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By saying the world change constantly does not mean it is futile to plan ahead. In the changing world, not every thing change rapidly, there are some thing with mild change such as the primitives or every some thing do not change such as the principle. The strategy to adapt change is to enable agility by leveraging on the common primitives that relatively static. LEA distinguish the agility architecture in the horizontal direction.

LEA serves as a bridge between business and engineering community to overcome the challenge of buy-in from the stake holders. It adopt a human centric EA approach to deliver tangible EA architecture drawing and use communication professional as the EA liaison in the business community. As the bridge, LEA can further integrate the power of left/right brain for business community to achieve business excellence.

The significant of EA is more more than IT or business, it steps into the domain of holism which is very different from the traditional ontological world. Modern physic recognize the limitation of classic mechanic and the holistic physics come to fill the gaps. In the twentieth century, under the evolution of quantum mechanic, the classic physic has undergone major supplementation and transformation. In the same token, architects have encountered the limitation of traditional architecture principle to architect an organic system. EA is a modern architecture concept to architecture organic system from holistic aspect. It is an to see the whole and find the parts rather than work on the parts to assemble the whole.

Light EA put different architecture effort into perspective. To overcome the redundant effort of silo system phenomenon and adapt the constant changing enterprise, the industry have come up with the concept of enterprise architecture, reference architecture, services oriented architecture, segment architecture and solution architecture. In the industry, every one only touch a part of the architecture approach and tend to insist on their righteousness from the parts they have touched as we have experienced in many architecture discussion as noted in the collection of EA definition. The only way to overcome the challenge of silo system, is to understand the value of each architecture effort and put them into perspective.



enterprise architecture]]> 0. Overview http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=712 Fri, 2 Apr 2010 08:46:06 -0600 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=707 Back Ground


5.THE INTERNATIONAL Governance and compliance framework

COBIT's success as an increasingly internationally accepted set of guidance materials for IT governance has resulted in the creation of a growing family of publications and products designed to assist in the implementation of effective IT governance throughout an enterprise.


The Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) is a set of best practices (framework) for information technology (IT) management created by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) in 1996. COBIT provides managers, auditors, and IT users with a set of generally accepted measures, indicators, processes and best practices to assist them in maximizing the benefits derived through the use of information technology and developing appropriate IT governance and control in a company.

cobit




]]> 7. EA and COBIT http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=707 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:40:40 -0700 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=704 Adaptive Enterprise Architecture Enterprise Architecture with the capability to adapt change. It recognize the world change constantly rather than static.

Alignment Architecture: Alignment Architecture is the effort to align technology to business need, it is a matter of how to use the technology rather than how to develop the application.

Agility Architecture : Agility architecture is the effort to keep architecture solution agile and simple via reuse the common building blocks and leverage on common infrastructure.

Architecture : The effort to orderly arrange the parts. It is not only for technology but also for business management.


Ba-GuaIn ancient Chinese wisdom, Ba-Gua, evolved form Yin-Yang is considered as the code of change. The trigrams have correspondences in astronomy, astrology, geography, geomancy, anatomy, the family, and elsewhere in the Chinese culture.

Architecture drawing

Book of change : A 3000 thousand year old ancient Chinese wisdom book dedicate to study the law of change based on the concept of Yin-Yan and Ba-Gua.

Baseline Standards Diagram (BSD) : The Baseline standard diagram is the agility architecture artifact. It is composed based on the agility attributes of pattern, standards and consolidation. The purpose is to convey EA standards in a explicit and comprehensive approach. It is difficult to comply with standards without knowing what it is.

Coherent : marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts; "a coherent argument". HACEA align technology to business in a coherent approach.


Cloud Computing : Cloud computing is a holistic architecture concept to integrate the technology evolution in Virtualization, Service Oriented Architecture, Software Application as a Service, and Data resource as a service. Technology along such as Virtualization, SOA, and SaaS without holistic integration do not constitute cloud computing.

Enterprise Architecture : Enterprise Architecture is a holistic architecture approach to overcome the challenge of stovepipe system. It is an architecture plan rather than a blueprint.

Enterprise Topology : Enterprise Topology render the logical Enterprise into tangible map to see the true big picture of the enterprise.


EA Framework : A tool to keep holistic analysis simple

Game Theory : is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences, most notably in economics, as well as in biology, engineering, political science, international relations, computer science, and philosophy. Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behavior in strategic situations, in which an individual's success in making choices depends on the choices of others.

Left Brain/Right Brain


Notional Target Architecture: A holistic and high level technology alignment architecture serve as the mater plan on how business leverage on technology evolution.

High level Business Architecture: The holistic and high level business architecture for the enterprise instead of the detail business process modelling.

Holistic : emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole. HACEA is the effort to see the whole and empahsizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole.

Human Centric


IT service: The IT support to the customer

IT service management : The management of IT operation.

Jigsaw puzzle

Nash Equilibrium

Organic EA EA to recognize enterprise is organic.

Reference Model : Reference model enable enterprise to learn the right experience of the other by referencing to the right architecture parts.

Segment Architecture: The detail architecture effort to close business performance gaps, planning the transition and deliver modernization.

Story of Stone Soup

Static EA : Enterprise Architecture to design the enterprise blueprint as a enterprise wide solution architecture.

Story of blind man and the elephant


Transition planning:

Tao: The concept of Tao differs from Western ontology, however; it is an active and holistic conception of the world, rather than one that focuses on a hierarchy of being.

Wu-Xing : The system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. It was employed as a device in many fields of early Chinese thought, including seemingly disparate fields such as geomancy or Feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, music, military strategy and martial arts.

Whole : Seven blind mice conclude that "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole". The challenge is what is the true whole.

Yin-Yang : In Chinese phylosophy, Yin-Yang is considered as the law of change.

Zero Sum

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.
]]> Glossary http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=704 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:19:51 -0700 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=699 The Bottleneck of EA evolution

Enterprise Architecture has not evolved as expected. Scott Ambler, the chief methodologist for Agile and Lean for IBM Rational, in Enterprise Architecture: Reality over Rhetoric, says:

"For several decades we've heard that effective enterprise architecture programs are a critical success factor for medium-to-large size IT organizations. I have been a promoter of enterprise architecture, both after all these years it seems that the reality of enterprise architecture is nowhere close to fulfilling some of the rhetoric around it. "

The January 2010 State of the IT Union Survey.


In 2008, Ian Rowland says in Why Isn’t Enterprise Architecture In The Big Time?

"Let’s confess, then, what we really know in our heart of hearts … Enterprise Architecture is a discipline that hasn’t really made it to the big time. If that’s the case, what are the causes? Is EA a rocket that hasn’t got off the launch pad, or a firework that has fizzled? "

The bottleneck of EA evolution is due to the confusing of EA and Enterprise wide solution architecture. The first generation EA, under the shadow of solution architecture, is an effort to architect the enterprise blueprint similar to which is design an aircraft carrier or a jumble jet in a command and control approach.

EA under the shadow of solution architecture

The first generation EA has evolved on the shadow of solution architecture, it runs within the EA model, EA methods and EA disciplines. Many EA professional are solution architects wearing a EA skin. The only way to overcome the bottle neck of EA is to come out the shadow of solution architecture to consider EA as an emerging paradigm rather than an enterprise scale solution architecture design.

EA model under the shadow of solution architecture. The popular NIST EA model looks like a solution architecture and sounds like an solution architecture therefore it is nothing new but an enterprise wide solution architecture.

nist EA model

Figure 1. NIST EA Model

The EA experts under the shadow of solution architecture. EA was initiated to overcome the challenge of stovepipe, most of EA proponents are technology oriented with limited participation from business community. Many EA professional are solution architecture oriented with the ambition to design an enterprise wide solution architecture. Instead of considering EA as an emerging paradigm, they suggest to practice EA as an enterprise wide solution architecture to design the enterprise blueprint for construction.

EA method, tools and training under the shadow of solution architecture Established EA method, training and certification such as the Enterprise Architecture Planning approach (EAP) and the open group architecture framework (TOGAF) are heavy influenced under the shadow of solution architecture. The training and certificate under these approach further lead to EA as an enterprise wide solution architecture. Some EA tool and repository simple rename their solution architecture tool to wear an EA skin.

The enterprise wide solution architecture approach has resulted The bottleneck :
• Requires significant investment on resource and time.
• Create a larger stovepipe
• It have no value until the delivery.
• EA only for large organization
• The risk of "paralysis by analysis"
• EA blueprint become obsolete before the ink dry due to the constant changing world.
• Lack of Buy-in from the stakeholder
• For the engineering community.
• Fail to lea industry trend in SOA, virtualization and cloud computing.

The Light Enterprise Architecture suggest a Light and Right Enterprise Architecture approach. It suggest a wide and thin Enterprise architecture to serve as the master plan for the propose to distinguish EA from an enterprise wide solution and overcome the challenge of buy-in from stakeholders. The purpose of LEA is to :


. LEA to enable simple, agile servie management.
. Distinguish EA from enterprise wide solution architecture.
. Overcome the significant investment on resource and time.
. Eliminate "paralysis by analysis"
. Buy-in from the stakeholder
. Adapt change
. EA as an emerging paradigm.

5. THE VALUE

. Light EA is manageble Light EA is manageble to avoid the paralisys by analysis. Instead of an enterprise wide solution architecture to boil the ocean, It sugest high level business architure, alignment architecture and look for the commonaly.

. Light EA to adapt constant changing world. Adapting change is not an option, it is the reality that world chage constantly with the ticking time. However, it is also a human nature that people resist change. The Orgnic EA approach eable a simple and agile approach to adapt chante. The first generation EA is static to design the enterprise blueprint similar to a buidling architecture. Under the static EA approach, the architecture effort is the architecture blueprint inside the ivory tower and segment architecture is a divide and conquer engineering practice.

. Light EA is Human centric The EA community have the expectation to perform Enterprise Architectrue in a mechanica and automation approch. However, Architecrue is a inovative process, it must be human centric. It is a tangible EA practice for human touch by adopt the traditional architecture drawing approach to render the logical EA architecture on a tangible drawing.

. Light EA approach articulate collaboration and reconciliation and total participation Collation and reconciliation is easy to say but difficult to do. Light EA learns from the falk story of stone sout to articulate collaboration and reconciliation.

. Light EA serve as the bridge between business and engineering to integrate the power of left/right brain. The right brain businass community tend to see the whole without knowing the parts. The right brain community tend to see the part without knowing the whole. EA serve as the bridge to enable the business community to see the parts and engineering communite to see the whole.

. Light EA suggest to achieve business excellence via architecture method The Oragnic architecture approach does not only applies to information technology but also many other business managment practice such as human resources, financing, business process reengineering and risk managment.

. Light EA for small and large organization The Lignt EA approach is not only or large organication but also very important for small organization. Small organization do not have the resources and time to reinvent wheel. The best way is to learn experiences of the others via the light Enterprsie Architecure approach.
]]> 3. Why LEA? http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=699 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:51:03 -0700 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=697
Light EA put different architecture into perspective. For the purpose to facilitate business in taking advantage of technology evolution, the industry have developed many different architecture approach which range from solution architecture, enterprise architecture, reference architecture, service oriented architecture and segment architecture. Although, all the different architecture approach tend to address the same goal for the business community to take advantage of technology evolution in an agile and simple manner. However, each architecture approach have embraced their own approach. Not to mention the difference between different architecture approach, Even under the name of EA, there are many different EA definition as show in the collection of Enterprise Architecture Definition. . The cloud of different architecture approach have also contributed significant architecture myth such as: enterprise architecture as a large scale solution approach; SOA to replace EA; Segment Architecture without Enterprise master plan.

Holistic Inspiration for Organic System

Enterprise is organic and the are significant limitation to architecture an organic Enterprise under the classical ontological approach. enterprise is a complex adaptive system that encompasses more than one theoretical framework and is highly interdisciplinary. In the twentieth century, under the evolution of quantum mechanic, the classic physic has undergone major supplementation and transformation. Field were added to particle model, and particle and fields have become aspects of an perplexing physical reality. The straightforward mechanical causality that was part of the earlier atomic model was replaced by indeterminacy and statistical causality in quantum theory. Modern physic is evolving toward or rediscovering a holistic physic as described in the flowing research;

. Val Dusek, "The Holistic Inspiration of Physics: The Underground History of Electromagnetic Theory" The work is largely on the research of specializes scholars in Chinese, Renaissance and German studies, and the history of early modern science. The reader can get a struck by fact that the Chinese, hermetic, and Romantic alternative sciences all made important contribution to the prehistory of field theory, and the common features of these approaches contributed to an important part of contemporary physics.

. Nick Herbert, "Holistic Physics or an introduction to quantum tantra" Will the bizarre quantum world forever exist as the private preserve of mathematicians and experimental physicists, or might ordinary people someday gain access to its fabled realms? Recent research into quantum theory's philosophical dimensions suggests that fundamental quantum research may someday return to a human scale and allow every human being, no matter what their academic credentials, to take part in the quantum adventure, joining with physicists and mathematicians in an egalitarian adventure I call holistic physics. Holistic physics could open up a third front of quantum research on the scale of ordinary experience with inexpensive equipment, which would complement conventional quantum research on the cosmological and elementary particle scales, a third front made possible by the very reality problem that so distressed Einstein and other early quantum physicists.


. William day, "The New Physic". The author shows that there is another physics that is more appropriate than dynamics for describing the nature of matter and the composition of the universe. He contends that there is a three-stage hierarchy: particles, atoms, gravitational systems, all patterned on motion. A model is given for particles based on the principles of the new physics that is considerably simpler and more plausible than the quarks model.

Definition

Light Enterprise Architecture enable business community to take advantage of technology evolution. It serve both business and engineering community with human centric, light and holistic approach to overcome the challenge of silos system, adapt change and support business strategic direction. LEA see the enterprise big picture with enterprise topology; Decomposition the enterprise with business architecture; Align technology to business need with notional target architecture; Enable agility with horizontal architecture; Close business performance gap to adapt change with segment architecture.

It include the enterprise architecture to see the whole; Top down Alignment architecture to facilitate business community in taking advantage to modern solution; Cross cutting Agility architecture to enable agility; Iterative Coherent Architecture to deliver the right architecture for the right people on the right place at the right time.

1. The Light EA Model
On top of the model, LEA propose the Coherent Architecture to deliver the right architecture to the right people on the right place at the right time. It is a continuous effort to adapt change via initiate segment architecture to close business performance gaps. The Coherent EA is based on the foundation of a holistic business architecture with the support of the vertical alignment architecture and the horizontal agility architecture.

The horizontal architecture approach enable agility via learning experience of others and keeping it simple via encapsulate complexity. Reference model to learn the right experience of others, The horizontal architecture is not only the engineering of reuse and consolidation but also the political process to establish and enforce standards.

Enterprise Architecture is not all about information technology.The same horizontal architecture approach also applicable to business process, human resources, and security. An organization ride on business processes, human resources, information technology and security to reach their business mission. LEA suggest to establish Enterprise agility not only on information technology but also business process, human resources and security.

LEA adapt change via holistic alignment architecture, agility architecture and Coherent architecture as shown in the following figure. It adopt the Yin-Yang symbol from the The book of changes to represent the constant changing world.

liteea model

2. To see the Enterprise

In Enterprise Architecture, one must be able to see the enterprise so that they can improve on how to take advantage of technology evolution. It is an effort to see the unseen big picture because Enterprise is logical and invisible. In the metaphor of blind man and elephant, collaboration and reconciliation is the only way to see the unseen elephant.

. Stovepipe systems are created become of enterprise is invisible.

. The architecture community can not measure the invisible parts not mention to improve the parts.

. It is difficult for business community to plan the future without enterprise visibility.




2.1 Business Architecture to analyz the enterprise structure



3. Address the complex system with vertical, horizontal and circular approach

Enterprsie is organic, It is a complex adaptive system as defined in the cynefin framework. The Examples of complex adaptive systems include the stock market, the ecosystem, manufacturing businesses and any group-based cultural/social endeavors, such as political parties or communities. A complex adaptive system encompasses more than one theoretical framework and is highly interdisciplinary. Light Enterprise Architecture helps organizations formulate educated business strategies, make sound investments, and deliver the right solutions -- to the right people, at the right times, and to the right places. Light EA adress the complex system with the vertical Alignment architecture, the horizontal Agility architecture and the circular Coherent Architecture as shown in the following figure.

organic EA shape

Alignment Architecture:, which is better known as The notional target architecture, align information solution to business need in a top down approach. It is the vertical Alignment Architecture.

Agility Architecture , which beater known as the The services oriented architecture looks for the commonality, establish standards and established common services in a cross cutting (horizontal) approach, It is the horizontal Agility architecture.

The Coherent Architecture, which is better know as segment architecture , is initiated to closed business performance gaps in time of need. It is coherence architecture to enable business prosperity coherently. It is the circular coherent architecture.


LEA Framework put different architecture approach into perspective

Instead of embrace a specific architecture approach to facilitate the business on taking advantage of technology evolution, LEA value the variety of architecture approach and establish a framework to put all the different architecture approach in perspective.
Light Enterprise Architecture attempts to elevate EA out of the shadow of solution architecture by treating the enterprise as a complex adaptive system. It embraces change via Enterprise business architecture, enables the business community to take advantage of technology advancements via vertical alignment architecture, and establishes enterprise primitives via horizontal agility architecture.

on the based that

. All the different architecture approach have the same goal to take advantage of technology evolution.

.All the architecture methods are the only the means to achieve the goal.

. the truth is none of the individual approach can achieve the goal alone.

The following holistic framework describe the subject area of Light Enterprise Architecture.

lea holistic

On the based of holistic framework, the following figure put the different architecture parts into perspective and illustrate how different architecture approach can work together holistically.

LEA put different architecture approach into perspective

lea perspective

6. Measure business performance gap via Coherence analysis

In the mechanic paradigm, performance gap is measured with a static metric. However, in a organic paradigm, the performance measurement is not only against a metric but also about equilibrium. LEA adopt the Wu Xing model to measure the performance via equilibrium. For example:



7. Adapt change with Agile Segment Architecture

agile segment architecture

It suggest the initial EA for the purpose of holistic and operate EA via Operational EA to adapt the constant changing Enterprise.
After the initial EA, the major effort of EA is shift to Segment Architecture which is a sub-set of EA to address the dynamic change of business. For EA to be practical, the notional enterprise architecture is only elaborated in the area of business rather than design the entire enterprise in a big-bang approach base on the architects ideology. Segment Architecture is incremental and continuous. On contrary to the holistic and notional target enterprise architecture , segment architecture is executable which support gap analysis, transition plan and modernization.

initial EA


8.The Light EA Method

Following the definition, the structure, the model, one more thing to explain "what is Organic EA?" is the Road map to show the flow of Organic EA components. The bottom line is the methodology rather than theory and models. The following figure illustrate the Organic EA method by showing that Organic EA methodology include the planning phase, the holistic phase, the agility phase and coherent phase.

The planing phase include the activities of planning, organization, funding and governance structure and processes.

The holistic business architecture phase is an holistic phase to see the true whole via Enterprise topology, analyze business architecture and align the application, data, technologies and security under the umbrella of the whole.

The Alignment architecture phase is a vertical alignment for business to take advantage of technology evolution.

The agility phase is a horizontal architecture phase to look for commonality among the vertical architecture. It learn the right experiences of the others via reference models and reference architecture from the same line of business. Planing for reuse and consolidation via standardization and compliance to standards.

The Coherent phase is the organic part of EA. It is the effort to deliver the right architecture for stakeholder need in adapting change. It identify the business performance gaps, prepare strategic planning, identify the scope segment architecture to close the gaps, lay out transition plan and initiate projects to develop the solution.

Organic EA method




Planning phase :

1. Buy-in from senior management
2. Obtain EA management resources
3. Establish Management Structure
4. Establish EA infrastructure to leverage on automation.
5. Initiate EA management processes

Initial EA

1. Prepare the EA map to see the big picture and know the enterprise.
2. Facilitate EA collaboration.
3. Apply architecture principle to analyze Business Architecture.
4. Adopt basic EA standards, building blocks and common resources.
5. High level target solution architecture
6. Continue to evolve governance and compliance processes.
7. Deliver EA value to initiate EA culture.

EA operation is incremental and continuous

1. Continue to maintain EA standards
2. Annual IT strategic planning close performance gap.
3. Identify segment architecture to ellaborate enterprise target architecture and consolidate common resources.
4. Capital investment review
5. Initiate projects.
6. Project compliance review
7. Conduct EA self assessment
8. Continue to Improve governance and compliance processes
9. Make transition from stovepipe culture to EA culture.

4. Notional Time line

Organic EA is a continuous effort to adapt the constant changing world. The time line describe holistic enterprise business architecture and notional alignment architecture.

Organic EA timeline




]]> 2. What is Light EA? http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=697 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:28:29 -0700 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=680
Light EA is light The first generation EA requires significant time and effort to design the enterprise blueprint. The rigid architecture design become obsolete before ink dry because an enterprise is organic. Instead of architect a full blown enterprise blueprint, the Light EA suggest to plan high level and notional target alignment architecture, establish enterprise common services and initiate segment architecture based to close business performance gaps in time of business need.

LEA serves as a bridge between business and engineering community Traditional EA carry the reputation of "Stealth" where all the EA hard work stays stays in the repository. EA information is very difficult for business community to comprehend. It is not a surprise to EA without buy-in from stakeholders. The Light EA approach is a human centric approach to deliver tangible EA architecture drawing. As the bridge, LEA can further integrate the power of left/right brain for business community not only see the big picture but also pay attention to the detail.

Light EA adapt change via top down, cross cut and coherence architecture concept Enterprise is organic which requires multiple theory to architect. Light EA is composed not only a top down architecture approach but also recognize the horizontal architecture discipline. Under the traditional top down centric architecture approach, reuse and consolidation is frequently considered as a side products by looking for the opportunity to reuse. However, reuse and consolidation does not just happen, it is the result of engineering. LEA consider reuse and consolidation as an horizontal architecture approach which is different from the traditional top down architecture approach. In additional to top down and horizontal approach, LEA also suggest the coherence architecture to adapt change based on business need to close performance gap due to continuous change. The first generation EA architect the enterprise blueprint as if it is the mechanical design of an aircraft carrier. It requires significant resources and time, only large organization can afford it. However, they also discover that the expensive architecture blueprint become obsolete before the ink dry because Enterprise is organic. It does not serve well to describe an organic enterprise with an mechanical architecture design concept.

The Light EA approach put EA, SOA and Segment Architecture into perspective. For practical purpose, the architecture approach have logically evolved in the stages of EA blueprint, Service Oriented Architecture and Segment Architecture. instead of thinking EA is replaced by SOA or Segment Architecture, it is important to know that EA, SOA and Segment are closed related. In an expanded EA concept, The Light EA approach suggest EA is consist of the enterprise master plan to take advantage of the information technology evolution, the service oriented architecture to enable agility and the segment architecture to closed business performance gaps due to constant changing enterprise environment.

THE LEA overview

Enterprise Architecture a holistic architecture approach to overcome the challenge of stovepipe system. It emphasize the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts. LEA see the whole via a collaborative business architecture effort to define the enterprise. It is a paradigm shift from the traditional ontology culture in the study of hierarchical being. The holistic architecture does not only applies to IT but also for business, financial, human resources.

A business is an organic system rather than a mechanical system. It is futile to architect the enterprise in a mechanical design approach in the same way of designing a jumbo jet or an aircraft carrier. The organic enterprise change constantly to the business environment, the change of Enterprise Architecture is to embrace change. LEA suggest to adapt change with the principle of Holistic, Agile and Coherence. it enable the enterprise to adapt change in time of need via the top down alignment architecture, the cross cutting agility architecture and the circular coherence architecture as described in the following summary of LEA models and framework.

4. The Light EA overview

lea model and framework


The author take advantage of blog technology to develop the LEA book online science 2005. It is a working area to capture the on on going innovative and evolving EA concepts with the convince of online technology. It contains many raw concept without editing. The LEA book is organized in the following sections where each section is developed as an individual blog. The Overview section is a highlevel description of Light EA.

1. The LEA overview The LEA composed of the holistic business architecture, the top down alignment architecture, the cross cutting agility architecture and the iterative Coherence architecture.

2. 2. LEA fundamental

3. 3. LEA Planning


4. Enterprise Topology is a unique EA approach to see the true enterprise big picture, provide tangiable EA artifact and facilitate collaboration. "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole" []. The whole is the key to constitute EA as an emerging paradigm. Without seeing the true whole, It is difficult to distinguish EA from other architecture discipline. The current EA approach see the whole based on what they know without knowing what they do not know. Organic EA suggest to see the whole via collaboration and reconciliation from the stakeholders.

5. Business Architecture define the enterprise. EA can not be called EA without an enterprise definition. is not business process centric but also regard to business strategy, reorganization and office consolidation. Application development is business process centric to automate the business process. In EA, the Business Architecture must also take business strategy, process, business information, business organization, location and workload into account.

6. Alignment Architecture enable business to take advantage of technology evolution via aligning technology to business need. rather than how to development and application system. EA is not a enterprise scale application system design. It align application, data, security and technology to business need. Alignment architecture help business manager in taking advantage of technology evolution. It must be intuitive to the business managers. Enterprise architecture align automation solution from the high level of the whole, it is notional.

7. Agility Architecture enable agility via the engineering of reuse and consolidation on the principle to keep it simple. It is not only the result of engineering but also political process to earn buy-in from stakeholders.


is the effort to enable agility in adapting change by learning the right experiences of the others via reference model and reference architecture, reuse and consolidate common resources via reusable pattern and service oriented architecture. Recognizing reuse and consolidation as a horizontal architecture effort rather than a side kick of alignment architecture can clearly distinguish EA from application architecture. The horizontal architecture is not only the result of engineering but also the political process of standardization and compliance.

8. Coherent Architecture deliver the right architecture to the right people on the right place at the right time via performance measurement, strategic planning, segment architecture and solution architecture.Coherent architecture is the effort to deliver the right service to the right person on the right place at the right time. It is a continuous and organic effort to adapt the constant changing enterprise. It identify enterprise need via business performance gap analysis, IT strategic planning, segment architecture, transition plan and solution architecture. Under the context of coherent architecture, the scope of a segment architecture is defined based on business performance gap rather than a divide and conquer approach in engineering practice.



]]> 0. Overview http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=680 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:14:09 -0600 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=675 THE EFFORT

This book document the authors hands on experience and EA research during the past decade. The author has participated the evolution of Enterprise Architecture in Washington DC area since 1998. In the cradle of EA, He have observed many different direction of EA from the very IT centric EA approach to today's business centric EA approach. The book have collected many valuable EA research though comments and discussion via EA blog from EA professional around the world. This EA work is also very innovative to think outside the box of application development, it focus on the initial goal of EA to overcome the the challenge of stovepipe system and suggest practical Enterprise Architecture approach to achieve this goal. Hopefully, the readers can make transition from stovepipe culture to appreciate this work.

It is big challenge for the author to compile the hands on EA experience both in the federal government space and personal effort. The author have contributed significant effort in research and experiments in different direction from a light Enterprise Architecture, a Coherent Enterprise Architecture to an Organic Enterprise architecture. It is a great learning experience and each stage on these development represent a break through in EA thought. The author's cross discipline as a professional Civil engineer and computer specialist has been great assets in developing this method. The EA architecture drawing come from the traditional engineering background. Writing down the hands on experience into paper is another hurdle, It is more so when English is not the mother language. The author takes advantage of the blog technology to pull the many different thought together in one place. The work evolve continuous to record the different aspect of thinking. Feed backs from different place has been a great help to conceive innovative concept.

THE LIGHT EA BOOK STRUCTURE

structure chart illustrate "what is Organic EA?" with a hierarchical structure. The structure shows that under the umbrella of the whole, Organic EA is the effort of Buy-in from stakeholder, Business architecture, Alignment architecture, Agility architecture and Coherent architecture. This chart is also considered as the big picture of EA. In the EA industry, every one touched a part of EA and insist on their righteous to the subject of "What is EA?". The Organic EA recognize the value of different EA approach and orderly arrange the different parts of EA into a holistic EA approach. On the structure chat which serve as the map of EA, one can see the big elephant of EA with all parts in the right place

structure chart



LEA fundamental

LEA Planning


Enterprise Topology "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole" []. The whole is the key to constitute EA as an emerging paradigm. Without seeing the true whole, It is difficult to distinguish EA from other architecture discipline. The current EA approach see the whole based on what they know without knowing what they do not know. Organic EA suggest to see the whole via collaboration and reconciliation from the stakeholders.

Business Architecture is not business process centric but also regard to business strategy, reorganization and office consolidation. Application development is business process centric to automate the business process. In EA, the Business Architecture must also take business strategy, process, business information, business organization, location and workload into account.

Alignment Architecture is how business take advantage of technology evolution rather than how to development and application system. EA is not a enterprise scale application system design. It align application, data, security and technology to business need. Alignment architecture help business manager in taking advantage of technology evolution. It must be intuitive to the business managers. Enterprise architecture align automation solution from the high level of the whole, it is notional.

Agility Architecture is the effort to enable agility in adapting change by learning the right experiences of the others via reference model and reference architecture, reuse and consolidate common resources via reusable pattern and service oriented architecture. Recognizing reuse and consolidation as a horizontal architecture effort rather than a side kick of alignment architecture can clearly distinguish EA from application architecture. The horizontal architecture is not only the result of engineering but also the political process of standardization and compliance.

Coherent Architecture Coherent architecture is the effort to deliver the right service to the right person on the right place at the right time. It is a continuous and organic effort to adapt the constant changing enterprise. It identify enterprise need via business performance gap analysis, IT strategic planning, segment architecture, transition plan and solution architecture. Under the context of coherent architecture, the scope of a segment architecture is defined based on business performance gap rather than a divide and conquer approach in engineering practice.


]]> unknow http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=675 Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:40:38 -0600 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=625 The relation between Enterprise Architecture and Service management is analogy to the relation between Engine and Transmission. The Engine generate the power, the transmission deliver the service.

Enterprise Architecture enable an simple and agile service management as shown in the following figure. The OCIO Enterprise Architecture is the core for the entire organization to take advantage of technology evolution as shown in the following figure. It established to foundation of infrastructure to support the business operation and enable agile automation support in time for business need.


ITIL and EA







1.LEA to enable simple and agile service managment

LEA enable a holistic and agile foundation to support best service managment practice. The international community have gradually recognize the value of service managment practice represented ITIL V3 from the UK Office of Goverment Comerece (OGC). The challenge is how to enable an holistci, agile and flexiable service managment to implement this model. LEA is proposed to serve as the foundation to support service strategy, service design and service trasition to adapt change.

ITIL V3

ecio leverage on ITIL. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) also known as Infrastructure Management Service (IMS) is a set of concepts and policies for managing information technology (IT) infrastructure, development and operations.

ITIL gives a detailed description of a number of important IT practices with comprehensive checklists, tasks and procedures that any IT organization can tailor to its needs. ITIL is published in a series of books, each of which covers an IT management topic. The names ITIL and IT Infrastructure Library are registered trademarks of the United Kingdom's Office of Government Commerce (OGC).

The IT Infrastructure Library originated as a collection of books each covering a specific practice within IT Service Management. After the initial publication, the number of books quickly grew within ITIL v1 to over 30 volumes. In order to make ITIL more accessible (and affordable) to those wishing to explore it, one of the aims of ITIL v2 was to consolidate the publications into logical 'sets' that grouped related process guidelines into the different aspects of IT management, applications and services.

While the Service Management sets (Service Support and Service Delivery) are by far the most widely used, circulated and understood of ITIL publications, ITIL provides a more comprehensive set of practices as a whole. Proponents believe that using the broader library provides a comprehensive set of guidance to link the technical implementation, operations guidelines and requirements with the strategic management, operations management and financial management of a modern business.
Enterprise Architecture in Higher Education – a practical approach is a blog written by Leo de Sousa.



9. ITIL Small-Scale Implementation


Integrated EA governance processes

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT)

Univeristy of Kansas ITIL Process presentation

ITIL open guide

Munich Institute of IT service management process

ITIL v3, published in May 2007, comprises 5 key volumes:

1. Service Strategy
2. Service Design
3. Service Transition
4. Service Operation
5. Continual Service Improvement



Service Strategy
Service strategy is shown at the core of the ITIL v3.1 lifecycle but cannot exist in isolation to the other parts of the IT structure. It encompasses a framework to build best practice in developing a long term service strategy. It covers many topics including: general strategy, competition and market space, service provider types, service management as a strategic asset, organization design and development, key process activities, financial management, service portfolio management, demand management, and key roles and responsibilities of staff engaging in service strategy.


Service Design
The design of IT services conforming to best practice, and including design of architecture, processes, policies, documentation, and allowing for future business requirements. This also encompasses topics such as Service Design Package (SDP), Service catalog management, Service Level management, designing for capacity management, IT service continuity, Information Security, supplier management, and key roles and responsibilities for staff engaging in service design..


Service Transition
Service transition relates to the delivery of services required by the business into live\operational use, and often encompasses the "project" side of IT rather than "BAU" (Business As Usual). This area also covers topics such as managing changes to the "BAU" environment. Topics include Service Asset and Configuration Management, Transition Planning and Support, Release and deployment management, Change Management, Knowledge Management, as well as the key roles of staff engaging in Service Transition.


Service Operation
Best practice for achieving the delivery of agreed levels of services both to end-users and the customers (where "customers" refer to those individuals who pay for the service and negotiate the SLAs). Service Operations is the part of the lifecycle where the services and value is actually directly delivered. Also the monitoring of problems and balance between service reliability and cost etc are considered. Topics include balancing conflicting goals (e.g. reliability v cost etc), Event management, incident management, problem management, event fulfillment, asset management, service desk, technical and application management, as well as key roles and responsibilities for staff engaging in Service Operation.....


Continual Service Improvement (CSI)





]]> 8. EA and ITIL http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=625 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:06:58 -0600 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=621 • Provides a roadmap that assists agencies in integrating IT security and privacy with enterprise architecture;
• Provides a mechanism for identifying and documenting security and privacy requirements;
• Promotes inclusion of security and privacy in business activities and processes;
• Integrates the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) and System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) processes to ensure that relevant security and privacy requirements are integrated; and
• Helps program executives understand how the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 199 of confidentiality, integrity, and availability and the eight privacy Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) fit within enterprise architecture planning, while leveraging standards and services that are common to the enterprise and the federal government.

Risk management

Implementing Security Controls Across All Levels of the Enterprise
Implementing security and privacy controls within Enterprise-level (Organization), Segment-level (Mission or Business Process), and Solution/System-level architectures is accomplished by applying FEA reference model principles and the RMF methodology. The FEA provides relevant information in the development of the enterprise, segment, and solution architectures. The RMF, on the other hand, provides the required controls needed to ensure that each architecture is compliant with laws, regulations, standards, guidelines, and the organizations risk requirements (see Figure 1).

risk management framework

The Relationship Between the FEA and the RMF

The FEA-SPP provides a risk-based framework to incorporate security and privacy into the enterprise architecture for federal operations. This FEA-SPP, however, evidences that security and privacy, while interrelated concepts, are not identical in their methodologies or in the maturity of their existing documentation. The privacy community is continuing to develop best practice tools to support privacy programs throughout the federal government and will supplement the FEA-SPP with these tools as they are developed.

The FEA-SPP brings together the concepts of the FEA and the RMF (as described in NIST SP 800-39) to derive a security profile at the enterprise, segment and solution (or system) levels of the agency. The FEA-SPP also recognizes the influence of SDLC and maintenance processes in that it provides a sequence of program activities. The FEA-SPP uses this and other agency governance processes to ensure proper compliance with program management best practices and information security regulations regarding the management of information security process, activities and controls. Figure 6 shows the relationship between the FEA and RMF which serve as the foundation for the FEA-SPP:

fea spp framework


FEA-SPP methodology

The FEA-SPP methodology is a three stage, sixteen activity procedure which documents enterprise-level information security and privacy solutions (see Figure 3 for an overview of the methodology). Each stage has goals, objectives, implementing activities, and output products for formal inclusion in the agency’s enterprise architecture and capital planning and investment control (CPIC) process.

fea spp method]]> 6. EA and Security http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=621 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:21:01 -0600 http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=555
The original John Zachman framework is "A framework for information system architecture” in [Zachman 1987]. He embrace the term of Enterprise Architecture until 1996 using the same system architecture framework with the following articles :

1. “ Enterprise Architecture: The Issue of the Century” in [Zachman, 1996];
2. “Enterprise Architecture: Looking Back and looking Ahead” in [Zachman 1998];
3. "Enterprise Architecture artifacts Vs Application Development Artifacts"[2000];

US Federal Goverment Enterprise Architecture Effort

The 1996 Clinger-Cohen Act legislate that each federal Department and Agency has the responsibility to establish and maintain Enterprise Architecture (EA) programs.


US Federal Goverment Chief Information Officers Council

Executive Order 13011, Federal Information Technology, established the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council as the principal interAgency forum for improving practices in the design, modernization, use, sharing, and performance of Federal information resources. The
Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 assigned the CIOs with the responsibility to develop information
technology architectures (ITAs). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) M-97-02, Funding Information Systems Investments, October 1996, requires that Agency investments in major information systems be consistent with Federal, Agency, and Bureau ITAs.

Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework
The CIO Council began developing the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework in April 1998 to promote shared development for common Federal processes, interoperability, and sharing of information among the Agencies of the Federal Government and other Governmental entities.

A practicle guide to Federal Enterprsie Architecture

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to Federal Agencies in initiating, developing, using, and maintaining an enterprise architecture (EA). This guide offers an end-toend process to initiate, implement, and sustain an EA program, and describes the necessary roles and associated responsibilities for a successful EA program.

US OMB FEAPMO spearhead to the new direction

On February 6, 2002 the development of a Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) commenced. Led by OMB, the purpose of this effort is to identify opportunities to simplify processes and unify work across the agencies and within the lines of business of the Federal government. The outcome of this effort will be a more citizen-centered, customer-focused government that maximizes technology investments to better achieve mission outcomes. The FEAPMO direction leads to learn experience of the others via the consolidate reference model, it also point to the incremenatal and continuous architecture development with segment architecture approach.

FEAPMO Consolidate Reference Model

FEA Practice Guidance


Enterprise Architecture is getting world wide recognition


There are other description on EA history for example the EABOK by Mitre

ea history


EABOK by Mitre

1.1 EA has multiple directions

The different definition of Enterprise Architecture stems from the term of “Enterprise Architecture”. Both the words of “Enterprise” and the word of “Architecture” are abstractive and have multiple definitions. EA professionals interpret “Enterprise Architecture “ based on their own experience similar the story of blindman and the elephant where every one insist their own openion. The application developer suggest that EA as the enterprise wide application blue print. The processes engineering sugest that EA is a set of process, the business strategist take EA as a new buzz word for business transformation.

2.0 THE MULTIPLE DEFINITION OF EA

EA directions can be categorized in the flowing schools :

• EA as a enterprise wide application system blueprint
• EA as infrastructure analogy to city planning
• EA to architecture the enterprise and transform business
• EA is the processes
• EA is a set of model and framework.

Please read the Enterprise Architecture section for more detail


]]> 1. EA history http://www.liteea.com/nucleus3.24/index.php?itemid=555 Fri, 9 May 2008 14:48:54 -0600