Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Focus on process standardization, repeatability, and sustainability.

ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

"Enterprise architecture is not a technology concept, rather it is the foundation on which businesses orient themselves to create and capture value in the marketplace. Designing architecture is not a simple task and creating organizations for the future requires forward thinking and rigorous planning.

Architecture processes that are supposed to help facilitate discussions and drive option analysis are often seen as an unnecessary overhead. The negative perception is due to enterprise architecture groups being overly prescriptive rather than providing a set of options that guide and constrain solutions at the same time.

EA groups should do away with the direct and control mindset and change to a collaborate and mentor mindset. As part of the architecture governance, EA teams should provide an option set that constrains design choices, and also be open to changes to standards or best practices. "

Gopi Bheemavarapu, Sr. Manager, CIO Advisory Info-Tech Research Group

Our understanding of the problem

This Research Is Designed For:

• CIO
• IT Leaders
• Business Leaders
• Head of Enterprise Architecture
• Enterprise Architects
• Domain Architects
• Solution Architects

This Research Will Help You:

• Understand the importance of enterprise architecture (EA) governance and how to apply it to guide architectural decisions.
• Enhance your understanding of the organization’s current EA governance and identify areas for improvement.
• Optimize your EA engagement model to maximize value creation.
• Learn how to set up the optimal number of governance bodies in order to avoid bureaucratizing the organization.

This Research Will Also Assist:

• Business Relationship Managers
• Business Analysts
• IT Managers
• Project Managers
• IT Analysts
• Quality Assurance Leads
• Software Developers

This Research Will Help Them:

• Give an overview of enterprise architecture governance
• Clarity on the role of enterprise architecture team

Executive summary

Situation

• Deployed solutions do not meet business objectives resulting in expensive and extensive rework.
• Each department acts independently without any regular EA touchpoints.
• Organizations practice project-level architecture as opposed to enterprise architecture.

Complication

• EA governance is perceived as an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy because business benefits are poorly communicated.
• The organization doesn’t have a formalized EA practice.
• Where an EA practice exists, employees are unsure of EA’s roles and responsibilities.

Resolution

• Value-focused. Focus EA governance on helping the organization achieve business benefits. Promote EA’s contribution in realizing business value.
• Right-sized. Re-use existing process checkpoints, rather than creating new ones. Clearly define EA governance inclusion criteria for projects.
• Defined and measured process. Define metrics to measure EA’s performance and integrate EA governance with other governance processes such as project governance. Also clearly define the EA governing bodies’ composition, domain, inputs, and outputs.
• Strike the right balance. Adopt architecture principles that strikes the right balance between business and technology imperatives.

Info-Tech Insight

Enterprise architecture is critical to ensuring that an organization has the solid IT foundation it needs to efficiently enable the achievement of its current and future strategic goals rather than focusing on short-term tactical gains.

What is enterprise architecture governance?

An architecture governance process is the set of activities an organization executes to ensure that decisions are made and accountability is enforced during the execution of its architecture strategy. (Hopkins, “The Essential EA Toolkit.”)

EA governance includes the following:

• Implement a system of controls over the creation and monitoring of all architectural components.
• Ensure effective introduction, implementation, and evolution of architectures within the organization.
• Implement a system to ensure compliance with internal and external standards and regulatory obligations.
• Develop practices that ensure accountability to a clearly identified stakeholder community, both inside and outside the organization.

(TOGAF)

IT governance sets direction through prioritization and decision making, and monitors overall IT performance.

EA governance ensures that optimal architectural design choices are being made that focus on long-term value creation.

Harness the benefits of an optimized EA governance

Core benefits of EA governance are seen through:

Value creation

Effective EA governance ensures alignment between organizational investments and corporate strategic goals and objectives.

Cost reduction

Architecture standards provide guidance to identify opportunities for reuse and eliminate redundancies in an organization.

Risk optimization

Architecture review processes and assessment checklists ensure that solutions are within the acceptable risk levels of the organization.

EA governance is difficult to structure appropriately, but having an effective structure will allow you to:

• Achieve business strategy through faster time-to-market innovations and capabilities.
• Reduced transaction costs with more consistent business processes and information across business units.
• Lower IT costs due to better traceability, faster design, and lower risk.
• Link IT investments to organizational strategies and objectives
• Integrate and institutionalizes IT best practices.
• Enable the organization to take full advantage of its information, infrastructure, and hardware and software assets.
• Support regulatory as well as best practice requirements such as auditability, security, responsibility, and accountability.

Organizations that have implemented EA governance realize greater benefits from their EA programs

Modern day CIOs of high-performing organizations use EA as a strategic planning discipline to improve business-IT alignment, enable innovation, and link business and IT strategies to execution.

Recent Info-Tech research found that organizations that establish EA governance realize greater benefits from their EA initiatives.

(Info-Tech Research Group, N=89)

Measure EA governance implementation effectiveness

Define key operational measures for internal use by IT and EA practitioners. Also, define business value measures that communicate and demonstrate the value of EA as an “enabler” of business outcomes to senior executives.

Enterprise Architecture Management

• Number of months since the last review of target state EA blueprints.

IT Investment Portfolio Management

• Percentage of projects that were identified and proposed by EA.

Solution Development

• Number of projects that passed EA reviews.
• Number of building blocks reused.

Operations Management

• Reduction in the number of applications with overlapping functionality.

Business Value

• Lower non-discretionary IT spend.
• Decreased time to production.
• Higher satisfaction of IT-enabled services.

An insurance provider adopts a value-focused, right-sized EA governance program

CASE STUDY

Industry Insurance

Source Info-Tech

Situation

The insurance sector has been undergoing major changes, and as a reaction, businesses within the sector have been embracing technology to provide innovative solutions.

The head of EA in a major insurance provider (henceforth to be referred to as “INSPRO01”) was given the mandate to ensure that solutions are architected right the first time to maximize reuse and reduce technology debt. The EA group was at a critical point – to demonstrate business value or become irrelevant.

Complication

The project management office had been accountable for solution architecture and had placed emphasis on short-term project cost savings at the expense of long term durability.

There was a lack of awareness of the Enterprise Architecture group within INSPRO01, and people misunderstood the roles and responsibilities of the EA team.

Result

Info-Tech helped define the responsibilities of the EA team and clarify the differences between the role of a Solution Architect vs. Enterprise Architect.

The EA team was able to make the case for change in the project management practices to ensure architectures are reviewed and approved prior to implementation.

As a result, INSPRO01 saw substantial increases in reuse opportunities and thereby derived more value from its technology investments.

Success factors for EA governance

The success of any EA governance initiative revolves around adopting best practices, setting up repeatable processes, and establishing appropriate controls.

1. Develop best practices for managing architecture policies, procedures, roles, skills, and organizational structures.
2. Establish organizational responsibilities and structures to support the architecture governance processes.
3. Management of criteria for the control of the architecture governance processes, dispensations, compliance assessments, and SLAs.

Info-Tech’s approach to EA governance

Our best-practice approach is grounded in TOGAF and enhanced by the insights and guidance from our analysts, industry experts, and our clients.

Value-focused. Focus EA governance on helping the organization achieve business benefits. Promote EA’s contribution in realizing business value.

Right-sized. Insert EA governance into existing process checkpoints rather than creating new ones. Clearly define EA governance inclusion criteria for projects.

Measured. Define metrics to measure EA’s performance, and integrate EA governance with other governance processes such as project governance. Also clearly define the EA governing bodies’ composition, domain, inputs, and outputs.

Balanced. Adopt architecture principles that strikes the right balance between business and technology.

Info-Tech’s EA governance framework

Info-Tech’s architectural governance framework provides a value-focused, right-sized approach with a strong emphasis on process standardization, repeatability, and sustainability.

1. Current state of EA governance
2. EA fundamentals
3. Engagement model
4. EA governing bodies
5. EA policy
6. Architectural standards
7. Communication Plan

Use Info-Tech’s templates to complete this project

1. Current state of EA governance
   • EA Capability - Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool
   • EA Governance Assessment Tool
2. EA fundamentals
   • EA Vision and Mission Template
   • EA Goals and Measures Template
   • EA Principles Template
3. Engagement model
   • EA Engagement Model Template
4. EA governing bodies
   • Architecture Board Charter Template
   • Architecture Review Process Template
5. EA policy
   • EA Policy Template
   • Architecture Assessment Checklist Template
   • Compliance Waiver Process Template
   • Compliance Waiver Form Template
6. Architectural standards
   • Architecture Standards Update Process Template
7. Communication Plan
   • EA Governance Communication Plan Template
   • EA Governance Framework Template

As you move through the project, capture your progress with a summary in the EA Governance Framework Template.

Download the EA Governance Framework Template document for use throughout this project.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

Guided Implementation

“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

Workshop

“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

Consulting

“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

EA governance framework – phase-by-phase outline (1/2)

EA governance framework – phase-by-phase outline (2/2)

Workshop overview

Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.

Phase 1

Current State of EA Governance

Create a Right-Sized Enterprise Architecture Governance Framework

Current State of EA Governance

1. Current State of EA Governance
2. EA Fundamentals
3. Engagement Model
4. EA Governing Bodies
5. EA Policy
6. Architectural Standards
7. Communication Plan

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

• Determine organizational complexity
• Conduct an assessment of the EA governance components
• Identify and prioritize gaps

This step involves the following participants:

• CIO
• IT Leaders
• Business Leaders
• Head of Enterprise Architecture
• Enterprise Architects
• Domain Architects
• Solution Architects

Outcomes of this step

• Prioritized list of gaps

Info-Tech Insight

Correlation is not causation – an apparent problem might be a symptom rather than a cause. Assess the organization’s current EA governance to discover the root cause and go beyond the symptoms.

Phase 1 guided implementation outline

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Guided Implementation 1: Current State of EA Governance

Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks

Step 1.1: Determine organizational complexity

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

• Discuss how to use Info-Tech’s EA Capability – Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool.
• Discuss how to complete the inputs on the EA Governance Assessment Tool.

Then complete these activities…

• Conduct an assessment of your organization to determine its complexity.
• Assess the state of EA governance within your organization.

With these tools & templates:

• EA Capability – Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool
• EA Governance Assessment Tool

Step 1.2: Assess current state of EA governance

Start with an analyst kick-off call:

• Review the output of the EA governance assessment and gather feedback on your goals for the EA practice.

Then complete these activities…

• Discuss whether you are ready to proceed with the project.
• Review the list of tasks and plan your next steps.

With these tools & templates:

• EA Governance Assessment Tool