentation in Outlines and official endorsement
Activities: Frequent discussions, presentations and approvals
Delivery Techniques: Business process modeling, customer journey mapping,
Technology Optimization Standards
(see Enterprise Architecture on a Page)
Landscapes
(see Enterprise Architecture on a Page)
return-on-investment (ROI) and architecture debt estimation

Delivery Channels Backup

Step 2: Implementation
CRM DB 1 BU App 1
Technology 1 Technology 2 Technology 1 Technology 2
Queue
Goal: Improve the overall quality of the corporate IT landscape Applications and Integration App 6
App 2 App 3
Calls from
Partners
(Plan)
Technology 1 Technology 2 Technology 3 Technology 4
Question: What is wrong with the current IT landscape and what should we
do to improve it?
Databases and Information Management
Update RPC

Enterprise Service Bus

Binary EJB

Designs Actors: Architects and Project Teams

Technology 1 Technology 2 Technology 3 Technology 4 (see Enterprise Architecture on a Page)
REST Messaging
Focus: Current situation with some future outlook Security and Access Management
SOA
App 7
(Plan) Reporting
EA Artifacts: Designs, e.g. Solution Designs and Preliminary Solution
App 5 1. Brief Overview 5. Data Architecture

Instances: Single, or several in highly decentralized organizations, e.g. one

Technology 1 Technology 2 Technology 3

Infrastructure and Networks

Technology 4 App 4

DB 4
Technical ..........................
2. Goals and Objectives
Table 1
Column 1: Int
DB 1
Table 2
Column 1: Char
Designs (see Enterprise Architecture on a Page)
instance for each business division (Plan)

Rationalization .................................... Column 2: Char Column 2: Clob

Other Documents: Business requirements and project management
Technology 1 Technology 2 Technology 3 Technology 4 DB 3 ETL Warehouse 3. Detailed Requirements
.......................................
Column 3: Byte
1

6. Application Architecture
*
Column 3: Blob

Step 2: plans
Unsupported Current Emerging
DB 2
Suggestions 4. Solution Context Call
Form
Implementation
Nature: Continuous and largely unstructured Step 1
Process 1

Step 2
App 1 App 2 Store
DB 1

Content: Development of Designs based on Outlines and then their

Rep ly Read

Integration: Not integrated with any regular processes or activities Client 1

7. Infrastructure Architecture

actual technical implementation

Internet

Timing: May be carried out independently without any systematic schedule, App 1 App 2 Linux
Server 1
Firewall Linux
Server 2

often on an as-necessary basis or even opportunistically, e.g. in the absence of DB 1 DB 2

VM 1
Switch Hot Activities: Daily collaborative work
Technology Optimization
Standby
VM 2
other higher-priority activities
Server 1 Server 2
Techniques: User stories, requirements traceability matrices and
MoSCoW prioritization framework
Actors: Architects alone
Architects Inputs: Specific business, and sometimes technical, needs
EA Artifacts: Standards and Landscapes, e.g. Technology Reference Models,
Guidelines, Landscape Diagrams and Inventories (see Enterprise Architecture Outputs: New working IT solutions
on a Page) Architects Updates and Questions Dialog
Meaning: Need-to-solution, i.e. convert a specific need into a concrete IT
Other Documents: None Learnt Best What business requirements
solution addressing this need in the most optimal manner
should be addressed?
Practices
Content: Analysis of the existing IT landscape, update of Standards, What new software should be
developed or installed?
maintenance of Landscapes and formulation of rationalization proposals
Which data types and entities Project Teams
Activities: Numerous informal discussions and periodical formal approvals Questions Questions should be used?
Techniques: Total cost of ownership (TCO) and architecture debt What servers and hardware
management What technologies and vendor What IT assets are maintained should be deployed?
products are used? by our organization?
How should new IT systems
What approaches and best Which IT assets are barely used or interact with the existing ones?
Inputs: Current structure of the organizational IT landscape practices are adopted? provide similar functionality?
Outputs: Technical rationalization suggestions reflected in Standards and Which technologies and products Which IT assets are no longer
Landscapes are redundant or duplicated? supported by their vendors?
Which technologies, products or Which IT assets may become
Meaning: Structure-to-rationalization, i.e. understand the current structure of approaches cause troubles? problematic in the future?
the IT landscape and formulate the rationalization strategy to guide its future
Do the current technologies and Are the existing IT assets fit for
evolution approaches meet our needs? our general business needs?

Structure of New
the Current IT Working IT
Landscape Solutions

Organizational IT Landscape
Primary Flow Secondary Flow (Existing applications, information systems, databases, integration platforms, network and server infrastructure, etc.)