Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise Architecture

A coherent whole of principles, methods, and models that are used in the design and realization of an enterprise’s organizational structure, business processes, information systems, and infrastructure.

Why do enterprises change?

Businesses transform based on the changing environment, in order to remain competitive.

Disruptive enterprise trends and technologies

Trends: Economic, societal, political

Tech: Artificial intelligence, Augmented reality

How does a business assess and respond to a disruptive trend

• Identifies trends proactively

• Evaluates the impact on the business

  • Provides innovative solutions

How can disruptive technology benefit a business

• New technology can strengthen business objectives

• Can provide new value to customers

• Provide a competitive advantage

Stakeholder

an entity with interest in, or concerns relative to, a system.

Characteristics of Enterprise Architecture

• EA is that the level of an entire organization

• Captures the essentials of the business

• Clear shown relation between architectural decisions and business objectives

• Manages the enterprises processes and systems

• Provides maximal flexibility and adaptation

View

A way of viewing the architecture

Addresses one or more concerns from the stakeholders

Viewpoint

Defines how to construct and use a view

Internal drivers

IT business alignment: Ensures that the business and IT projects meet all objectives and conform to the architecture

What are the results of better alignment between business and IT?

• Lower cost

• Higher quality

• better time-to-market

• Greater customer satisfaction

realizing strategy pyramid

Mission: Why does the enterprise exist?

Vision: Image of the future and the values

Strategy: The route the enterprise will take in achieving its mission and vision

Goals: the direction and milestones

EA: Translate goals into changes to the daily operations of the company

Culture: Formed by the people and leadership

Operations: Are governed by the pyramid

External drivers

Regulatory authorities require companies to have a thorough insight into their structure and operations.

What does EA describe and control?

The organizations structure, process, applications, and infrastructure in an integrated fashion. (A whollistic view of the enterprise)

Types of digital transformation

• Business process

• Business model

• Domain

What does a Pool capture?

Captures a resource class. (Whole company)

What does a Lane capture?

Captures a resource sub-class, Within a pool. (Departments)

What does a message flow represent?

Flow of information or materials between two process parties (Pools)

What does a start message event trigger?

Triggers a process by the recepient of the message

What is a BPMN diagram that has two or more pools called?

Collaboration Diagram

Pool for seller is called what?

Private process or white box pool

Pool for customer is called what?

Public process or black-box pool

What is the role of EA?

• Offers a holistic perspective of the current and future operations

• The organizing logic for business processes and IT infrastructure

Which one is not an EA characteristic?

Each unit in an organization should develop its own EA.

What are the major problems of enterprises that justify enterprise architecture implementation (According to zachman)

Complexity and change

What are the 4 BSC perspectives?

• Customer

• Financial

• Internal business processes

• Learning and growth

Three layered structure for BSC?

• Mission

• Objectives

• Measures

What does a business model describe?

The rational of how a organization creates, delivers, and captures value.

What is Business architecture?

A blueprint of the enterprise that provides a common understanding of the organization

What do you first create when using sparx EA?

A package

Temporal events

• start timer event

• Intermediate timer event

What is a model and modelling?

• An abstract and unambiguous conception of something in the real world

• The act of purposely abstracting a model

What is an architectural model?

Representation of the essence of an architecture in the unambiguous form

What is archimate?

• Modelling language

• helps express and analyze business models and how it produces stakeholder value

• Helps reach a common understanding between different architects and stakeholders

What does a composition relationship represent?

That an element consists of one or more other concepts

What does a aggregation relationship represent?

That an element combines one or more concepts

What does the realization relationship represent?

An entity that plays a critical role in the creation, achievement, sustenance, and operation of a more abstract entity

Serving relationship?

Represents that an element provides its functionality to another element

Flow relationship?

Represents transfer from one element to another

What is true of aggregation and composition relationships?

If a composite is deleted, its parts are deleted aswell.

Motivation concepts

• goal

• requirement

• principle

• outcome

• constraint

Goal concept?

High level statement of intent

Requirement concept?

Statement of need

Principle concept?

A qualitative statement of intent

Outcome concept?

An end results is acheived

Constraint concept?

A factor that prevents

What does archimate model?

Model all the EA domains and relations between them

Is “business process” a business layer active structure?

No

Archimate business layer

Elements of this layer are used to model the operational organization of an enterprise in a tech-independent manner

What does the business layer involve?

• Actors

• Role

• Interface

• Object

Archimate application layer

Elements in this layer are used to model the application architecture that describes the structure, behaviour, and interaction of the application of the enterprise.

What can realize a resource?

• IoT (Tech layer)

• Data warehousing solution (App layer)

• Business intelligence team (Business layer)

Archimate Technology layer

Elements of layer are used to model the tech infrastructure of the enterprise

A business role is the responsibility for performing specific behavior, to which ______ can be assigned.

An actor

behaviour elements _____ passive structure elements

Access

What are the most common cross layer relationships in Archimate?

realization-serving

Which Archimate element can be used to model strategic plans of an enterprise?

Capability element

Correct order of archimate layers for framework?

• Strategy

• Business

• Application

• Technology

• Physical

• Implementation and migration

What statement is not true of junctions?

It is used to connect relationships of different types

The __________ element is the main active structure element within the physical elements.

equipment

System Software is a _______________ of a node.

specialization

What best represents the route the enterprise will take in acheiving its mission and vision?

Strategy