Identify at least 3 principles for each domain and explain its applicability to Largo Corporation.

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A Potential Solution

A few months ago, Ms. Johnson attended a symposium for CEOs and other senior executives and learned about enterprise architecture and how it can enable business-IT alignment and agility. Upon her return, she floated the idea with the board of directors, her direct reports and vetted the idea with IT Operations head Mr. Sculley. With strong support from the board and Mr. Sculley, Ms. Johnson created an enterprise architect position reporting directly to her with dotted line reporting to all area heads.

You have been handpicked to serve as the new Chief Enterprise Architect for Largo Corporation. Your assignment is to craft an enterprise architecture vision and explain how the vision enables business goals. Among other things, you need to justify the implementation of an enterprise architecture at Largo Corporation.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “an enterprise architecture (EA) is an integral part of the IT investment management process. An EA provides a clear and comprehensive picture of the structure of an entity. This picture consists of snapshots of its current and proposed technical environments, and a roadmap for transitioning from the current to the target environment. When properly managed, an EA can help optimize the relationships among an organization’s business operations and the IT infrastructure and applications supporting them.”

You will learn about the EA concept, various EA frameworks and apply one to the Largo Corporation. You will learn how to migrate the corporation to a well-defined enterprise architecture vision. As part of the migration effort you will need to identify the governance structure for the architecture.

As an enterprise architect, your ability to understand and apply enterprise architecture principles and methodology enables the organization to achieve a business-IT aligned, agile and scalable IT asset. This in turn enables the organization to leverage IT as a competitive strategy to respond quickly to changing market conditions in a global economy. Additionally, you must be able to communicate effectively (oral and written) to executive level management in a non-jargon, executive level manner. This learning demonstration is designed to strengthen these essential knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by enterprise architects.

  1. Steps to Completion

1) Understand the Enterprise Architecture Concept

You need to first understand the foundational concepts of an EA including what it is and why it is needed. Conduct research to gain an understanding of the concept and determine how it might apply to Largo Corporation.

An informative reference book is “An Introduction to Enterprise Architecture: Third Edition” by Scott A. Bernard (start at Pg. 29). HYPERLINK “https://books.google.com/books?id=OkNMFI3_L_YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=enterprise+architecture&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WttEVc7mOoWhNsSMgMgG&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ” \l “v=onepage&q=enterprise%20architecture&f=false” https://books.google.com/books?id=OkNMFI3_L_YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=enterprise+architecture&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WttEVc7mOoWhNsSMgMgG&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=enterprise%20architecture&f=false

The role of an enterprise architect is captured well in this article: HYPERLINK “https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb945098.aspx”https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb945098.aspx

Deliverable: Prepare an interim report for corporate executives explaining the enterprise architecture concept and discuss its applicability to Largo Corporation. Minimum 400 words and include at least 3 references. (An interim report will be consolidated to a final deliverable in a later step.)

2) Review EA Frameworks

Research various enterprise architecture frameworks. Examples include The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA), and the Zachman Framework. Compare and contrast these frameworks. A good starting point is this article by Roger Sessions:

HYPERLINK “https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466232.aspx” https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466232.aspx

A variety of frameworks are also mentioned in this source (parting on Page 11): HYPERLINK “https://books.google.com/books?id=Fs5bMNBXLEMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=enterprise+architecture+frameworks&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fdxEVZ32HYqXNtitgXg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ” \l “v=onepage&q=enterprise%20architecture%20frameworks&f=false” https://books.google.com/books?id=Fs5bMNBXLEMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=enterprise+architecture+frameworks&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fdxEVZ32HYqXNtitgXg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=enterprise%20architecture%20frameworks&f=false

Deliverable: Compare and contrast at four different major architectural frameworks based on various attributes and report your findings in a summary table. Include brief descriptions and sources of your information. Include at least 3 references.

3) Understand the TOGAF Framework

For this project we will use the TODAF framework architectural framework described starting at the Introduction ( HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf9-doc/arch/chap01.html” http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf9-doc/arch/chap01.html).Use the “Next>>>” link (upper right hand corner and lower right hand corner) to advance to “2. Core Concepts”. Throughout this website, feel free to explore any hyperlinks.

Next read “TOGAF as an Enterprise Architecture Framework”: HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap02.html”http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap02.html

4) Execute the preliminary phase of the architecture development process.

Start by reviewing the Architecture Development Method (ADM) beginning at: ( HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap03.html” http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap03.html)

Walk through the Preliminary Phase ( HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap04.html”http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap04.html).

Deliverables for this step include: (a) Define the architectural framework in the form of a diagram specific to Largo. (b) Identify at architectural principles you feel are applicable to Largo Corporation. (c) Create the future vision diagram for the company. Details on each deliverable are defined below.

(a) The framework diagram needs to be organization-specific. This architecture vision should take into account the “corporate issues” identified in the Introduction of this learning activity. You are free to make assumptions and hypothetical scenarios behind your architectural vision.

Examples of frameworks can be found at: HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap37.html”http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap37.html

(b) Provide architecture principles for the following domains: business, data, application, and technology for Largo Corporation. Examples can be found at: HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap29.html” \l “tag_30_06″http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap29.html#tag_30_06

Your principles should try to address the problems identified in the Introduction section of this learning activity.

Identify at least 3 principles for each domain and explain its applicability to Largo Corporation.

To document your principles, you may use the template at: HYPERLINK “https://www2.opengroup.org/ogsys/jsp/publications/PublicationDetails.jsp?catalogno=i093″https://www2.opengroup.org/ogsys/jsp/publications/PublicationDetails.jsp?catalogno=i093 (You will need to set up an account if you have not previously). Download the zip file and open: TOGAF_9_Templates > Deliverables > Architecture Principles and open the Word document.

(c) To define the future vision, you can create a solution concept or a value chain diagram. This is an important step that articulates your perspective of the future architecture of Largo Corporation. Include an explanation for your vision including why it is appropriate for the company.

Templates that you may use are downloadable from: HYPERLINK “https://www2.opengroup.org/ogsys/jsp/publications/PublicationDetails.jsp?catalogno=i093” https://www2.opengroup.org/ogsys/jsp/publications/PublicationDetails.jsp?catalogno=i093 (You will need to set up an account). Download the zip file and open: TOGAF_9_Templates > Artifacts > Core Diagrams > Architecture Vision and open the two PowerPoint presentations.

5) Prepare a Migration Plan

Research migration planning resources such as: HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap12.html”http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap12.html

Another way to articulate the migration plan is through an Enterprise Direction Diagram – a template is shown at:

HYPERLINK “http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SS6RBX_11.4.3/com.ibm.sa.bpr.doc/topics/c_Enterprise_Direction_diag.html?lang=en” http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SS6RBX_11.4.3/com.ibm.sa.bpr.doc/topics/c_Enterprise_Direction_diag.html?lang=enHYPERLINK “http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SS6RBX_11.4.3/com.ibm.sa.bpr.doc/topics/c_Enterprise_Direction_diag.html?lang=en” 01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SS6RBX_11.4.3/com.ibm.sa.bpr.doc/topics/c_Enterprise_Direction_diag.html?lang=en

Another version of the diagram is found at: HYPERLINK “https://www.flickr.com/photos/39587048@N07/3642403169/”https://www.flickr.com/photos/39587048@N07/3642403169/

The FBI’s IT Strategic Plan also contains one (see the diagram under “Vision”): HYPERLINK “http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/itb/it-strategic-plan-2010-2015” http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/itb/it-strategic-plan-2010-2015

Deliverable: Outline a plan and provide an Enterprise Direction Diagram to address migrating to the target architecture as defined in the architectural vision. In other words, this plan should address how the organization will move from the “as-is” to the “to-be” state.

Minimum length is 400 words.

g) Define the Architecture Governance Process and Structure

Architecture governance is defined as the set of activities an organization uses to manage and control its enterprise architectures and other architectures. This process institutionalizes decision making and ensures accountability. More at: HYPERLINK “http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap26.html” http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap26.html

Research this topic and for the Largo Corporation enterprise architecture, define the “who”, “what” and “where” associated with this process. For example, who is responsible for governance (e.g., establish an architectural governance board?), what will be managed and controlled and where in the organization will controls be applied.

Deliverable: Summarize your findings in an interim architectural governance document. Minimum length is 400 words.

6) Communicate the Architectural Vision.

The final deliverable is a narrated PowerPoint presentation that summarizes all of the key findings and recommendations from the previous steps. The target audience is the CEO and other executives in the organization. Be sure to address the following information:

  • Introduction – Describe the issues facing the corporation then define an enterprise architecture and explain why it is needed for Largo Corporation. Provide a short summary of the architectural frameworks and explain why TOGAF is applicable to Largo Corporation. (From Steps 1, 2)

  • Architecture Vision: Describe the architectural framework, architectural principles and future vision specific to the corporation. (From Step 4)

  • Migration Plan: Outline the steps needed to transition from the current state to the desired state (From Step 5)

  • Architectural governance structure: Provide highlights from the architectural governance document. (From Step 6)

The presentation should consist of 10-15 slides. It should include audio narration (directions are found at: HYPERLINK “https://support.office.com/en-au/article/Add-narration-to-a-presentation-0b9502c6-5f6c-40ae-b1e7-e47d8741161c”https://support.office.com/en-au/article/Add-narration-to-a-presentation-0b9502c6-5f6c-40ae-b1e7-e47d8741161c). The narration should also be captured in the slide notes.

As an alternate method of delivery, you can create a video using YouTube Capture ( HYPERLINK “https://www.youtube.com/capture”https://www.youtube.com/capture) or a similar tool.

  1. Deliverables

Interim Report on the EA concept

Summary matrix on architectural frameworks

Architectural framework for Largo Corporation

Architectural principles

Future vision diagram

Migration plan

Architecture governance process and structure

Architectural vision final presentation

Create a folder to hold all of your deliverables.

Title your files using this protocol: Lastname_FirstInitial_I-1_AssignmentName_Date.

Please zip (compress) the folder containing all of your files and submit the zipped file in the Assignments area.

In lieu of submitting the presentation, you may provide a link to your presentation file.