- Begin making descriptive representations (models) of the Enterprise explicit. This entails populating various cells of the Zachman Framework with instances of models, for example, defining specific models for the Enterprise, with the intent of producing system implementations that more accurately reflect the intent of the enterprise, and of retaining the models to serve as a base-line for managing Enterprise change.
- Formalize and enhance the Enterprise Architecture process. Initially, this would entail defining for the Enterprise, for example, the generic components (contents) of each of the cells of the Framework, that is, defining what is important to capture in each cell when building instances of models for that enterprise. This would enable formalizing the management system (plans and controls) for building the Enterprise models, for evaluating and deploying development methodologies and tools, for selecting and/or defining databases (repositories) for storing the Enterprise models, for defining the roles, responsibilities and skills required within the architecture process, etc.
The contents of some of the cells are well understood in the industry today. In fact, it is easy to buy, off the shelf, application development tools and methodologies that support building the models shaded in Figure 1.
Pinnacle Business Group (and its predecessor companies) invested over 15 years in developing a robust methodology including tool support for doing the architecture planning (Row 1), business process engineering (Row 2) and application development (Rows 3, 4 and 5) as shown in Figure 2.
Although
many Enterprises have been building information systems for many years,
in general, few of them have actually understood enterprise models. That
is, they have not understood the contents of the Framework cells (and
therefore have not understood their methodologies and tools), and neither
have they had a disciplined architecture process in place. Therefore,
there has been little cohesion in the resultant system implementations,
regardless of how valid or robust the methodologies and tools, plus the
systems have provided little lasting value as the Enterprises have changed
over time.
The Pinnacle Business Group and the Zachman Institute for Framework Advancement
(ZIFA), can be engaged in these two Architecture programs to address the
demand for immediate implementations as well as the requirement to establish
an on-going architecture process. These programs, in brief, are as follows:
Architecture
Program 1 - Enterprise Architecture Process Instantiation
This program would
concentrate on defining appropriate contents of all the Framework cells
for the Enterprise for the purpose of developing an Enterprise Architecture
strategy which would include: identifying the cells (models) in which
to invest resources, skill/method/tool requirements, repository strategy,
approach for maintaining continuity (integration) while building incrementally,
sources of funding, roles and responsibilities, etc. (See Figure 5)
Architecture
Program 2 - Enterprise Architecture Quick Start
This program would
focus on developing the Row 1 cells for the Enterprise, evaluating the
current systems environment and determining the Enterprise priorities,
in order to establish a context and to develop an implementation plan
to deliver quick results. The plan could be expected to lead to validating
any existing Enterprise models, developing systems programs, doing appropriate,
additional "Business Process Engineering," and subsequently
building systems implementations consistent with Enterprise priorities.
(See Figure 4)
