Why Enterprise map?
The value of Enterprise Map:
. See the true whole
. To visualize the logical and invisible enterprise.
. Tangible Enterprise Architecture.
. Facilitate collaborative culture.
. Describe as is.
. The skeleton of enterprise knowledge management.
. Plan for the future.
http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/nucleus/images/button-link.gif
"Enterprise Architecture" is more than "Architecture", the difference is "Enterprise" and it supposed to be the main subject of EA. However, EA community tend to jump into their confortable area of "Architecture" and overlook the main subject of "Enterprise".
The definition of "Enterprise" remains fuzzy and ambiguous. Although there are many effort to define the enterprise with decriptive approach. The problem is that you can not architect what you can not see in the same token that you can not manage what you can see.
Enterprise map is effort to visualize the Enterprise. It is fundamental to Enterprise Architecture practice similar to geographical survey to Architects and Engineering. As the fundation of EA, the Enterprise map:
1. See the unseen enterprise.
2. See the true enterprise big picture.
3. Bring Enterprise Architects on the same page.
4. Faciliate Enterprise collaboration.
5. Plan to preseving Institutional knowledge.
6. Portal to institutional knowledge.
7. Conduct Enterprise master plan over Enterprise Map.
1. To See the unseen
Enterprise topology to see the unseen. It render the logical enterprise definition into visible and tangible presentation.
2. To see the true big picture
Enterprise topology to see the true enterprise big picture via collaboration and reconciliation.
3. Define the enterprise and bring every one to the same page.
4. Facilitate collaboration
Enterprise topology facilitate and articulate participation, collaboration and reconciliation.
5. Enterprise map as the plan and the portal to Enterprise Knowledge managment
6. Enterprise map to support enterprise master planning
The following paragraphes further ellaborate why Enterprise Map.
2. A TANGIBLE EA ARTIFACT
Enterprise Topology to see the unseen
Enterrise Topology enable an Explicit EA approach to overcome the reputation of "Stealth EA". It render the explict enterprise big picture for human comprehension and enable creativity via critical thinking. Most importantly, it faciliate the collaboration and reconciliation. Architecture is a creativity effort which is a human gift. However, EA have become a machine centric approach and it is known as the "Steal EA" beyond human comprehension. The risk of a machine centric EA approach is to join the same fate of "Come and go" as many other business improvement initiatives. Enterprise Topology , adopt the traditional geographical topography drawing approach, is designed to communicate the Enterprise big picture in an explicit rendition for human comprehension. Enterprise is large, logical and invisible. Although Enterprise leaders has the big picture in mind, they have a lot of difficulty to communicate the big picture with staff member who can only see the part they have touched. It serve as the bridge between business leader and staff members to close the gaps in Enterprise leadership efficiency.
2.0 ENTERPRISE TOPOLOGY IS EXPLICIT FOR HUMAN COMPREHENTION
Enterprise Topology , adopt the traditional geographical topography drawing approach, is designed to communicate the Enterprise big picture in an explicit rendition for human comprehension. Enterprise is large, logical and invisible. Although Enterprise leaders has the big picture in mind, they have a lot of difficulty to communicate the big picture with staff member who can only see the part they have touched. . Enterprise topology render the enterprise big picture for every one to comprehend and enable a uniform enterprise direction. It as the bridge between business leader and staff members to close the gaps in Enterprise leadership efficiency.
Adopt the wisdom of architecture drawings
An explicit graphic presentation does not only convey the picture in mind to the others, is also harden the picture in mind within the individual. Frequently, an ideal is only an ideal until you can put the ideal down explicitly. Many of us may have the experience on the gap between the picture in mind and an explicit picture. The creative architects have many ideals and picture in mind similar to many stars in the sky, but unable to grab some thing solid to an explicit picture. Even the architecture themselves get surprised on the gap between the picture in mind and an explication. A ideal is not solid until it become explicit
2.1 Mapping instead of writing about Enterprise
A picture is worth a thousand words is a popular saying to present information in picture rather than writing. It refers to the idea that complex stories can be described with just a single still image, or that an image may be more influential than a substantial amount of text. It also aptly characterizes the goals of visualization where large amounts of data must be absorbed quickly. Instead of writing volumes of document, EA map renders the Enterprise in a few pages of drawing.
In traditional city planning and architecture practice, the architects have figure out long time ago that they need to communicate with stakeholders with architecture drawings instead of writing in large volume of documents. It will be very difficult to comprehend home’s architecture design if the architects deliver the architecture design by writing large volume of large documents. However, EA community have not quite embrace the ideal of “A picture is worth “ a thousand words. EA products are frequently delivered in large volume of documents which is only good as shelfware for display purpose. EA has become a technical writing effort rather than and architecture practice. EA professional are "Profound", on one hand they think in many dimensions to be profound, yet they convey their work in the very basic form by writing about the Enterprise and the Architecture. The two sides do not match.
2.2 The one page concept
The one page concept Architecture drawing use large drawing size such as the ARCH size D (36” X 24”) to contain significant and meaningful information in one place via graphic presentation. By putting significant information in one place in a meaningful presentation can result the effect of the sum is much grater than the parts. Pieces of information many not says a lot, but putting it together, the one page drawing says more than volumes of documentation. The standard architecture drawing page is established based on human factor. It is large enough to contain signification information but not too large for human comprehension.
In A Strategy to Avoid Information Overload by Richards, C.E. (1987). Roles: Central Issues in Anthropology, 7(1), 9-12, indicate that
The information overload bibliography from Humboldt state university library
"The research makes it clear that (a) the human brain is limited in its ability to process data, (b) the limitation is not susceptible to training, and (c) it is approximately the same for all humans.
EA in large volume Architecture drawing Communication to people subject to the nature human limitation in comprehending information. It is very different to device and device communication where the communication technology evolved rapidly. In the design of EA communication to stakeholders, It is important to understand human limitation in comprehending overwhelming information. “
The Magical number of seven by Miller, G.A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-97. (Full text of this article at The Magical Number Seven.)
“Human beings have severe limitations on the amount of information they are able to receive, process, and remember. Their "span of immediate memory" or "channel capacity" is limited to approximately 7--plus or minus two-- items. Through recoding items so that information to be remembered is placed in larger "chunks," it is possible to expand this channel capacity somewhat.”
2.3 The use of photo picture
Enterprise Topology use photo pictrue to relate people and the Enterprise. ^ TOP