Socially enabled BPM

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All content written by and copyrighted by Todd Biske. If you are reading this on a site other than my “Outside the Box” blog, it’s probably being republished without my permission. Please consider reading it at the source. A succession of tweets between Forrester’s Gene Leganza and Clay Richardson along with Brenda Michelson of Elemental […]

OTN Podcast on EA Communication

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All content written by and copyrighted by Todd Biske. If you are reading this on a site other than my “Outside the Box” blog, it’s probably being republished without my permission. Please consider reading it at the source. I participated on a panel discussion on communication and enterprise architecture, hosted by Bob Rhubart of Oracle. […]

More than trends

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A colleague at Microsoft, J.D.Meier, recently wrote a blog post about the major trends to watch for in 2010. Rather than creating just a new list he’s provided all the source material references which make it ideal to use for personal research and to take a unique filter for your own organization.

What really struck me in reading this was the last section, which is less about trends and really about what each of us needs to consider to be relevant and at our most effective in the coming decade and I’ve repeated it here:

  • Build a firm foundation.  Know Maslow’s hierarchy and prioritize taking care of your basic needs.  Know your “monthly burn” and be mindful of your decisions to support your firm foundation.  The stronger your foundation is, the more you can help yourself and others when they need it most.
  • If it doesn’t help you be your best, cut it out.   This means living your values, and playing to your strengths.  It also means giving your best where you have your best to give, as a person, and as a company.  It’s how your survive, and it’s how you go from surviving to thriving.   Any other way drains you in the long run and you get priced or pushed or competed out of the market.  It’s the sustainable path. 
  • Follow the growth.  Follow your own growth, and follow the growth in the market.  For example, in the tech industry some growth areas are mobile and cloud.  Along these lines, create the growth.
  • Get back to the basics.  Practice the fundamentals.  They work.  Among the chaos, there are always core principles, patterns, and practices that you can bank on.
  • Hone your personal brand.  Make the most of what you’ve got and make sure your differentiation is obvious.  For example, one of my differentiators is “getting results.”
  • Invest in yourself.  Inner-engineering always pays off.
  • It’s your network and what you know.  People sort and sift through people they know.  In a skills-for-hire economy, your network is how you find the opportunities. 
  • Know the cycles of things.  For example, know the Four Stages of Market Maturity, the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, and the Diffusion of Innovations.
  • Lead yourself from the inside out.   Follow your values, play to your strengths, and follow your purpose.  It’s the sustainable path.
  • Learn and respond.  Your ability to learn and respond will drive your best results.  Innovate in your process and your product.
  • Look ahead.  Build your anticipation skills.  Know the system.  Things don’t just happen.  The more you know the system and the ecosystem, the more you can anticipate what’s coming down the line.  Pay attention to market leaders, trend setters, patterns, and cycles.  Everything happens in cycles whether it’s growth or decline.

All too often we have work commitments and development plans that are focused on the near-term, possibly as short as the next quarter. But as we see continuous change becoming the new normal I thought these were fine words to reflect on, and practical steps for how we should think about surviving the long term.

 

More than trends

by

A colleague at Microsoft, J.D.Meier, recently wrote a blog post about the major trends to watch for in 2010. Rather than creating just a new list he’s provided all the source material references which make it ideal to use for personal research and to take a unique filter for your own organization.

What really struck me in reading this was the last section, which is less about trends and really about what each of us needs to consider to be relevant and at our most effective in the coming decade and I’ve repeated it here:

  • Build a firm foundation.  Know Maslow’s hierarchy and prioritize taking care of your basic needs.  Know your “monthly burn” and be mindful of your decisions to support your firm foundation.  The stronger your foundation is, the more you can help yourself and others when they need it most.
  • If it doesn’t help you be your best, cut it out.   This means living your values, and playing to your strengths.  It also means giving your best where you have your best to give, as a person, and as a company.  It’s how your survive, and it’s how you go from surviving to thriving.   Any other way drains you in the long run and you get priced or pushed or competed out of the market.  It’s the sustainable path. 
  • Follow the growth.  Follow your own growth, and follow the growth in the market.  For example, in the tech industry some growth areas are mobile and cloud.  Along these lines, create the growth.
  • Get back to the basics.  Practice the fundamentals.  They work.  Among the chaos, there are always core principles, patterns, and practices that you can bank on.
  • Hone your personal brand.  Make the most of what you’ve got and make sure your differentiation is obvious.  For example, one of my differentiators is “getting results.”
  • Invest in yourself.  Inner-engineering always pays off.
  • It’s your network and what you know.  People sort and sift through people they know.  In a skills-for-hire economy, your network is how you find the opportunities. 
  • Know the cycles of things.  For example, know the Four Stages of Market Maturity, the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, and the Diffusion of Innovations.
  • Lead yourself from the inside out.   Follow your values, play to your strengths, and follow your purpose.  It’s the sustainable path.
  • Learn and respond.  Your ability to learn and respond will drive your best results.  Innovate in your process and your product.
  • Look ahead.  Build your anticipation skills.  Know the system.  Things don’t just happen.  The more you know the system and the ecosystem, the more you can anticipate what’s coming down the line.  Pay attention to market leaders, trend setters, patterns, and cycles.  Everything happens in cycles whether it’s growth or decline.

All too often we have work commitments and development plans that are focused on the near-term, possibly as short as the next quarter. But as we see continuous change becoming the new normal I thought these were fine words to reflect on, and practical steps for how we should think about surviving the long term.

 

Categories Uncategorized

Using predictions to think ahead

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It’s about this time every year that we begin to be bombarded with the top 10 predictions for just about everything in 2010. About the only thing I believe from the predictions mania is that new technology will take longer to have an impact than we believe and that in many cases we really don’t have a clue just how big the impact will really be.

 

One of the more interesting of this year’s crop of predictions (for me at least) is represented on the map at this link  although you’ll need a big printer to make it readable or a bit of pan and zoom.

 

What I like about this is the sheer scope and scale of the map that allows me to see ideas being grouped together and consider the bigger picture if a set of them do happen around the same time – and what our opportunity might be if we’re ready for the situation.

 

Enterprise Architecture is not just about creating models but also about understanding the potential for change and building the appropriate level of agility into the future architecture to be able to take advantage of it without increasing the cost or risk beyond what could reasonably be expected.

Using predictions to think ahead

by

It’s about this time every year that we begin to be bombarded with the top 10 predictions for just about everything in 2010. About the only thing I believe from the predictions mania is that new technology will take longer to have an impact than we believe and that in many cases we really don’t have a clue just how big the impact will really be.

 

One of the more interesting of this year’s crop of predictions (for me at least) is represented on the map at this link  although you’ll need a big printer to make it readable or a bit of pan and zoom.

 

What I like about this is the sheer scope and scale of the map that allows me to see ideas being grouped together and consider the bigger picture if a set of them do happen around the same time – and what our opportunity might be if we’re ready for the situation.

 

Enterprise Architecture is not just about creating models but also about understanding the potential for change and building the appropriate level of agility into the future architecture to be able to take advantage of it without increasing the cost or risk beyond what could reasonably be expected.

Categories Uncategorized

Are you a Business Architect or a Business Analyst?

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Enterprise Architecture domains include Business Architecture which is the first architecture domain within TOGAF 9. An Enterprise Architecture program that includes this domain, maps critical business processes to their application, information, and infrastructure components to provide a comprehensive view of the business and IT landscape that enables informed decision-making.

Business Architects are supposed to manage Business Architecture, but who are they, what are their skills? How are they different to a Business Analyst or even a Project Manager?

Business Analysts are on the way to becoming Business Architects. Sometimes called IT Business Analysts, they are not strictly business or IT specialists. They write business cases (with very few technical terms), identify business requirements and often are part of a Development Team.

Based on many job descriptions and my observation below, is a grid of standard skills and responsibilities related to the function of a Business Analyst. In the second column, are the responsibilities also applicable to a Business Architect and in the last column comments on how TOGAF 9 recommend the activities to be addressed.

Expected skills and activities Business Analyst Business Architect Comments related to TOGAF 9
Is an intermediary between IT and the business users, follows the implementation strategy with respect to getting stakeholder buy-in and support. x x Both roles require to be positioned between IT and business.
In particular business processes of a line of business. x The Business Architect considers the organization’s strategy and less focused in a specific line of business.
Acts as catalyst to implement strategic and tactical change for the business. x x The Business Architect will focus more on strategic changes.
Works with end-user groups to assist with aligning IT to the department’s business goals. Conduct feasibility studies to define the purpose, functions, and overall structure of business processes x x The Business Architect in TOGAF 9 will use Business Scenario techniques.
May be involved in Business Process Management (BPM). x x
Performs analysis and documents business processes leading to process change and/or system implementation. x x The Business Architect will model and process the business processes.
Operating as a more-or-less independent group that is focused on delivering BPM services x The Business Architect will be working at a strategic level and will be less focused on the delivery of BPM services.
Does not have an IT background, but had, instead, a background in quality control. x The Business Architect must have a perfect knowledge of the business.
Translates user requirements into software requirements that IT can then use to develop software x A Business Architect would not develop and review design specifications for software application. This would be the role of the Application Architect during Phase C.
Analyze and resolve software errors in a timely and accurate fashion x A Business Architect is not in charge of managing incidents linked to applications. IT operations may escalate this to the Development Team, or the vendor. Once a first level of diagnostic done, it will be transferred to one of the architects depending on the domain (technology, application).
Helps to develop and maintain software to support the business processes. Assist in developing system/application architecture. x The Business Architect does not contribute to software development. This is done by the Solution Architect.
Leads and validates enterprise system designs across multiple business applications. x The Business Architect does not lead Application Architecture. This will be done by the Application Architect and potentially the Solution Architect.
Creates and executes test plans to ensure that the functional and business requirements are met by the proposed solution x The Business Architect does not contribute to test plans. This is done probably by the Solution Architect.
Documents and defines processes, eliminating activities that don’t add value and straightening out the flow of the activities. x x In the TOGAF 9 Phase B we would do this by documenting the baseline and target architecture and do a gap analysis, identifying the various business architecture building blocks to be eliminated.
Determining how business policies are implemented in business rules. x x Business rules have to be identified and implemented when business processes documented in both baseline and target architecture. Can be done at both strategic and tactical level.
Analyses customer needs and the processes customers go through to interact with an organization are key skills that any business process practitioner needs to be effective. x x Business scenarios would be used to identify business requirements.
Creates, manages and maintains an optimum business architecture that includes informational, organizational, process, performance and systems architecture. x The Business Analyst focus more on projects delivery. The Business Architect is mostly focused on the delivery of the Business Architecture.
Defines, socializes and implements Business Architecture. Reviews roadmap projects for impact and compliance. x Business Architecture roadmaps will be delivered from the gap analysis.
Identifies and facilitates cross divisional continuous business improvement initiatives. x The Business Architect works at a strategic level and focus mostly on Strategic Architecture.
Member of the Architecture Board, composed of representative process owners who approve any cross organizational business process changes. x Business Architects should be part of the Architecture Board.
Identifies and maintains an up to date picture of opportunities and risks. x x Risks have to be identified during both the Architecture vision phase and the development of the solution.
Experienced in business/process architecture including broad skills in the area of strategy mapping, business analysis skills, conceptual data and process modeling/design, EA frameworks. x The Business Architect must have these skills. The Business Analyst may focus on process modeling only.
Strong work experience in Project and Change management. x x Both roles require these skills.
Proven track record for working effectively with technical and business functions. x The Business Architect must work with other domain’s architects.

My observations are:

Business Analysts are much closer to IT. They often are assigned to a specific Line of Business, which is close to the Development Team, and are implicated in software development. They may be part of the Development Team or the Project Management Office. The Business Architect reports to managers or senior managers who may be business or IT but are independent of any project. They have a global view on most business and will be responsible for modeling the business as a whole, then working top down to “architect” encompassing end to end business processes. Their role is more horizontal and is considered a neutral voice and because of that will make more critical decisions than a Business Analyst.

Business Analysts document requirements as defined by users during workshops. A Business Architect documents and may contribute to define a business strategy using requirements provided by the users if that strategy is not finalized. The Business Architect must have the ability to think in both a strategic and tactical manner whereas a Business Analyst is normally tactical.

The Business Analyst operates within the confines of a predetermined application and technology architecture. A Business Architect is a part of the decision making process to define the IT architecture (Data, Application and Technology). He will have a strong influence directing information technology to meet business needs, and assist in identifying business inefficiencies and opportunities.

Business Architect must be cognizant of enterprise strategies whereas a Business Analyst is normally concerned with specific projects independent of enterprise strategy.

Are you a Business Architect or a Business Analyst?

by

Enterprise Architecture domains include Business Architecture which is the first architecture domain within TOGAF 9. An Enterprise Architecture program that includes this domain, maps critical business processes to their application, information, and infrastructure components to provide a comprehensive view of the business and IT landscape that enables informed decision-making.

Business Architects are supposed to manage Business Architecture, but who are they, what are their skills? How are they different to a Business Analyst or even a Project Manager?

Business Analysts are on the way to becoming Business Architects. Sometimes called IT Business Analysts, they are not strictly business or IT specialists. They write business cases (with very few technical terms), identify business requirements and often are part of a Development Team.

Based on many job descriptions and my observation below, is a grid of standard skills and responsibilities related to the function of a Business Analyst. In the second column, are the responsibilities also applicable to a Business Architect and in the last column comments on how TOGAF 9 recommend the activities to be addressed.

Expected skills and activities Business Analyst Business Architect Comments related to TOGAF 9
Is an intermediary between IT and the business users, follows the implementation strategy with respect to getting stakeholder buy-in and support. x x Both roles require to be positioned between IT and business.
In particular business processes of a line of business. x The Business Architect considers the organization’s strategy and less focused in a specific line of business.
Acts as catalyst to implement strategic and tactical change for the business. x x The Business Architect will focus more on strategic changes.
Works with end-user groups to assist with aligning IT to the department’s business goals. Conduct feasibility studies to define the purpose, functions, and overall structure of business processes x x The Business Architect in TOGAF 9 will use Business Scenario techniques.
May be involved in Business Process Management (BPM). x x
Performs analysis and documents business processes leading to process change and/or system implementation. x x The Business Architect will model and process the business processes.
Operating as a more-or-less independent group that is focused on delivering BPM services x The Business Architect will be working at a strategic level and will be less focused on the delivery of BPM services.
Does not have an IT background, but had, instead, a background in quality control. x The Business Architect must have a perfect knowledge of the business.
Translates user requirements into software requirements that IT can then use to develop software x A Business Architect would not develop and review design specifications for software application. This would be the role of the Application Architect during Phase C.
Analyze and resolve software errors in a timely and accurate fashion x A Business Architect is not in charge of managing incidents linked to applications. IT operations may escalate this to the Development Team, or the vendor. Once a first level of diagnostic done, it will be transferred to one of the architects depending on the domain (technology, application).
Helps to develop and maintain software to support the business processes. Assist in developing system/application architecture. x The Business Architect does not contribute to software development. This is done by the Solution Architect.
Leads and validates enterprise system designs across multiple business applications. x The Business Architect does not lead Application Architecture. This will be done by the Application Architect and potentially the Solution Architect.
Creates and executes test plans to ensure that the functional and business requirements are met by the proposed solution x The Business Architect does not contribute to test plans. This is done probably by the Solution Architect.
Documents and defines processes, eliminating activities that don’t add value and straightening out the flow of the activities. x x In the TOGAF 9 Phase B we would do this by documenting the baseline and target architecture and do a gap analysis, identifying the various business architecture building blocks to be eliminated.
Determining how business policies are implemented in business rules. x x Business rules have to be identified and implemented when business processes documented in both baseline and target architecture. Can be done at both strategic and tactical level.
Analyses customer needs and the processes customers go through to interact with an organization are key skills that any business process practitioner needs to be effective. x x Business scenarios would be used to identify business requirements.
Creates, manages and maintains an optimum business architecture that includes informational, organizational, process, performance and systems architecture. x The Business Analyst focus more on projects delivery. The Business Architect is mostly focused on the delivery of the Business Architecture.
Defines, socializes and implements Business Architecture. Reviews roadmap projects for impact and compliance. x Business Architecture roadmaps will be delivered from the gap analysis.
Identifies and facilitates cross divisional continuous business improvement initiatives. x The Business Architect works at a strategic level and focus mostly on Strategic Architecture.
Member of the Architecture Board, composed of representative process owners who approve any cross organizational business process changes. x Business Architects should be part of the Architecture Board.
Identifies and maintains an up to date picture of opportunities and risks. x x Risks have to be identified during both the Architecture vision phase and the development of the solution.
Experienced in business/process architecture including broad skills in the area of strategy mapping, business analysis skills, conceptual data and process modeling/design, EA frameworks. x The Business Architect must have these skills. The Business Analyst may focus on process modeling only.
Strong work experience in Project and Change management. x x Both roles require these skills.
Proven track record for working effectively with technical and business functions. x The Business Architect must work with other domain’s architects.

My observations are:

Business Analysts are much closer to IT. They often are assigned to a specific Line of Business, which is close to the Development Team, and are implicated in software development. They may be part of the Development Team or the Project Management Office. The Business Architect reports to managers or senior managers who may be business or IT but are independent of any project. They have a global view on most business and will be responsible for modeling the business as a whole, then working top down to “architect” encompassing end to end business processes. Their role is more horizontal and is considered a neutral voice and because of that will make more critical decisions than a Business Analyst.

Business Analysts document requirements as defined by users during workshops. A Business Architect documents and may contribute to define a business strategy using requirements provided by the users if that strategy is not finalized. The Business Architect must have the ability to think in both a strategic and tactical manner whereas a Business Analyst is normally tactical.

The Business Analyst operates within the confines of a predetermined application and technology architecture. A Business Architect is a part of the decision making process to define the IT architecture (Data, Application and Technology). He will have a strong influence directing information technology to meet business needs, and assist in identifying business inefficiencies and opportunities.

Business Architect must be cognizant of enterprise strategies whereas a Business Analyst is normally concerned with specific projects independent of enterprise strategy.

Updates Harmful

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I have written about this before, I suspect. So forgive me if this is another representation of that resource.Hanging out with Nigel Green and John Schlesinger is dangerous, so be warned. There be sacred cows being slaughtered in this post.It all start…