IT Architecture Planning

Duration: 3-Days
Method: Online/Classroom

Course Description:

IT architecture planning is the analysis and design of an enterprise in its current and
future states from a strategy, business and technology perspective. This course is
provides an exposure to the foundational concepts of enterprise architecture. The
course will provide students with the foundational knowledge needed to understand
how EA serves to integrate strategic, business, and technology planning methods,
which support enterprise-wide information technology resource development and
governance in the context of business requirements. This course is designed to cover
the theory, frameworks, principles and best practices of enterprise architecture then
move to a practical, comprehensive approach to delivering the subject matter
involving real-world case studies and project discussions.

Course Overview:

IT architecture planning that focuses on the development of matrixes for comparing

and analyzing data, applications, and technology. Most important, IT architecture
planning produces an implementation plan.
1. Enterprise Architecture Planning model

• Level 1 - getting started: This layer leads to producing an IT architecture planning

workplan and stresses the necessity of high-level management commitment to
support and resource the subsequent six components (or steps) of the process.
It consists of Planning Initiation, which covers in general, decisions on which
methodology to use, who should be involved, what other support is required, and
what toolset will be used.[2]
• Level 2 - where we are today : This layer provides a baseline for defining the
eventual architecture and the long-range migration plan. It consists of:
o Business process modeling, the compilation of a knowledge base about the
business functions and the information used in conducting and supporting
the various business processes, and
o Current Systems and Technology, the definition of current application
systems and supporting technology platforms.
• Level 3 - the vision of where we want to be : The arrows delineate the basic
definition process flow: data architecture, applications architecture, and
technology architecture. It consists of:[2]
o Data Architecture - Definition of the major kinds of data needed to support
the business.
 o Applications Architecture - Definition of the major kinds of applications
needed to manage that data and support the business functions.
o Technology Architecture - Definition of the technology platforms needed to
support the applications that manage the data and support the business
functions.
• Level 4 - how we plan to get there : This consists of the Implementation /
Migration Plans - Definition of the sequence for implementing applications, a
schedule for implementation, a cost/benefit analysis, and a clear path for
migration

2. IT Architecture Planning Methodology

IT architecture planning is a how to approach for creating the top two rows of
the Zachman Framework, Planner and Owner. The design of systems begins in the
third row, outside the scope of IT architecture planning.
IT architecture planning focuses on defining what data, applications, and technology
architectures are appropriate for and support the overall enterprise. Exhibit 6 shows
the seven components (or steps) of IT architecture planning for defining these
architectures and the related migration plan. The seven components are in the shape
of a wedding cake, with each layer representing a different focus of each major task
(or step)