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Enterprise Architecture and how to get started
Hi everyone, let me introduce myself by saying that I have over 30 years deep-seeded knowledge in the areas of Business Transformation and Enterprise Architecture. I have been in this area as a Customer, a Partner to SAP and at SAP herself. I would like to share some of my learnings and experiences with you.
People always ask me “how to get started with your Enterprise Architecture Initiative”.
The first thing you need to understand is What is Enterprise Architecture, the benefits of Enterprise Architecture and then how to get started. In this blog I will write about a few fundamentals in getting started and how to leverage the opportunities.
What is Enterprise Architecture
The term "architecture" is of a general nature and defines the abstract construction of a system, i.e. a building, an organization, an IT-system, a machine, etc.
In the early days of computing, technology simply automated manual processes with greater efficiency. As technology evolved, new innovations enabled new capabilities and processes in the enterprise that were driven by IT. Gradually, IT changed the business but not necessarily in alignment with the business strategy. This lack of alignment resulted in significant waste of resources and missed opportunities and placed the organization in a competitive disadvantage in the market. Things needed to change and companies adopted Enterprise Architecture Frameworks.
To align the strategies of business with IT, a new approach for managing IT has been developed called Enterprise Architecture. Just as architecture provides a blueprint for constructing a building, Enterprise Architecture provides a blueprint and roadmap for aligning business strategy with IT.
The individual models in an EA are arranged in a logical manner, and this
provides an ever-increasing level of detail about the enterprise, including:
- Its objectives and goals
- Its processes and organization
- Its systems and data
- The technology used
Key characteristics of enterprise architecture is to apply a holistic view across the organization, embracing business and IT along all functions, while also taking external factors into account. This is largely featured by defining and introducing a common language and vocabulary.
One important dimension in enterprise architecture is the dimension of time. To-be models will depict the envisioned future state while with the help of as-is models the gap between the current and future state can be assessed and translated into a roadmap.
Different artifacts will help to structure and visualize the enterprise architecture in various stages in time and alongside different architectural domains.
Creating an Enterprise Architecture from scratch can be a daunting task, so EA frameworks were created to simplify the process and guide an architect through all areas of architecture development.
An architecture framework provides principles and practices for creating and using the architecture description of a system. It structures architects' thinking by dividing the architecture description into domains, layers, or views, and offers models – typically matrices and diagrams – for documenting each view. This allows for making systemic design decisions on all the components of the system and making long-term decisions around new design requirements, sustainability, and support.
There are many different types of Architecture Frameworks out there that support building an architecture and different industries make use certain frameworks catered for their needs, here are a few; TOGAF, DoDAF, IAF, ZACHMAN, FEA, GEAF, ArchiMate, SOMF etc. In SAP we have our own SAP EA Framework.
SAP Enterprise Architecture Framework consists of four building blocks:
- Methodology: Proven, TOGAF and industry standards-based EA methodology, widely adopted throughout SAP
- Reference Architecture Content: SAP Reference Business and Solution Architecture mapping Business and SAP IT Solutions
- Tooling: Set of SAP-internal and customer- facing architecture tools
- Services: Standardized SAP EA Services to support customer transformation
One key cornerstone of the SAP Enterprise Architecture Framework is the reference architecture which allows an accelerated delivery of architecture engagements and the Methodology is closely aligned with the TOGAF standard and tailored to the SAP Reference Architecture.
Guiding Principles
Enterprise architecture applies to a certain set of principles and practices that guide you through changes that impact business, information, processes and technology.
- Enterprise Architecture Principles are shared, long-lasting beliefs that guide the use of IT in constructing, operating and transforming the enterprise by informing and restricting target state enterprise architecture design, IT investment portfolio management and procurement decisions.
- Enterprise Architecture Principles are high level statements of the fundamental values that guide Business Information Management, Information Technology (IT) decision-making and activities, and are the foundation for both business and IT architectures.
- These principles are general rules and guidelines that may be subject to adjustments as the company refocuses its objectives and mission. However, they are intended to be enduring and not prone to frequent amendments.
- They inform and support the way in which we pursue the company mission to transform to an intelligent enterprise in the experience economy.
Here is an Illustrative example of Key Enterprise Architecture Principles
The SAP Enterprise Architecture Methodology has evolved over time.
It provides a comprehensive approach used by SAP and customers to systematically map IT Solutions to business needs. Internally SAP uses the framework to build enterprise architecture content. Customers apply the framework to define their desired future business scope and desired target architecture.
The recommendation for our customers is to follow a phased approach. It can be used by any enterprise to find the IT Solutions that meet their business need. Same holds true also for SAP's own IT.
This approach is in line with the TOGAF® standard from The Open Group, a proven EA methodology used by the world’s leading organizations to improve their business efficiency.
The TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM) cycle is the result of continuous contributions from a large number of architecture practitioners. It describes a method for developing and managing the lifecycle of an Enterprise Architecture.
The ADM is highly iterative: Within phases, between phase, between cycles, stakeholder reviews after the phases.
The SAP Enterprise Architecture Framework defines a tailored approach, with a set of core artifacts geared towards SAP focused architecture projects
The added value of the methodology is many fold:
- A set of core artifacts have been defined and described (incl. templates and examples)
- Business Architecture as well as Solution Architecture reference content is provided to ensure
- Consistency and integrity of architecture content
- Up-to-date content around SAP solutions, their interdependencies and relationships
- Faster development of architecture content in your given project context
- Public access to SAP Reference content
- Tool based consumption of SAP Reference content (wip)
- A well define description how the SAP Reference Content is applied across the phases of an architecture development project – from business strategy to implementation roadmap.
How to get started
People with the Right Mindset & Skills
The first thing you is have people in your team with the right mindset. By this I mean that, people in your team need to have the ability to accept change and think of what the future can look like and focus on the long-term plan. They need to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire organizational landscape, they need to promote Enterprise Architecture and collaborate across the business and work with various teams to align with the strategies and objectives and engage in a wholistic and consistent way across various projects
Business Outcomes and Guiding Principles
You also need to have a strong Alignment with Business to realize the Business Outcomes. As I have mentioned earlier, Enterprise Architecture can be complex as there can be a lot to consume which can be daunting. The best is to focus on Business Outcomes which are considered high for your initiative and build it out with the focus on the core elements & components where you can ensure traceability between People, Processes, Applications and Technology. Don’t forget to stick to the guiding principles as build it out else you can easily get side-tracked, as it can become overwhelming.
Tooling
In SAP we always position tools for you to build your central repository as it streamlines the flow of information and accelerates the process. Again, it’s important to show traceability to key stakeholders. Today we have lots of tools out there to support various activities and I find that LeanIX can be a powerful tool in addressing Enterprise Architecture topics around Documenting your artifacts, Roadmapping, Integration and even the process management lifecycle for driving continuous improvement. There is a tight integration between SAP Signavio and LeanIX which means that I can do exactly what I had set out to do. Also, don’t let a lack of tooling strategy stop you from starting.
Once you have decided on the above the governance is in place you can start.
- Starting point of an architecture engagement is the Request of Architecture Work. With the initiation of an architecture project the initial method selection and adoption based on existing frameworks, content and experience takes place prior to the start of the ADM cycle.
- Within the SAP Enterprise Architecture Framework we distinguish architecture development phases of generic nature such as the architecture vision, requirements management, opportunities and solutions as well as migration planning. While the phases of business architecture, application & data architecture as well as technology architecture are considered as domain specific phases – featured by the SAP Reference Architecture content.
- For the sake of simplicity the phases around implementation governance and architecture change management have not further been detailed out and should be applied in an enterprise context as per the definition of TOGAF. See below an illustrative example.
- The recommended artifacts of the SAP EA Methodology are classified into four interlinked architecture views: capability, process, data, and organization views. Each view encloses aligned business and IT perspectives, enabling business owners and IT architects to collaborate on new business opportunities.
- Having business and IT perspectives closely interlinked allows seamless navigation from business capabilities and business processes all the way down the line to SAP products and implementation artifacts such as APIs, iFlows, data objects, and events. The integration between SAP solutions is depicted on a semantical as well as a technical level. It enables alignment and consistency across SAP solutions and supports integration with non-SAP solutions.
- SAP EA Methodology is one of the four pillars of the SAP EA Framework. Reference Architecture Content complies with the artifacts and principles as specified by the SAP EA Methodology. It encompasses Reference Business and Solution Architecture, which includes but is not limited to Intelligent Enterprise Solutions, Modular ERP (planned) and Industry Cloud (planned
In SAP, we have a really cool Map called a Metro Map to help getting started.
Think of it as connecting all the dots and delving into each artifact and how these come together in a single point of view.
The SAP Enterprise Architecture Methodology - MetroMap outlines
- The full set of architecture artifacts (recommended and optional)
- Input from the SAP Reference Architecture to define the target architecture both in terms of business and IT domains
- References to existing architecture work products such as principles, standards and guidelines as well as existing baseline business and solution architectures.
The selection of artifacts again very much depends on the nature of the architecture project and the stakeholders involved. These should be selected for the sake of the stakeholders (not for the sake of architecture)
There will always be iterations within and across the individual phases (the intention of the visualization is not to give the impression of a waterfall-based approach).
That’s all from me in this blog. If you are interested in this topic then I highly suggest that you sign-up to our SAP Learnings and Trainings on this subject.
Watch out for the upcoming expert sessions and webinars and please see the two blogs I wrote earlier on Business Process Management.
How to get started with Business Process Managemen... - SAP Community
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If you would like me to address something in particular then please let me know!
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