The document discusses a new approach to IT architecture called the "Snowman Architecture". It is based on three key ideas: having business-driven, small projects with simple systems. This approach aims to radically transform IT by delivering cheaper and faster systems that better meet business needs. It promises benefits like lower complexity, better business/IT alignment, improved security, flexibility, reliability, and a strong ROI. The presentation advocates starting with a small pilot project to demonstrate these benefits and help drive broader transformation.

1. A High Value Approach to
Business/IT Collaboration
Roger Sessions
CTO, ObjectWatch, Inc.
roger@objectwatch.com
Twitter: @RSessions
Linked-In: Roger Sessions

2. Who is Roger Sessions
- The Father of IT Complexity Analytics
- Author of seven books and many highly influential
white papers, including
The IT Complexity Crisis
The Mathematics of IT Simplification
Revamping Public Sector IT Procurement to
Favor Success and Small Business
- Visiting Professor of IT Complexity Analytics at
University of the Andes.
- Keynote speaker at many conferences including two
Gartner Research Boards.
- IASA Fellow
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 2

3. Audience Check
• Executives
• Developers
• Architects
• Business Specialists
• Students
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 3

4. Presentation Outline
- We don’t know how to build big IT Systems.
- Big IT needs a radical transformation.
- The starting point is The Snowman Architecture.
- The Snowman Architecture is a radical improvement.
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 4

5. What is Radical Transformation?
IT Driven Business Driven
Three
Tenets of Big Small
Transformation
Complex Simple
Long Term Value Short Term Value
Process Focus Delivery Focus
Private Platforms Public Cloud Platform
IT Centric Architecture Business Centric Architecture
Design Intensive Implementation Intensive
Slow Delivery Fast Delivery
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 5

6. The State of Large IT
“An estimated 85% of government IT projects are late, over budget or both.”
- The Pew Center on the States, “Focus on Performance”, 2010
“Projects over $10M have a statistically zero chance of being
delivered on time, on budget, and with required functionality.”
- (Standish) 2009 Chaos report published by the Standish Group
“OMB and federal agencies have identified approximately 413 IT projects--
totaling at least $25.2 billion in expenditures for fiscal year 2008--as being
poorly planned, poorly performing, or both.”
- GAO Report 08-105IT.
“The world economy is losing over $500 Billion per month to IT failure.”
- The IT Complexity Crisis by Roger Sessions
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 6

7. Two Studies
75
Chance
of
Success 50
25
labor cost <$750K $1.9M 10M+ Standish (2009)
(USD)
Size
effort 750PM
<= 24PM 1700PM 2400+PM
(person months) ($11M) Sauer
($360K) ($25M) ($36M)
(Standish) 2009 Chaos report published by the Standish Group
(Sauer) The Impact of Size and Volatility on IT Project Performance by Chris Sauer,
Andrew Gemino, and Blaize Horner Reich, Comms of the ACM Nov 07
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 7

8. To Summarize Studies
Projects under $1M are almost always successful.
Projects over $10M are almost never successful.
Projects over $20M typically exceed their budgets
by over 220% and cost an additional 400% in lost
opportunity costs.
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 8

9. Relationship Between Project Size and
Complexity
Complexity
of
Project
Size of Project
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 9

10. Standard Methodology Doesn’t Scale
Your Standard Business/IT Architecture
Business
Architecture
Technical/
Services
Architecture
Data
Architecture
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 10

11. Why Don’t We Split It Up?
Too many dependencies!
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 11

12. Relationship Between Project
Dependency and Complexity
Complexity
of
Project
Number of Dependencies
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 12

13. So What Does Work
Small Sub-Systems Few Dependencies
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 13

14. Two Major Problems
1. When you split up a system you INCREASE the dependencies.
2. You must split up the system BEFORE YOU KNOW the dependencies.
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 14

15. A New Approach
The Snowman Architecture
Business Architecture
Technical Architecture
Service Architecture
Data Architecture
Smaller Systems Fewer Dependencies
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 15

16. Why Do I Call this a Snowman?
Business Architecture
Technical Architecture
Service Architecture
Data Architecture
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 16

17. How To Build A Snowman
The Head consists of business functions that are
synergistically related to each other and nothing
else.
Max The Torso consists of the technical systems that
Size: support the head and nothing else.
Few
Million$ The Arms implement the dependencies between
business capabilities and nothing else.
The Bottom consists of the data needed by the
Torso and nothing else.
Business Led: The Head controls everything
Small: Less than few million $
Simple: Autonomous with minimal connection points
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 17

18. Putting Snowmen Together
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 18

19. This Scales Without Limit
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 19

20. Getting the Head Right
Understand business capabilities.
Understand relationship between complexity and synergy.
Understand mathematics of equivalence relationships.
Understand methodologies for early identification of synergies.
Understand functional dependencies.
Understand tools to track synergistic relationships/dependencies.
Understand how the business contours project to lower layers.
SIP: Simple Iterative Partitions
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 20

21. SIP High Level
SIP Preplanning Phase
Project Capability Sub-project
Preparation Decomposition
Identification Assignment Spawning
Message Messaging Dependency Capability
Harness Requirements
Determination Determination Completion
Business Technical Data Imple- Integration
Architecture Architecture Architecture mentation
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 21

22. Okay, so what does this buy me?
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 22

23. Complexity
Zone of Death
Complexity
of
Project
Size of Project
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 23

24. Business/IT Alignment
Business
IT
Enterprise
Architecture
Poor Alignment Excellent Alignment
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 24

25. ROI
Example: $20M Project
Traditional Approach Snowman Approach
Budgeted 20 M$ Budget 20 M$
Average Overrun 228 % Snowman Costs 2 M$
Expected Overrun 45.6 M$ Average Overrun 0%
Lost Opp Costs 45.6 M$ Expected Overrun 0 M$
Total Cost 91.2 M$ Lost Opp Costs 0 M$
Total Costs 22 M$
Savings 69.2 M$
Net: $2M investment yields $69M return
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 25

26. Auditing/Compliance
Very difficult to determine who Easy to determine who changed data
changed data and why. and why.
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 26

27. Security
Hard to Configure Easy to Configure
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 27

28. Flexibility
Hard to Change Easy to Change
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 28

29. Time to Failure
Frequent Catastrophic Failures Infrequent Local Failures
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 29

30. Time To Recovery
Primary
Snowman
Backup
Snowman
Slow Recovery Fast Recovery
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 30

31. $
$ Cloud Effectiveness
$$
$
$$
$ $
Expensive Cheap
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 31

32. Impact on Local Economy
Benefits Large Foreign Consulting Benefits Small Local Consulting
Companies - Negative Impact on Companies - Strong Positive Impact
Local Economy. on Local Economy.
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 32

33. A Lot of Benefits
Lower Complexity
Better Business/IT Alignment
More Secure
More Flexible
More Reliable
Better for Cloud
Great ROI
Stimulates Local Economy
Radical IT Transformation
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 33

34. Making the Transformation
Create a group to own the Snowman
Architecture.
Choose a smallish project (~ 10M$).
Get Executive Buy-in.
Sell to the Business and IT.
Apply the principles.
Publicize the result, especially the ROI.
Start a Radical Transformation of IT!
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 34

35. Summary
- The Snowman Architecture delivers cheaper systems
faster that better need the needs of the business.
- The Snowman Architecture is based on three
important ideas:
Business driven
Small projects
Simple Systems
- These ideas can radically transform IT.
- This is a tremendous value proposition for Enterprise
Architecture with high ROI for business.
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 35

36. Suggested Readings
A Fundamental Metric for Predicting IT Success by Roger Sessions (White Paper) at
http://www.objectwatch.com/white_papers.htm#metric
The Mathematics of IT Simplification by Roger Sessions (White Paper) at
http://www.objectwatch.com/white_papers.htm#Math
Simple Architectures for Complex Enterprises (Book) by Roger Sessions.
The IT Complexity Crisis (White Paper) by Roger Sessions at
http://www.objectwatch.com/white_papers.htm#ITComplexity
Radical IT Transformation (blog) by Roger Sessions
at http://simplearchitectures.blogspot.com/2012/08/radical-it-transformation_14.html
The Equation Every Enterprise Architect Should Memorize (blog) by Roger Sessions at
http://simplearchitectures.blogspot.com/2012/03/equation-every-enterprise-architect.html
The Relationship Between IT Project Size and IT Failure Rate (webshort) by Roger Sessions at
http://simplearchitectures.blogspot.com/2012/01/web-short-relationship-between-it.html
SIP: A Project Optimization Methodology (webshort) by Roger Sessions at
http://simplearchitectures.blogspot.com/2012/01/web-short-sip-methodology-for-project.html
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 36

37. Acknowledgements
The snowmen photos are all licensed under Creative Commons and
taken from Flickr. They photographers are, in order of appearance:
- chris.corwin
- The Year of Mud
- Jason Alley
- jcarwash31
roger@objectwatch.com Roger Sessions 37