02.02.10
Preparing for Recovery
[Cartoon]
Economic recovery appears to be on the horizon, so now is the time to begin the preparation for recovery. Preparation means moving from the state of survival back to the state of strategic planning.
Since most of the information processed in an organization is accomplished through Information Technology, this is a good time to include an Enterprise Architect in the planning process. The inclusion of an Enterprise Architect will give the organization’s management a current-state perspective. From this perspective, the management can then determine the future-state that will meet their anticipated business requirements.
Before coming to the table, the Enterprise Architect will facilitate sessions to uncover the data entities, domain processes, and business software components of the enterprise. This information will then be organized into models to explain the flow of information between the business software components that make up the enterprise.
These models are beneficial in that they translate an otherwise complex environment into a simpler view. This view organizes the artifacts of Information Technology specifically for the use of business management. This gives the business management the opportunity to be more engaged in technology decision-making.
This modeling is most important when evaluating projects that are intended to change the current-state. Here, the Enterprise Architect will map the organization’s strategies and initiatives to the proposed projects. In addition, the Enterprise Architect will show the ripple effect that each project will have upon the entire enterprise. This will help to develop better cost estimates of each project.
We can only hope that the worst of the economic times is behind us and we can shift towards strategic planning. A shift towards strategic planning should include a greater emphasis on the organization’s Enterprise Architecture. This requires calling upon those in the profession of Enterprise Architect.
Closing the Business / IT gap.
