GETTING TO ARCHITECTURE

Update to interested parties

Jeffrey Weiss 12/7/2010

WHAT IS IT? (AND WHY DO IT?)

Architecture is an overarching consideration that reconciles the concerns of different views of an enterprise, project, or solution by instituting practices and standards in a way that recognizes stakeholders and practical constraints.

Overarching captures the "big picture" sense and reinforces the metaphor to planning and design of buildings. Views is a term borrowed from building and construction and reflects the practice of depicting many points of view and ways to look at something. Ultimately, the reason to take the time and trouble to architect a solution is because stakeholders have concerns from their point of view. It is the architect's job to recognize and reconcile those concerns within the constraints that exist.

IF I HAD ONE WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE?

when estimating a project when designing a solution when evaluating technology when deploying a solution when talking to a user when talking to a vendor when predicting the impact of a change when troubleshooting a problem

ACTION STEPS

Divide & Conquer

Identify Architecture Domains Identify Domain Experts

Name that Tune

Create terminology standards Establish common repositories

Shall not perish!

Set practices to meet, discuss, review, and steer the adoption, growth, and use of Information Technology Broaden the architecture

DIVIDE & CONQUER

Identify Architecture Domains - A widely accepted industry standard of domains is published by TOGAF Identify Domain Experts - This puts each area of our architecture formally under the watch and care of specific members of the team. They are responsible for several tasks to be completed over time in particular:

compile a portfolio or catalog of technology components in the domain document a roadmap for the core technologies in the domain.

NAME THAT TUNE

Create a standard for terminology of architecture components. Instead of taxonomy use less loaded names like dictionary or glossary. A practice of applying terms consistently as keywords and metadata is essential to the success of an architecture initiative. Establish the common repositories for CMDB, Source Control, Documents, as well as personal and project journals. All metadata for repositories must follow the standard terminology.

SHALL NOT PERISH!

Set in place the practices to meet, discuss, review, and steer the adoption, growth, and use of Information Technology including:
Measuring the progress toward these architecture objectives (domains, terminology, repositories, etc.) The typical activities of governance - setting standards, enforcing them, and resolving issues Prioritizing and coordinating the technical tasks and efforts across divisions and projects Activities to "evergreen" the architecture and practices

Broaden the architecture and application of the architecture

IF I HAD ONE WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE?

Technology Components Roadmaps Dictionary Repositories Governance

estimating a project
designing a solution evaluating technology deploying a solution talking to a user talking to a vendor predicting the impact of a change troubleshooting a problem

I want a report

CONNECT THE DOTS

Word SharePoint Crystal Business Data Reports Catalog / BCS Web Services ODBC JDBC OLE DB SQL Server Reporting Services WebParts Excel SSRS Reports

PDF Office Application Add-In

jQuery json

HTML
XSL

SQL Server Perl Analysis Services C# Template Toolkit

SQL Server Integration RSS Services

Stored Procs Views

CGI SQL

The data is here

Thanks for the new report!

DESIGN A SOLUTION
Word WebParts PDF Excel

Business

SSRS Office XSL C# Reports Application HTML json Add-In jQuery Perl Application & User Experience Lotus Notes Template Toolkit Crystal Reports SharePoint Business Data Catalog / BCS

SQL Server SQL Server SQL Server Web Services Analysis Reporting Integration Services Services Services CGI JDBC RSS OLE DB ODBC Data & Services Views Stored Procs SQL The data is RedHat Windows SQL Server Informix MANAGED here Technology Infrastructure

AND THEN BEYOND

Each Domain has documentation standards

Repository profiles Diagrams Best practice Tipping Points

Evergreen the architecture

Evaluation of new technology Sandboxes Delicate balance to stay light