03.10.11
Applications Are the Square Peg for the Round Hole of Business
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Large, complicated applications do not fit business. Small applications that are utility-focused, such as those available on smartphones, are not yet a problem. But, those applications that have been used for specific business functions such as accounting, payroll, etc. do not fit well in the business organization and in many cases actually conflict with the business purpose.
Conflict is the result of structure. Business is organized around teams of individuals. Applications are organized around information and processing steps. When the two forms of structure are forced together it is like jamming a square peg into a round hole.
Significant problems arise from jamming the square peg into the round hole. At the very start it is a problem because it takes more effort to jam something than to use a component that is designed to fit. The plan is always to just make it fit. In IT parlance this effort is referred to as integration.
Once the peg is firmly in place, it must be maintained. This effort is more than minor change because it is difficult to change a peg that is jammed so tightly. Adding new functionality means more jamming is required. This makes it even tighter so that the next change is even more difficult. This jamming effort is paid for by the maintenance category in every IT budget.
The worst of problems occurs when the hole needs to change. A new hole can be made by reorganizing the business and then the old hole is retired. The only problem is the hole can’t just go away. The peg jammed into it must be pulled out and jammed into the new hole. This transition from one hole to another is referred to by IT as a conversion. In significant changes, it may be worse yet. There may be a need to buy a new peg. For IT this means implementation of the new peg and a conversion from the old peg.
Whether it is integration, implementation, or conversion, IT seems to always be last to adjust to business change. While the organization can restructure and new teams formed, IT can only begin to gather requirements from the new organization as the first step to begin the IT effort.
Fortunately, Enterprise Architects recognize that applications are a poor design pattern. Their preference is to assemble components into appropriate composites to meet the current business needs. When the business reorganizes, the composites needed to meet the new requirements are assembled. The new assemblies can be constructed using existing components and any new components required by the business change.
The industry standard used by IBM, Oracle, and others is Service Component Architecture, SCA. This standard applies to components written in multiple program languages and provides communication links for all forms of service interfaces. Assemblies can be done by direct wiring or by using Business Process Management languages. There is great flexibility and visibility of components and composites.
Composites resemble applications, but do not have the square peg problems. Composites are assemblies and can be reassembled when business needs change. No longer is it necessary for IT to use the old application, square peg, design pattern to capture business logic. Design can be accomplished using SCA. With SCA, the peg can be round and fit nicely into the round hole of the business organization. IT can keep pace with the rest of the organization.
The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
