Light Enterprise Architecture (LEA)

by

John Chi-Zong Wupeaitce@yahoo.com

www.liteea.comVersion: 2/28/2014

Presentation Goal Introduce the Light Enterprise Architecture

(www.liteea.com) which propose a next generation EA to accommodate organic enterprise.

This presentation to explain what is the light about and introduce that:

EA must be light and intuitive for all stakeholder. EA is a atomistic and holistic method rather than an

enterprise wide solution architecture. EA is light by learning of the others. EA is light by clearly distinguish EA from enterprise

wide BPM and solution architecture. The 3x3 complex adaptive IT architecture approach

may sounds complicate, but it is light.

EA must be light for all level of stakeholders

EA for all stakeholders EA must be light and intuitive for all

stakeholders. A plain and simple EA  suitable to these

different audiences and the value proposition for each of them.

Boards and Directors Executives CIOs, OD leaders, QM leaders and others with whom

we collaborate EAs

keeping it simple Keeping EA simple to support business community. Miller law "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or

Minus Two: Some Limits on human capability for Processing Information“

The challenge is how to communicate a complex ideal in a plan and simple approach.

The challenge is how to communicate a complex ideal in a plan and simple approach.

Enterprise Architects use Conceptual Diagrams Abstractive frameworks. Architecture drawings

Human cognition is not static, it is dynamic .

Conceptual graphic open the door at the first sight, but the excitement will fade and they want to see more.

FrameWorks

Conceptual Graphics

Enterprise Maps

Dynamic Cognition

Architecture Drawings

Presentations

Web

Por

tal

Intuitive and inclusive visualizatin LEA is light by using intuitive

architecture drawings instead of a technical writing exercise and the heavy duty modeling effort.

The EA community talks about EA but do not have some thing to show and tell.

It is difficult to comprehend EA from volumes of heavy duty documents which become the shelfware.

It is difficult to comprehend EA sophisticate computer models which is deeply locked in a repository.

Saying simple and plan EA approach is by no mean to say EA is simple.

Visualization is only the tip of EA iceberg.

EA contains powerful institutional knowledge in supporting strategic planning, decision making and enable enterprise agility via reuse and sharing.

The EA iceberg

Source : Sharing knowledge by David Bartholomew Associate (DBA)

LEA, as a method, is light

EA is a method rather than a blueprint

Light EA is light by considering EA as a method rather than the enterprise blueprint.

It is futile to architect a frozen enterprise blueprint which become obsolete before the ink dry under the organic enterpriser.

“give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” (Anne Isabella Thackeray)

EA as a method is light, it is a matter of conceptual change.

An Atomistic and Holistic method EA is a matter between atomistic and holistic. EA is not a matter between business or IT as in

many EA discussion. it is a matter between holistic and atomistic.

EA is not a mater of size from local solution architecture to enterprise wide solution architecture either .

LEA does not requires significant investment of time and resources.

It can be as simple as hit the reset button to rediscover the human nature lost in civilization.

See the whole and know the detail

Business Architecture

Collaborative Culture

KnowledgeManagement

GovernanceArchitecture

Security Architecture

Communication

Collaboration

LEA Cocept

EA framework As holistic

Thinking tool

Enterprise Map to visualize the whole

FacilitateCollaborative

Culture

The implementation

Support Business

Community

Adopting to Change via 3X3

Adaptive ITArchitecture

Prepare Enterprise Architecture

Drawing

The method is not only for IT The Atomistic and Holistic approach think

outside box of traditional Atomistic thinking. The outcome of this atomistic and holistic

architecture method can be the IT EA, BPM EA, Culture EA and the Business EA.

IT community use EA align technologies with business need, minimize redundant efforts and enable agility in adopting to change.

BPM community use EA to support business process reengineering, minimize redundant business processes and standardization.

Business community use EA to: Architect the enterprise business. to facilitate enterprise collaboration

Facilitate Collaborative EA Culture It is futile to EA without buy-in

from stakeholders. Enterprise is organic, it consist of

the enterprise mechanic and the enterprise fields of collaboration.

EA does not only architect the enterprise mechanic but also facilitate the enterprise collaborative culture.

Achieve buy-in from business community via:

Communication. Facilitate collaboration. Governance and compliance.

EA for business community Integrate the power

of left/right brain to win the edge

Business architecture analyze and architect the enterprise from the aspects of :

Business capabilities Business Resources Business Governance Supply chain

management Service management

EA is Light by reusing and learning experiences of the others

EA to learn the experiences of the others

LEA is light by learning experiences of the others instead of reinventing wheel to create bigger stovepipe.Learning experience of the other is not in the dictionary of stovepipe solution culture.

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

"A Wise Man Learns by the Mistakes of Others, a Fool by His Own"

The challenge Human is the only creature with the gift to learn

experiences of the other. However, ego, the dark side of a human being,

also prevent people to learn the experience of the others.

EA is a discipline to take advantage of human gift in learning the experiences.

The risk is to learn the wrong experiences of the others by comparing apple to orange.

EA establish reference models to bring every one on the same page to learn the right experiences.

LEA is light by distinguishing EA, BPM and SA

The 800 Pounds EA Gorilla EA has become 800 pounds gorilla with enterprise

wide BPM and SA effort. The risk and failure rate is very high for large

scale solution architecture as many people have experienced.

The complexity of BPM and SA increase exponentially with scope. It requires significant investment of time and resources with limited return.

Enterprise wide BPM frequently become “paralysis by analysis” because there are many ways to do the same thing and business process subject to localization and customization.

The tail has waged the dog.

Shed the pounds by distinguish EA,BPM,SA

EA, BPM and SA are closely related as shown on figure.

However, EA, BPM and SA are different disciplines.

EA is an atomistic and holistic architecture method to minimize redundant efforts and enable enterprise agility in adopting to change.

BPM is the process engineering to support business capabilities. Operation research has been an established paradigm.

Solution Architecture is the automation solution to business need.

IT managers should not assume the responsibility on business reengineering without training.

Vision

BPM SA

EA

EA is an emerging paradigm EA is an emerging paradigm rather than an

enterprise scale BPM and SA. EA overcome the challenge of redundant effort in

stovepipe oriented solution architecture. incorporate holistic paradigm with the atomistic

architecture method to support the organic enterprise.

To enable enterprise agility in adopting to constant change by keeping it simple via reuse and sharing.

EA to support enterprise strategic planning and close the gaps of strategy and execution.

Enterprise Architects are the “Glue” to facilitate enterprise collaborative culture, not the “Guru” to design the enterprise blueprint in a command and control approach.

Distinguish EA from SA Distinguish EA and solution architecture from the aspects of Scope,

Detail, impact and audience as shown in the following figure: Notional EA on enterprise wide scope with low detail and impact on

strategic outcome for shareholders. Executional EA on business segment scope with medium detail and

impact on business outcome for business owners. Solution architecture address specific scope with high detail and

impact on operational outcome for users and developers.

3x3 is light and delivers value

Alignment Architecture is light The vertical Alignment Architecture

is light to advice the business on taking advantage of technology rather designing the an enterprise wide solution blueprint.

Distinguish alignment architecture and solution architecture.

EA to align technologies with business need.

It is not an enterprise wide solution architecture.

The EA model is very miss leading

Service Oriented Architecture is light The cross cutting service oriented architecture is to

establish building blocks and primitives It is much lighter than designing a frozen blueprint in

command and control mode. LEA enable the enterprise agility in adopting to change

via reuse and simplicity. As John Zachman said, EA is the enterprise

infrastructure.

Influence architecture is business oriented

An important value is to support strategic planning and

decision making. However, the EA community have overlooked that

business community making decision based on the influence relation instead of structure relation.

Their concern is the influence relation between all parties rather than how it is structured.

The current EA is mechanical structure based architecture. LEA incorporate influence modeling to support business

decision making.

Notional EA is light Notional EA is the high level and intuitive for all

level of stakeholders to comprehend. Notional Architecture is the guiding principle, it

is enterprise wide with inches deep. Notional EA does not requires significant

investment, it should not take more the six months.

However, it is a valuable guiding principle simple and powerful.

Notional EA does not have the detail for support transition planning.

Executable EA is light

Executable EA (the segment architecture) is light by focusing business segment to close business performance gaps.

It is a divide and conquer approach to keep EA simple.

The popular EA approach of As-is, Target and making transition used in EAP, FEA and TOGAF appears to logical

However, it is an overwhelming effort for the entire enterprise

In particular, the enterprise wide transition planning

As-Is Target

Policy and Standards

Transition

Daily EA deliver value Daily EA is a continuous EA effort to deliver EA value.

“Lack of value” is the major challenge of EA. It is a wishful thinking for the busy managers and

solution architect to master enterprise knowledge. Enterprise Architects, with enterprise knowledge, are the

“Glue” to enable enterprise agility and facilitate collaboration.

They are not the “Guru” to design the enterprise wide solution architecture in a ivory tower.

Conclusion After many years, EA have not evolved as expected

due to lack of value because: It is not practical for the IT community. It does not serve well for the business community either.

For EA to become an emerging paradigm, the second generation must be useful for both IT and business community.

Enterprise Architecture must be reengineered to a new direction.

Light EA is a suggestion for the next generation EA.