Course Description
Using Techniques to successfully drive complex enterprise-wide initiatives from business strategies to implementable SDLC solutions
This three-day workshop offers the most breadth of topics covering enterprise-wide analysis from discovery of opportunities, to idea generation, solution selection and finally assuring business value in the recommended solution(s). The focus is also on innovation; creating a solution for the enterprise which takes it to the future state. Sometimes it may start with technology in a discovery process, other times it may begin with a business problem or other improvement opportunity. You may already have the artifacts and information you need to get started. We help you identify what to look for and assess the right approach for your enterprise.
Which frameworks apply? Which architectures? Which notations? Which approach is best?
This workshop will compare and contrast several types and variations—you decide what is best for your enterprise. Will you apply the Zachman or TOGAF® framework? Will you need Business Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, Information Architecture, Application Architecture, etc.? We will provide you with the information to understand the benefits and challenges for each.
Do you know which initiatives you should be involved in and why? How should you approach enterprise analysis for each? What makes them different?
Enterprises are looking for ways to dramatically reduce time-to-market for new products and services, improve the integration of business silos, increase the sharing of information across the enterprise, reduce the cost of technology support and increase the productivity of operations. These enterprise-wide opportunities drive many initiatives:
- Quality Driven – Total Quality Management(TQM), Six Sigma, Balance Scorecard
- Technology Driven – Service-Oriented Architecture(SOA), ITIL, AGILE, new technology products
- Process Improvement Driven – Business Process Management(BPM), Business Process Outsourcing(BPO), Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP)
- Information Driven – Customer Relationship Management(CRM), Data Warehousing and "BIG DATA"
Many of these initiatives will take years to implement while changing the enterprise paradigm to effectively utilize the result. Managers tend to be assigned to these initiatives without the knowledge or skills to make them successful. Be ready for these enterprise initiatives or start your own innovation initiative! Begin with this workshop to help managers drive to solutions and assure business value during the movement from strategy to tactical. This workshop exposes the participant to various enterprise initiatives that may be driven either by the business or technology domains. Participants will learn to identify the right approach to use based on initiative characteristics and practice many of those techniques in the workshop.
Participants will Learn How To:
- Take the next step in BA training: Fantastic follow-up class to ASPE-SDLC’s BA Boot Camp
- Identify gaps in existing primary business functions and information in support of the enterprise
- Apply architectural principles to business opportunities
- Leverage architecture models to bridge business unit and technology organization communications
- Assimilate and correlate existing architectures, organizational structures, processes and information to identify and further analyze enterprise opportunities
- Captures views and identify gaps of existing primary business functions and information in support of the enterprise
- Work with product owners to identify gaps between business capabilities and product roadmaps
- Assess initial scope and requirements for initiatives
- Work with various business and technology architects to assess initial enterprise risk
- Work with procurement to assess existing service level agreement impacts, strategic sourcing and procurement opportunities
- Justify opportunities and assess feasibility of proposed solutions
- Assess organizational impact of the enterprise solution
- Assess and map business policy impacts to enterprise solution alternatives
- Apply techniques for enterprise solution generation
- Assess and present alternative enterprise solutions for decision making, buy-in and approval
- Assist in portfolio management prioritization
- Assure alignment by tracking the opportunity's business value and vision from strategy to implementation
- Assist teams to move to and monitor tactical implementations of enterprise solutions
Key skills you will practice during the workshop:
- Building Trust
- Communication at the Executive Level
- Conflict Management
- Decision Making
- Innovative Thinking
- Managing Expectations
- Negotiation and Influence
- Systems Thinking
Key techniques that will be demonstrated or practiced during the workshop:
- Applying Metrics
- Assessing Solution Alternatives
- Benchmarking and Surveys
- Factorial Design of Experiments
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
- High Level Business Modeling
- Idea Generation and Paradigm Deconstruction/Construction
- Organizational and Risk Assessments
- Root Cause Analysis
- Visioning
Key artifacts and knowledge areas you will be exposed to:
- Adoption Assessment and Organizational Change Management
- Analyzing for Reuse
- Business Case Definition
- Business Policy Impacts
- Enterprise Frameworks
- Feasibility Studies
- Information and Process Modeling at the Enterprise Level
- Interface Analysis
- Multiple Architectures
- Multiple Enterprise Initiative Examples (e.g. Agile at the Enterprise Level)
- Prioritization for Portfolio Management
- Product Roadmaps and Lifecycles
- Service Level Agreements
- Technology S-Curve
- Value Mapping
You will also get:
- An Extensive Resource List
- Checklists
- Templates
Substitution & Cancellation Policy:
You may cancel or reschedule up to 21 days prior to the start date of the class at no penalty. For any cancellation or reschedule requests within 21 days, the full course tuition is still due and not eligible for refund. Any paid tuition will be credited towards a future class and must be used within 12 months.
*Partner delivered courses may be subject to different cancellation terms
Agenda
1. Enterprise Key Concepts
Know what others are doing. Best practices are brought out for discussion. Key definitions and artifacts are compared to your reality. You will be exposed to enterprise frameworks and class discussions will help you determine how they are or might be used in your organization with the collaboration of key stakeholders.
- Speak the Enterprise Language
Activity: Term and artifact real-life gap assessment
- Enterprise Frameworks
Activity: Which framework would you use and why for each scenario?
- Collaborate with Enterprise Stakeholders
Activity: Determine what is needed from stakeholders and what is needed from you
2. Creating an Architecture
There is a general approach to creating any architecture. We will step through the approach, and test it based on the different types that are relevant to the participants in the workshop.
- Architecture Requirements
Activity: Define architecture requirements based on a scenario or your own real-life scenario
- Components of an Architecture
- Determine What to Leverage
- Create Artifacts (Static or Dynamic, Granularity Level)
Activity: Based on the previous scenario, which artifacts and components would you create?
- Inventory for Reuse
- Apply Tools and Techniques
- Needed Reviews and Approvals
Activity: Build a roles and responsibility chart for the creation of ongoing changes for the architecture
- Architecture Development Roadmap (High Level Plan)
- Architecture Transition Roadmap (Iterations to Future State)
3. Looking for Opportunities
Regardless of your role, everyone should be making problems visible and looking for opportunities. But where do you look and how do you know one when you see one? Yes, getting the right data may take some time and money. But how do we know we are making the right decisions as executives? According to LEAN principles, we need to focus on creating value, eliminate waste, make problems visible, embrace scientific problem solving and don't forget about the people! If we embrace these principles we can adapt to change and make the right decisions.
- Opportunities to Improve Business and Enterprise Architecture
Activity: Given an extract from various models, what opportunities do you see?
- Checking the Business and Technology Domains
Activity: Given an artifact extract, what problems can you identify or what questions might you ask?
- Problem Identification and Visibility
Activity: Given a set a problems, how would you analyze them and what opportunities do you see?
4. Analysis at the Enterprise Level
Here we exploit business analysis activities. We start with eliciting high level requirements for the solution by facilitating the future state and uncovering the solution scope boundaries. Further high level solution idea generation and solution assessment will help us to provide an initial estimate.
- Uncover Business Requirements
Activity: How would you present this opportunity to the following executives?
- Assess Impacts
- Use Benchmarks and Surveys
- Define System Under Discussion (SUD) Characteristics
Activity: Define which SUD characteristics drive specific methods and techniques
- Generate and Assess Solution Alternatives
Activity: Apply one technique to assess solution alternatives based on a scenario
5. Justifying and Communicating the Solution
At the enterprise level, some justification is necessary to obtain funding and resources in addition to providing a method to equally compare and prioritize the businesses portfolios. The opportunity assessments and analysis conducted in previous workshop sessions will provide the necessary information to justify moving forward.
- Creating a Business Case and Feasibility Study
Activity: Which of these scenarios should have a feasibility study conducted?
- Organizational Acceptance of the Solution
- Tracking Business Value
- Assisting in Prioritization Efforts
Activity: Define the right criteria for the situation
6. Ongoing Iterations to Architectures
Architectures must adapt to the changing business and technical environment in order to support innovation and competition. Walls must be broken down to keep architectures valuable to the enterprise by being dynamic in ways that allow flexibility and scalability.
- Portfolio Management
- Business Drivers
- Architecture Dependencies
- External Triggers
- Value Chain Impacts
- Planning for Flexibility
Activity: Based on selected architecture, flowchart a change control process
7. Practice, Practice, Practice
Participants will not walk away without trying out the approaches and techniques as discussed through the previous session. Teams will be structured and provided with different opportunities to select from. Based on the scenario, each team will be required to:
- Identify their Approach (review with instructor before continuing)
- Define High-Level Requirements and Scope
- Identify Solution Alternatives and a Recommended Solution
- Evaluate the Value Chain for Impacts
- Assess Impact to Architectures
- Present to the Executive Committee for Approval to Move Forward
