The document describes the enterprise architecture definition approach for a large pharmaceutical company undergoing transformation. The approach included assessing the "as-is" state, defining principles and policies, and creating "to-be" architecture views for business, information, applications, and integration. Key deliverables were TO-BE processes, information models, application catalogues, services catalogue, and transition views to guide implementation projects and address challenges such as scope management and stakeholder alignment. The tailored enterprise architecture definition helped bridge the strategy to implementation of the company's transformation.
Business and Strategic Alignment in EA – Practical Guidelines Based on Indust...IASA
Business and Strategic Alignment in EA – Practical Guidelines Based on Industry Best Practices - Dave Guevara
As IASA members we are constantly reminded that architects are responsible for connecting business to IT. Business alignment is indicated in architecture frameworks like TOGAF or Zachman as an important step. However, the challenge comes in getting this done where EA is not top-down driven, short term deadlines always win over strategic efforts and standards like ITIL, COBIT and BPMN help but don’t really answer how There is a great deal of writing about EA, SOA, their benefits and how they need to be driven by business needs. The architect is still left with diverse guidance that provides little practical help on how exactly to conduct line-of-sight alignment between business strategy and system implementation. In this discussion, we will look at this issue from four perspectives:
1. Practical means of determining business value and impact, then creating alignment to your future state architectures.
2. Top-down view using an EA framework.
3. Bottoms up view in a future state architecture
4. Business functional model related to an application functional model
5. Practical suggestions that work now and can scale over time
This is a presentation I gave at the October 2007 Enterprise Architectures Conference. The presentation covers approache sto developing multi-year roadmaps for implementing business strategy.
Business and Strategic Alignment in EA – Practical Guidelines Based on Indust...IASA
Business and Strategic Alignment in EA – Practical Guidelines Based on Industry Best Practices - Dave Guevara
As IASA members we are constantly reminded that architects are responsible for connecting business to IT. Business alignment is indicated in architecture frameworks like TOGAF or Zachman as an important step. However, the challenge comes in getting this done where EA is not top-down driven, short term deadlines always win over strategic efforts and standards like ITIL, COBIT and BPMN help but don’t really answer how There is a great deal of writing about EA, SOA, their benefits and how they need to be driven by business needs. The architect is still left with diverse guidance that provides little practical help on how exactly to conduct line-of-sight alignment between business strategy and system implementation. In this discussion, we will look at this issue from four perspectives:
1. Practical means of determining business value and impact, then creating alignment to your future state architectures.
2. Top-down view using an EA framework.
3. Bottoms up view in a future state architecture
4. Business functional model related to an application functional model
5. Practical suggestions that work now and can scale over time
This is a presentation I gave at the October 2007 Enterprise Architectures Conference. The presentation covers approache sto developing multi-year roadmaps for implementing business strategy.
Corporate Data Quality: Research and Services OverviewBoris Otto
This presentation gives an overview of the research in the Competence Center Corporate Data Quality (CC CDQ) at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and the service portfolio in the field of corporate data quality of the Business Engineering Institute (BEI) St. Gallen.
Guiding companies and organisations through the strategic management of technology within tough economic times whilst establishing a sound relationship between the business and IT.
• Execute Business Transformation activities across horizontals and verticals of the organization.
• Develop Performance Comparisons and benchmark scenarios, Develop Gap Analysis, Analyze Drivers, Prioritize & Develop Strategy and Monitor Change, Analyze Business Processes, Assess IT Strategy and Applications, Identify Pain Points, Implement Best Practices, Design High Level Technical Requirements, Develop Business Process Model and Techno-Functional architecture roadmap based on Organization Structure and Governance Model, Lifecycle Management for identified Processes / Systems, Automation – Re-engineering – Integration & Innovation
A2DataDive workshop speakers Alex Ocampo, Chong Zhang, Sangwon Hyun, Yiqun Hu. A2 Data Dive. Feb. 10- 12, 2012. visit the wiki for more information: http://wiki.datawithoutborders.cc/index.php?title=Project:Current_events:A2_DD
Corporate Data Quality: Research and Services OverviewBoris Otto
This presentation gives an overview of the research in the Competence Center Corporate Data Quality (CC CDQ) at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and the service portfolio in the field of corporate data quality of the Business Engineering Institute (BEI) St. Gallen.
Guiding companies and organisations through the strategic management of technology within tough economic times whilst establishing a sound relationship between the business and IT.
• Execute Business Transformation activities across horizontals and verticals of the organization.
• Develop Performance Comparisons and benchmark scenarios, Develop Gap Analysis, Analyze Drivers, Prioritize & Develop Strategy and Monitor Change, Analyze Business Processes, Assess IT Strategy and Applications, Identify Pain Points, Implement Best Practices, Design High Level Technical Requirements, Develop Business Process Model and Techno-Functional architecture roadmap based on Organization Structure and Governance Model, Lifecycle Management for identified Processes / Systems, Automation – Re-engineering – Integration & Innovation
A2DataDive workshop speakers Alex Ocampo, Chong Zhang, Sangwon Hyun, Yiqun Hu. A2 Data Dive. Feb. 10- 12, 2012. visit the wiki for more information: http://wiki.datawithoutborders.cc/index.php?title=Project:Current_events:A2_DD
Not Only Statements: The Role of Textual Analysis in Software QualityRocco Oliveto
My keynote at the 2012 Workshop on Mining Unstructured Data (co-located with the 10th Working Conference on Reverse Engineering - WCRE'12). Kingston, Ontario, Canada. October 17th, 2012.
Motivation entails the development of a program that automatically performs clustering and outlier detection for a wide variety of numerically represented data.
Aquatech Kent RO water purifier annual maintenance service offers 1 year maintenance service to domestic and home used RO systems water purifier with spare parts replacement assistance.
Selected ion flow tube MS - Online quantitative VOC analysisIS-X
SIFT-MS accurately identifies and quantifies volatile compounds. The analysis occurs through a process of chemical ionization in a flow tube.
To analyze volatile compounds, a sample is introduced into the flow tube at a precisely controlled rate. Inside the flow tube reagent ions react with volatile compounds present in the sample. This reaction forms product ions, which are analyzed by a quadrupole mass spectrometer and particle multiplier. The result is spectra, which instantly identify and quantify volatile compounds.
Analysis is performed by a Voice Series instrument, which can be based in a laboratory, on a production line, or in a vehicle. Results can be automatically exported to other systems, such as production line controllers.
We provide turnkey solutions, or you can create your own analysis suites and protocols, including how results are processed and presented.
An Introduction into the design of business using business architectureCraig Martin
Business Architecture is gaining interest from many non-traditional architecture stakeholders across the enterprise however most remain unclear of its scope and application. This webinar was presented through the Open Group as lead up to the London 2013 Conference on business transformation. It provides an overview of the language, methods and techniques of developing a business architecture and assist architects to demonstrate its relevance to business leaders. It also provides an insight into the method and techniques taught in the "Discovering Business Architecture" course run by Enterprise Architects.
Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) I Best Practices I NuggetHubRichardNowack
Enterprise architecture management is a "management practice that establishes, maintains and uses a coherent set of guidelines, architecture principles and governance regimes that provide direction and practical help in the design and development of an enterprise's architecture to achieve its vision and strategy. In this business best practice slide deck you learn how to assess and setup Enterprise Architecture and Digital Architecture frameworks as well as a transformation plan.
We provide you with the following best practices:
- Need for Enterprise Architecture Management
- Enterprise Architecture Approach
- Architecture Target Picture Development
- Implementation Roadmap
Sample Report: Approach to
1. Assessment of IT Process
2. Assessment of Architecture Function, Enterprise Architecture, TDA (Design Authority)
3. IT Strategy, Technology Strategy Management
Creating an Agile Enterprise ArchitectureCognizant
With the proliferation of digital, the function of enterprise architecture is more critical than ever. Getting there requires a strong, agile enterprise architectural foundation that can embrace a fail-fast/fail-safe approach to the IT charter of stronger business alignment, while ensuring that services are delivered fast and friction-free to meet the needs of today’s dynamic business objectives.
Revolutionizing IT Project Delivery - Embrace the Future with OnePlan’s AI-Po...OnePlan Solutions
IT departments are under increasing pressure to deliver projects that align with – and also drive – business strategy. But traditional Project Portfolio Management (PPM) simply can’t keep pace with the dynamic landscape of managing IT technology projects. That’s why we developed OnePlan’s AI-powered Strategic Portfolio and Work Management Platform.
Attend this webinar to see how OnePlan’s cutting-edge AI capabilities can help you harness the power of Strategic Portfolio Management to achieve unparalleled agility, efficiency, and strategic alignment across all your IT projects. Discover how OnePlan’s groundbreaking solutions can help IT leaders, project managers, and key stakeholders leverage artificial intelligence to elevate their project delivery processes.
1. White Paper
Enterprise Architecture -
Fundamental to the Overall
Transformation of a
Pharmaceutical Company
Today’s pharmaceutical industry particularly within
the clinical R&D domain faces enormous challenges
from growing market competition, increasingly
stringent regulatory environments, rising cost and a
collaborative environment. Partners are leading
organizations to embark on a transformation journey
impacting people, processes and IT. This process
involves huge investments and challenges in terms of
budget, time and resource constraints and as a result
the focus is often lost without a clear definition of
guiding Enterprise Architecture (EA).
For enterprise architecture definition, various industry
standard methodologies and frameworks such as
TOGAF ADM, IMPACT, ZACHMAN etc. offer a generic
approach to various phases and deliverables.
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how an
industry standard methodology was adopted,
tailored and extended to create enterprise and
specific architecture artifacts. The paper is based on a
real life example in defining enterprise architecture
for a clinical R&D unit of a leading pharmaceutical
company undergoing a large transformation.
The approach and artifacts described in this paper are
intended to aid in EA definition for large
transformation programs with a proven, effective,
reusable and result oriented set of architecture views
that can be adapted across industries.
2. About the Authors
Suyog Shah
Suyog Shah has nearly a decade of experience in providing IT
solutions for customers and specializes in enterprise architecture
definition and review. He further helps organizations design and
implement roadmaps that help align IT to the business. Suyog
has been working across multiple consulting engagements as an
Engagement Manager for TCS’ IT Architecture Consulting Practice.
He has worked predominantly across banking, financial services,
pharmaceutical and insurance industries. Suyog is a certified
TOGAF 8 practitioner and IBM SOA Architect and has received
multiple awards for architecture solutions and consulting services
to large multinational companies. Academically Suyog has a
Bachelor of Engineering in electronics from Mumbai University.
Ninad Rajadhyaksha
Ninad Rajadhyaksha is a part of TCS’ Global Consulting Practice in
UK. With over 14 years of experience, he has spent 10 years in the
architecture domain primarily practicing in financial services
(trading system architectures for capital & derivatives market).
A certified TOGAF architect, Ninad has a Masters degree in
structural engineering.
2
3. Table of Contents
1. Introduction 4
2. Need for Enterprise Architecture 5
3. Enterprise Architecture Definition 7
4. Challenges in EA definition for Large Transformations 12
5. Conclusion 13
6. Acknowledgements 14
7. References 14
3
4. Introduction
Clinical R&D business units within pharmaceutical companies today are facing enormous challenges leading them
to overhaul and transform operation affecting overall business organization and IT processes. Some of the key
drivers leading to such transformations include:
n Cost pressures in the R&D space
n Stringent rules and regulations
n Growing consolidation in pharmaceutical companies
n Outsourcing in R&D
n Compliance with industry standards
Apart from the challenges mentioned above, information security, data integrity and quality are some of the other
issues that persist in many large pharmaceutical organizations.
All these industry trends and challenges impose huge constraints on the business. Business depends on IT to
remediate such issues and enable business transformation - a drive to move away from conventional business
manner to a more flexible, agile and integrated extended enterprise.
Given these challenges, drivers and business expectations, a leading pharmaceutical company embarked on a
multiyear (3+), multimillion (£60M+) transformation programme covering 25+ projects spanning initiatives such as:
n Process optimization of clinical R&D core business to double its productivity within 3 years
n Evaluation and migration to next generation electronic data capture systems to improve clinical trial data
setup and capture process
n Migration from multiple home grown data management systems to an industry standard product
n Creation of a portal to facilitate collaboration within study teams, investigators, business partners and
regulators
n Data standards management solution aligning clinical trials to industry standards such as BRIDGE & SDTM
thus enabling cross trial analysis
n Creation of a clinical and operational data repository for analysis and regulatory reporting
n BI and analytics for strategic and tactical decision making
n Elimination of point to point interfaces through the adoption of service based integration via existing web
sphere message broker platform
n Migration to next generation statistical analysis and graphical tools
n Automation of study planning and protocol authoring using industry standard tools
Some of the key challenges faced by the pharmaceutical company can, in fact, be applied to any large
transformation effort. Here are some of them:
n Ability to deliver within deadlines and budget
n Managing change within organization, processes and systems
n Aligning project implementations towards a common objective
n Defining the scope of transformation and that of individual implementation projects
n Planning and clustering implementation projects for identification of necessary transition states in a multiyear
transformation programme
n Management of various business and IT stakeholders
n Ability to make timely and informed decisions
n Keeping the light on during the transformation
4
5. As the pharmaceutical company did not define EA holistically, the focus remained primarily on specific
implementation projects. As a result, it struggled to cater to the high level challenges mentioned above.
Need for Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise Architecture (EA) is defined as a bridge between strategy and implementation by aligning
implementation projects with the IT strategy to achieve business objectives and change scenarios.
The figure below depicts how EA definition enables the translation from strategy to implementation:
EA Defination acts as a bridge between Strategy and Implementation
Change Scenarios Business Drivers
Current Pain Challenges
Customer External
Areas
Future Technology
Needs Trends Internal
Business Vision & Strategy Strategy
IT Stragtegy
Defination of high level target architechture; Identification
of initiatives and Implementation Roadmap
Enterprise Architecture Defination
Business Architecture Information Architecture
Definition
Application Architecture Integration Architecture
Technology Architecture
Principles and Policies
Programme &
Change Management
Implementation and
Implementation Project
Implementation Project
Implementation Project
Implementation Project
Implementation Project
Implementation Project
Governance
Architecture
Governance
Figure 1. Role of EA
5
6. Organizations tend to ignore the definition of enterprise architecture and are tempted to embark on
implementation projects in an attempt to demonstrate immediate value to sponsors. However, following such an
approach leads to major roadblocks in the long term.
Absence of a clear enterprise architecture definition impacted business and IT stakeholders of the pharmaceutical
company by presenting them with the following specific challenges:
Business units –
BU1 Unable to identify solutions to specific challenges and problems leading to gaps in traceability and overall
success of the transformation programme
BU2 Unable to understand the impact of changes in the business organization and thereby unable to use the
implementation solutions to meet business requirements
BU3 Unable to appreciate the value of IT in enabling business transformation
Program and change managers –
PC1 Unable to scope and estimate size of transformation leading to budget overrun and unrealistic timelines
PC2 Unable to define boundaries of projects and transition states leading to ambiguity in responsibility and
ownership of a project especially in areas like data migration
Pc3 Inability to monitor and guide project implementations leading to a reactive rather than proactive
approach
PC4 Inability to plan and impart training to business units, thus risking the existing studies
PC5 Incomplete impact analysis of changes, lead to deficiencies in planning critical activities such as training
and rollouts, which may have an adverse impact on the schedule and budget of a release
Project Managers and IT leads –
PI1 Ambiguities in the scope of individual projects leading to gaps/deviations from expected outcomes
PI2 Unable to understand dependencies initially and interfaces with other projects thereby leading to excess
cost and timelines
PI3 Unable to make objective design decisions and hence deviate from the expected end solution outcome
PI4 Unable to make any specific technology and infrastructural considerations due to absence of non functional
requirements thereby affecting the usability of implementation systems
Chief Architect –
Ca1 Unable to demonstrate value and benefits of IT systems to business units leading to suggestions for a
‘future proof’ roadmap due to a lack of traceability between business drivers, objectives, business
functions, implementations and benefits
Architects –
A1 Unable to make decisions and govern implementation projects due to the absence of a target state
architecture definition, policies and principles leading to diverse implementations without realizing the
overall benefits from transformation
A2 Unable to create a flexible and agile IT environment leading to point-to-point integration between systems
A3 Unable to analyze impact on systems due to factors such as degree of standardization, change in business
operating models and the need for information integration resulting in misaligned IT to business.
A4 Unable to communicate a single consistent picture of EA to the stakeholders resulting in gaps and
inconsistencies in solutions
A5 Unable to identify existing solutions for reusability
A6 Unable to create canonical models that derive the requisite flexibility in architecture
6
7. It was therefore necessary to invest in the definition of enterprise architecture to guide implementation projects
and various stakeholders throughout the transformation journey.
Enterprise Architecture definition
High Level Approach
The table below provides the tailored high level approach adopted for EA definition in the current programme:
TOGAF ADM Steps Tailoring details
Frameworks and Principles Adopted. Existing principles and policies were analyzed and extended where
required based on business drivers and existing challenges to guide the target
architecture definition using TOGAF 8 taxonomy.
Architecture Vision Adopted. The scope of architecture work, architecture artifacts, definition plan and
benefits were defined and communicated to various stakeholders so that they could
get on board with the solution.
Business Architecture Tailored. Business architecture was limited to defining business processes. The
initial set of TO-BE business architecture artifacts were defined and later tailored to
meet the needs of predominantly packaged solutions identified in the TO-BE
application architecture.
Information Architecture Tailored. A green field approach was adapted for information architecture with a
top down definition for TO-BE architecture. Detail in TO-BE architecture was
restricted to the creation of conceptual data model, logical data model, CRUD matrix
of entities vs. business functions and mastering matrix to map entities mastered in
systems once the draft application architecture was available
Application Architecture Tailored. AS-IS application architecture views were created for analysis and further
referenced in transition state definitions. TO-BE application architecture views were
limited to the creation of catalogues and mapping applications to business
processes.
Technology Architecture Tailored. The application landscape comprised predominantly COTS products as
determined by the TO-BE application architecture. The technology architecture was
limited to the identification of TO-BE technologies catalogue based on selected
products. AS-IS technology catalogue was also created to identify new technologies
that will need investment and administration.
Integration Architecture Introduced. A new phase for integration architecture was introduced to define the
TO-BE interaction views. AS-IS interaction views were also created to define
transition states and identify needs of tactical solutions during transformation.
The TO-BE interaction views along with other artifacts were extended to identify
business and application interaction services and solutions for integration.
Opportunities & Solutions Tailored. The implementation initiatives were identified prior to EA definition.
Clustering the implementation projects into releases was executed as part of the EA
definition. This was conducted through top down planning and analyzing the
business benefits and challenges addressed through those implementations.
7
8. Migration Planning Tailored. Transition views comprising AS-IS and TO-BE architecture components
were defined for each release to identify tactical solutions to ‘keep the lights on’
during the transformation
Implementation Governance Architecture governance framework is currently under construction.
Architecture Change Adopted. All architecture artifacts were maintained in a single architecture
Management repository using an EA tool. Necessary changes were executed during impact
analysis across artifacts through controlled releases.
Detailed Approach
AS-IS Analysis and TO-BE Definition
AS-IS Analysis TO-BE Architecture Definition
Define Define
Analyze
TO-BE Business Principles/
AS-IS Business
Processes Policies/
Processes
Governance Framework
Define Define Define
AS-IS Application TO-BE Information TO-BE Application Business
Architecture Architecture Architecture Use Cases
Programme
Techincal
Governance
System
Define AS-IS Use Cases
Interaction Views
Analyze
Gaps
Figure 2. AS-IS analysis and TO-BE architecture definition
AS-IS Analysis
Key Highlights –
AS-IS functional architecture views, applications inventory, business processes to applications mappings,
Interaction diagrams and technologies catalogue were defined.
Challenges Addressed - BU2, BU3, PC1, PI1
8
9. Principles, Policies and Governance Framework
Key Highlights –
Existing principles, policies, processes and governance frameworks were analyzed and customized with respect to
business requirements and challenges. New principles, policies and processes were defined as required to meet
business and IT objectives and ensure existing pain areas were addressed by TO-BE architecture definitions. Various
solution patterns were defined to aid decision making during the creation of TO-BE architecture.
Challenges Addressed – A1, A2
TO-BE Architecture Definition
n TO-BE Business Process Definition
Key Highlights –
The definition of the optimized TO-BE business process covered inputs, outputs for business functions, trigger
events, exceptions, user roles and information requirements. Processes were further tailored using the definition
of application architecture based on identified COTS products.
Challenges Addressed – BU1, CA1, A3, PC4
n TO-BE Application Architecture Definition
Key Highlights –
TO-BE application catalogue was created with brief descriptions of each application along key IT and business
contacts. Various views were created to demonstrate application landscape mapped to functional areas.
Architecture views were also created mapping TO-BE applications to functions identified in business processes.
Challenges Addressed – BU1, BU2, BU3, CA1, A4, PC1, PC2, PC4, PI1, PI2, PI3, PI4
n TO-BE Information Architecture Definition
Key Highlights –
Conceptual and logical data models with defined entities and relationships. A defined CRUD matrix mapped each
entity against business processes while the mastering matrix aligned it with corresponding systems.
Challenges Addressed – A1, PC2, PI2, PI3
n TO-BE Technology Architecture definition
Key Highlights –
TO-BE application technologies catalogue was created based on technologies of the COTS products identified.
AS-IS and TO-BE technologies were compared to identify new technologies.
Challenges Addressed – PI4
n Gap Analysis
Key Highlights –
Gaps were identified in TO-BE application capabilities that were provisioned by AS-IS systems but were not
addressed.
9
10. Challenges Addressed – BU2, A1, PC1, PC5, PI1
TO-BE TO-BE TO-BE
Business Information Application
Processes Architecture Architecture
Release Define TO-BE Program
Plan Interaction Views Plan
Application
Project
Environment
Plan
Views
Figure 3. TO - BE Interaction Views
Integration Architecture - TO-BE Interaction Views
Key Highlights –
TO-BE business process, application architecture and information architecture were analyzed to identify
interactions. Based on the processes, application functionalities and mastering matrix was created which identified
TO-BE interactions between systems and users. End to end TO-BE interaction views enabled the creation of
program and release plans through the identification of systems, functionalities and dependencies. Application
environment views were created for all major TO-BE applications demonstrating functionalities, interactions with
other systems and user interactions to aid the creation of application specific project plans.
Challenges Addressed - A1, A3, PC1, PI1, PI2, PI3
Define AS-IS Define TO-BE
Interaction Views Interaction Views
Release TO-BE Test
Plans Transition Views Cases
Figure 4. TO - BE Transition Views
Transition State Definitions
Key Highlights –
Initiatives were classified into quick wins, medium term and long term value by analyzing them against business
benefits. Implementation projects were classified into the clusters and release plans were created for each one.
10
11. TO-BE application systems and functionalities were identified for each release. These applications and interactions
were then superimposed on AS-IS interaction diagrams to define transition views for each release. Data migration
requirements, technology and infrastructure changes were identified for each transition state.
Challenges Addressed - A1, A3, PC1, PC2, PC3, PC5, PI1, PI2, PI3
Integration Architecture - Service Definitions
Release TO-BE Transition TO-BE Business
Plans Views Processes
Define TO-BE TO-BE Application
Services Catalogue Architecture
SOA
Pinciples
Defince Services
TO-BE Interaction
Specifications &
Views
Orchestration
System
Use
Cases
Defince Message TO-BE Information
Model Architecture
Integration
Patterns &
Principles
Define Integration
Specifications
Figure 5. TO - BE Service Identification and Integration Specifications
n TO-BE Services Catalogue
Key Highlights –
TO-BE business processes specific to releases were identified in a top-down manner to categorize task services.
TO-BE application architecture was also analyzed to identify bottom-up application services based on system
functionalities. Task services were then mapped to corresponding application services to classify business and
system services with appropriate granularity. The primary focus was on the identification of services that were
involved in system-to-system interactions based on business processes and capabilities.
Challenges Addressed - A1, A2, PC5, PI1
11
12. n Service Design and Specifications
Key Highlights –
System use cases were analyzed to indentify affected services from the catalogue. TO-BE interaction diagrams
were analyzed to identify services involved in interactions across systems. Service specifications were defined by
identifying corresponding operations and underlying implementation details in terms of systems and system
functionalities. Input entities required for performing the operations were identified and corresponding output
entities were defined. TO-BE interaction diagrams and system use cases were further analyzed to identify service
orchestrations.
n Message Models
Key Highlights –
Service orchestrations were analyzed and corresponding information entities were identified. TO-BE information
architecture was used to define canonical message flows covering detailed attributes for all logical entities that
were affected.
Challenges Addressed - A2, A5, A6, PI1
n Integration Specifications
Key Highlights –
Service orchestrations and message flows were analyzed to identify relevant integration patterns. Based on
business and system requirements and integration patterns, corresponding integration specifications were
defined. Integration specifications covered various aspects of high level solutions using integration technologies,
exchanged messages, frequency, synchronous/ asynchronous etc.
Challenges Addressed - A2, A5, PI1, PI2
Challenges in EA definition for large transformations
Some of the key challenges experienced during definition of enterprise architecture were as follows:
n Alignment of stakeholders to a common objective – Various stakeholders have different perspectives and
emphasis on respective focus areas. The challenge was aligning all of them to a common objective and
enables a shift to programme from project thinking.
n Agreement on details for various architecture views – The challenge in this case was to identify details
when documenting AS-IS architecture and defining TO-BE architecture. Different stakeholders have different
expectations of details in the architecture views and artefacts
n Obtaining consistent and complete business requirements – Business requirements keep changing and
pose huge challenges to ongoing architecture work in terms of adapting changing requirements consistently
across all views.
n Availability of key stakeholders – Availability of key business stakeholders, application SMEs and IT leads
was a big challenge
n Varied perspectives of architects – Depth of architecture artefacts and prioritization was a key challenge
n Scope of EA definition – Scoping of enterprise architecture definition thereby identifying the architecture
artefacts was a key challenge
n Timely review of deliverables – Lack of rigor in various stakeholders to review architecture artefacts was a
big challenge to signoff architecture artefacts
n Gaps in the to-be architecture definition – Progressing with architecture artefacts including gaps and later
including the solutions while acting on key deliverables was a challenge.
12
13. n Actively engaging the stakeholders in the discussion – Getting the required inputs from various
stakeholders in planned meetings was a challenge as there was reluctance to commit on inputs. Also inputs
were not definite and subjective or conditional leading to gaps in the architecture at later stages
n Buy-in from the stakeholders – Despite meeting expectations of stakeholders, there was reluctance for
signoff from many key stakeholders as they had a tendency to accommodate changing requirements and
documented architecture views
n Availability of accurate AS-IS business process documentation – AS-IS business processes were either not
always documented or if documented were out of date leading to gaps in AS-IS analysis. Knowledge was
either scattered across documents or resided with various stakeholders and getting them together for
workshops was a challenge.
Mitigation to the above challenges varied depending on the organization culture and stakeholder management.
Conclusion
Investing in EA definition addressed challenges during transformation, brought value, improved clarity in terms of
scope and dependencies and ensured that the IT implementations justified the investments.
The following benefits were perceived by various stakeholders from definition of EA:
n Brought in a common understanding of end to end target state amid stakeholders
n Ensured IT implementations were aligned towards meeting business objectives
n Helped to identify gaps in the solution and target state
n Enabled identification and planning for implementation releases
n Enabled creation of training plans and change management
n Enabled effective and timely decisions
n Enabled programme managers to define an end-to-end plan with clear dependencies
n Enabled transition plans and creation of specific release test cases
n Enabled identification of services and creation of an agile service oriented enterprise
n Helped identify systems for decommissioning and reduced operational costs
n Enabled creation of architecture governance framework to oversee implementation
n Helped in definition of migration strategy and plans
With this paper we aimed to communicate the following to the readers:
n Importance of enterprise architecture definition in large transformations
n Demonstrate how an industry standard methodology can be tailored to meet the specific needs of
transformation and organizational environment
n Provide a reference set of architecture artefacts and detailed approach that can be adapted and further
tailored to define enterprise architecture for transformations in an industry or organization.
13
14. Acknowledgements
Mr. Ameya Vanjari – Global Head Sales and delivery support, Global Consulting Practice – IT Architecture Consulting
Mrs. Sasirekha R – Enterprise Architect, Global Consulting Practice – IT Architecture Consulting
Mr. Rohit Dayama – Information Architect, Global Consulting Practice – Information Management Consulting
Mr. Narayanan Ramaswamy – Enterprise Architect, ISU - Life Sciences and Health Care
References
TOGAF 8 ADM – The Open Group Enterprise Architecture Definition Methodology
Clinical data management: Current status, challenges, and future directions from industry perspectives – Zhengwu Lu & Jing Su
Pharmaceutical Industry trends drive EA – Henry Peyret, Forrester Reports
14