Aggregated enterprise architecture wisdom
This blog is the second in a series of posts designed to help technical leads get over the hurdles that inevitably pop up during any complex implementation; a series that was started with Understanding the Problem. Once the problem is sufficiently understood, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down to business. Involve […]
This is the long-awaiting (or at least long-promised) article on implementing “bought” products; a follow up to our Buy vs. Build Your Software article. Many large organizations rely heavily on external vendors for large scale software implementations of “Off the Shelf” packages – very frequently modified for competitive advantage and/or to align with internal business […]
Do away with architectural models. What we need to see is the essence of architecture, which is something we realise in software: a mirror of the enterprise. The idea is not new. It has always been surprising (and, to be honest, somewhat frustrating) that is hasn’t been picked up as I thought it would. And […]
The idea is ubiquitous: software is a “thing”. You engineer it, you build it. When you are done you appraise the end-result as a master artist views his piece. To do it better, you think about improving your build processes. You borrow from industries like the automobile industry (Toyota and its Lean method for example). […]
Knowing the strategic solution is only part of the challenge. Let’s assume you are able to establish the “right and just” solution either because your enterprise has well documented target architectures and roadmaps or your solution has a well established “best practice” pattern you can apply. Take a moment to savor your success, but only […]
There are different ways for applications to talk to one another. These can include: File Transfer Web Services Shared Data Messaging All have their strengths and weaknesses but for now let’s focus on the advantages of messaging. What is messaging? Messaging is a technology that enables asynchronous communication of messages between systems and also includes […]
We previously discussed Options Analysis – our method for evaluating multiple viable technical solutions. We also facilitate numerous smaller design choices at all levels of the architecture. We often need to document these as “design decisions,” and use a common approach and format to document at all levels of design (conceptual, logical, physical, component, etc.). […]
Big Data is the Big Thing at the moment. It won’t be ten years from now. And not because we tackled the technical aspects of handling it, or created huge business intelligence systems capable of harvesting the treasures hidden in it. Or because it has become generally accepted and arrived at Gartner’s plateau of productivity. […]
While we often find ourselves advocating for design documentation, we typically are referring to “some” design documentation vs. “more” design documentation. When it comes to design documentation, more is actually not better. We have encountered customers, and even other consulting firms, that deliver design documentation by the inch – measuring design quality horizontally across the […]
Executive management doesn’t have a clue. Everybody I talk to in organisations large and small agree. And I am talking managers here. They try. They do their best. They start doubting their intelligence. They install control mechanisms. They install more control mechanisms. Heck, they might even try (and burn their fingers on) business intelligence. Maybe […]
Solution architecture is typically designed within a project context. Although we focus on the right process for this design activity frequently in our blog, the intersection of that process with the process of delivering an actual production solution is very important. Constraints are a key reality in projects, and often they compete with achieving the […]
We are proud and excited to announce that once again we will be presenting at the Open Group Conference, this time in Philadelphia! We always find the Open Group Conferences to be insightful and informative. We also look forward to the opportunity to commiserate with other practitioners on the common trials and tribulations of enterprise […]