Segment Architecture Strategy
Step Description and PurposeThis process step provides guidance for architects to define the segment scope and strategic intent, which includes the performance architecture through which achievement of strategic improvement opportunities will be measured. Since segments may be extremely broad from a function, process, product, service, and organizational impact standpoint, it is imperative that a clear understanding of the focus for the segment is defined up front. In order to define the segment's scope and strategic intent, the architect can use this process step to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relevant segment goals and desired outcomes, major strategic improvement opportunities, performance gaps, business mandates and drivers, and key common / mission services delivered to meet principal stakeholders' needs.
This process step synthesizes these factors toward establishing the context and scope that drive the remaining steps of this methodology. The gathering and analysis of stakeholder needs and business drivers contributes to identifying strategic improvement opportunities. There may be numerous business needs and strategic improvement opportunities identified in this process step and it is important that these opportunities be prioritized to a manageable number so that "analysis paralysis" does not occur in subsequent steps.
Analysis of the current business state from a strategic improvement perspective, through techniques such as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis, provides the foundation for defining the strategic intent of the segment. The strategic intent describes the target state vision and establishes the segment performance goals.
The segment performance architecture includes the goals, key performance indicators, measures, and metrics. The performance architecture may be based on the Performance Accountability Report (PAR) and Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) report(s) for programs within the scope of the segment. An example of segment performance metrics are the consolidation, standardization and optimization metrics that are derived from the IT Infrastructure Line of Business. The segment performance architecture is used to measure overall success achieved from implementing the segment transition plan in an effort to reach the target state. By examining the cause and effect of implementing forthcoming segment recommendations (e.g., enhancing new services, retiring redundant solutions), one can maintain a clear line of sight as described in the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Performance Reference Model (PRM).
In the subsequent steps in this methodology, the architect will deliver recommendations that are aligned directly with the segment scope and strategic intent defined in this process step. In addition, the subsequent steps of the methodology will feed back to this process step and provide further refinement of and updates to the segment's scope and strategic intent.
Note: While performing this process step, the project plan must be updated to account for the size and complexity of the segment, as defined in this process step.
Key Decisions:
* Based on the high-level problem statement, what are the strategic improvement opportunities and gaps?
* What are the major common / mission services associated with the strategic improvement opportunities?
* Who are the segment stakeholders and how do they relate to the strategic improvement opportunities?
* What is the scope of the segment architecture being developed?
* What are the current segment investments, systems, and resources?
Note: If this question can be answered with existing information, it may be answered during this process step. However, if there is no definitive answer to this question after this process step, it may be answered in the subsequent steps.
* What are the deficiencies or the inhibitors to success within the segment?
* What is the target state vision for the segment?
* What is the performance architecture for achieving the target state vision?
* What are the important security and privacy considerations for the segment?
Note that suggested analytical techniques are included for activities within the methodology to better define what is core for a complete segment architecture in the form of descriptive (not prescriptive) guidance on how to accomplish the analysis. The suggested analytical techniques provide guidance as to what outputs are core for defining a complete segment architecture.
Step 2 in the Federal Segment Architecture Method ^ TOP
Segment architecture to close business perfroamnce gap due to change
1. IntroductionSegment Architecture is an architecture planing effort based to close business performance gap. Segment Architecture has become the EA trend to provide practical EA approach. The first generation EA initiate Segment Architecture to divide and conquer the complicate enterprise architecture. EA as the Enterprise Architecture blueprint has been a overwhelming challenge, It require significant investment of resources and cost to design the Enterprise Architecture blueprint but only generate marginal results. To improve the practicality, the EA community has turn to a Segment Architecture approach for a practical EA approach. The Organic EA initiate segment architecture to close business performance gap in addition to the purpose of divide and conquer.
After the initial EA effort, Segment Architecture take the role to deliver the value of EA to the enterprise incrementally and continuously based on business need and close the business performance gaps.
Segment Architecture is a subset of Enterprise Architecture
It is a subset of enterprise architecture which elaborate the notional target enterprise architecture based on business need.
Segment Architecture is not the solution architecture Segment Architecture, as a part of enterprise architecture, is the effort to establish segment wide common services and building blocks. It is different to the application architecture to support specific business need.
Segment Architecture is executable Segment architecture is executable enterprise architecture in compare to the notional target architecture which is not executable. In an executable enterprise, the enterprise architect design the target segment architecture, conduct architecture gap analysis, prepare transition plan and initiate projects to modernize the enterprise segment.
The segment architecture section
elaborate the approach to implement segment architecture.
LEA define segment differently from the US FSAM.
In LEA approach,to embrace chage, a segment is defined from business community aspect as the area of poor business performance in the Enterprise rather than from the engineering comunity aspect of devide and conquer.
Under the first generation EA apporoach, where EA is a enterprise wide solution architecture, EA is effort to design target architecture as the enterprise blue print in a command and control approach. Segmet Architecture is a divide and conquer approach.
In EA, we need plan the target architecture as a whole, but make transition by the tactic of divide and conquer using segment approach. Target architecture is much more like overall planning similar to a city plan, it is not realistic to build the city in a great leap. It is also unrealistic for any enterprise to make transition in a whole. The risk of segment architecture is it may create stovepipe system and run into the problem of architecture segregation. It is a architecture challenge of how to keep it divided and yet keep it together similar to the “free body analysis” in structure engineering. This article describs the Segment architecture from the aspect of :
. Why segment architecture ?
. What is segment architecture ?
. The context of segment architecture
. The challenge of segment architecture.
. The types of segment architecture.
2. Why Segment Architecture
An enterprise subject to incremental and continuouse change based on business need. It is not a large scale system design like an aircraf carrier which do not provide value until it is completly built. Segment Architecture deliver the valuse of enterise architecture continuously based on busness need.
• To close enterprise business performance gaps.
• Divide and concur
• Incremental and continuous architecture effort.
• Architecture on demand to business need rather then by architecture idology.
2.1 Developed locally by segment owner
The segment owner has primary responsibility for the development and implementation of segment architecture. Business areas are responsible for the development of
segment architecture for core mission areas while the OCIO, a support office or PMO is responsible for development of segment architecture for common business services and enterprise services.
2.2 Establish segment common services
Segment architecture is not developed and implemented independently of other segment types. Development and implementation of segment architecture for a core mission area incorporates approved segment architecture for appropriate business
services and enterprise services. Similarly, segment architecture for an enterprise service reflects business and information requirements defined by relevant core mission areas and business services.
3. What is Segment Architecture
Segment Architecture is a more detail enterprise architecture effort for a segment of the enterprise. It is initiated to close enterprise business performance gaps identified in the enterprise strategic plan which is a continuous effort. Segment Architecture elaborate the high level enterprise target architecture to conduct further enterprise architecture analysis in the layer of business, data, application and infrastructure.
1. WHAT IS SEGMENT ARCHITECTURE
This section describe what is segment architecture from the aspect of segment architecture Context, driver, the scope, the depth, the agility and risk.
1.1 THE CONTEXT OF SEGMENT ARCHITECTURE
Under the umbrella of enterprise architecture, the
Segment Architecture define its scope based on business performance gap and plan architecture in compliance with enterprise standards to enable agility and simplicity. It is an architecture planning effort to support investment strategy as shown in the flowing figure.
1.2 THE SEGMENT ARCHITECTURE DRIVER
In the US Federal Segment Architecture method, architecture, segment Architecture is a divide and conquer approach based on engineering judgment to accomplish the predefined enterprise target architecture. The segment architecture is driven by architecture judgment rather than business need. It is a case of confusing the mean to the end, Enterprise architecture is not only about architecture design, more importantly it is about business need. In fact, architecture is only a mean for the end of business need. An engineering judgment segment architecture only satisfy the architecture community but do not really address the business need for a practical Enterprise Architecture. Enterprise is a living thing, the static target architecture become obsolete before the ink dry, a divide and conquer approach on a obsolete target blueprint is only an architecture manipulation without practical value for business need.
In organic EA, Business drive the segment architecture rather than architecture judgment. The Segment Architecture adapt change by adjust architecture planning direction in a flexible and agile manner to close the business performance gap. The driver of segment architecture is based on business need for practical purpose rather than for the architects to achieve architecture excellence. Under this concept, segment architecture is tightly coupled with business performance goal, performance measurement and performance gap analysis which is considered as performance architecture. Under the engineering centric segment architecture, the enterprise architects only loosely couple with business performance measurement, most of engineering trained Enterprise architects can not associate EA with performance measurement and do not consider performance as part of their business.
The Enterprise Architecture is a high level architecture effort for holistic analysis. It include the high level business architecture and Notional target architecture. The notional architecture is not detail to support Enterprise transition plan. It change gradually as the master plan.
Segment architecture is initiated to closed business performance gap based on performance measurement for the purpose of balancing all enterprise function and technologies. The segment architecture is the detail architecture design to support transition plan.
Solution architecture is the system architecture based on the transition plan in the segment architecture. It is the mechanism to modernize the Enterprise. The solution architecture address the rapid change.
FEA Practice Guidance describes the relationship between EA and Solutions Architecture as “Solution architecture is commonly related to segment architecture and enterprise architecture through definitions and constraints. For example, segment architecture provides definitions of data or service interfaces used within a core mission area or service, which are accessed by individual solutions. Equally, a solution may be constrained to specific technologies and standards that are defined at the enterprise level.”
1.5 SEGMENT ARCHITECTURE AGILITY
Segment Architecture to adapt change in time of need, it leverage on agility architecture to enable agility. Agility architecture is the horizontal architecture to establish the common building blocks and consolidated infrastructure. The segment architecture and solution architecture enable agility by complying to enterprise standards to build upon the common building block and infrastructure as shown in the following figure. Segment architecture also contribute to maturity of the agility architecture.
1.6. THE RISK OF SEGMENT ARCHITECTURE
Segment architecture alone run the risk of creating stovepipe system to defeat the purpose of EA. An Organization must establish their Enterprise Architect before engaging the Segment Architecture practice. As Segment Architecture become popular EA practice, Some organization engage segment architecture without an Enterprise Architecture. It is easy to take something apart but the challenge is how to put it together.
Fortunately, in Organic EA, the Enterprise Architecture is a high level master plan rather than an Enterprise blueprint. It should not take more six month to an year to establish the high level Enterprise Architecture.
Segment architectures are not initiated independently rather it must align to the Enterprise Architecture which serve as the master plan.
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