Align Architect Execute - VMSOFT

Editor's Notes

• #2: The VMSOFT approach to architecture development starts with assessing the current state of alignment of the organization to its strategy. This vital step insures that architecture efforts are truly supporting the enterprise goals and objectives. While Architecture spans every function of the enterprise, perspectives that consider end-to-end views of customer value proposition are better aligned to the strategy. Thus the architecture function begins after an assessment of alignment to determine further alignment targets that can be achieved architecturally. The Execution of the architecture through a project based organization, perhaps governed by portfolio/program management functions allows reuse of the current project/program/portfolio management standards in the organization. This provides a reliable vehicle for execution of the architecture. As demonstrated in the next slide, the Align, Architect, Execute forms a continuous improvement cycle that delivers improved execution of strategy.
• #3: The Align, Architect, Execute cycle is a continuous improvement pattern that delivers improved execution of strategy. First, the assessment of the current alignment of the organization to strategy yields the architecture requirements for content as well as direction. Thus architecture can be helpful in improving the alignment, as well as planning the changes via projects for execution. The execution of projects in turn yields additional architectural content which can be harvested to improve the architecture, as well as confirm the alignment attained so that feedback loop is created to clarify strategy further.
• #4: A strategy map documents the cause and effect from goals and measures in one perspective to another. For example, to realize the financial goals such as increased profit, maximum revenue etc., the customer value proposition is examined and goals are set for the customer such as increase sales per customer, or find new customers, etc. In each perspective, the answer to “What goals and measures are needed to meet the goals and measures of the perspective above it” is found. This causal chain effects behaviors that result in improved alignment. The map of the strategy also helps identify the key business processes which should be examined for accomplishing the objectives. This allows the determination of correct scope for the architecture work to follow.
• #5: Aligned architecture is achieved by identifying how we can meet the goals and measures from the strategy map to communicate the changes required, facilitate the creation of requirements for projects and identify the impacts in the environment to include data, services, technologies and applications. There are two central architecture focus elements to accomplish the aligned architecture. The Customer Aligned Strategy maps and, The Business Architecture representing the realization of the customer value proposition. The Information Systems Architecture representing the applications, data and technologies that are aligned to the business architecture.
• #6: Thus, the result of Align, Architect and Execute is to accomplish the following: Translation of Strategy into operational terms, leading to Architected Business, Data and Applications, leading to Properly scoped and sequence projects that are aligned to strategy.