Purpose: to explain the different elements that form an organization

Focus is how elements interrelate so the organization can effectively achieve current and future objectives: must have good principles, standards, and tools in place to manage the architecture

Layers of organizational architecture:

• Business architecture
• Product and service architecture
• Information systems architecture
• Technology architecture
• Environmental architecture

Organizational strategy and vision will define how the organization manages the architectural layers (what layers would an organization manage if they had outsourced their technology to a third party ?)

Think carefully when scoping this practice, consider the organizational structure and which architectural layers would need to be managed:

• Internal service provider (ISP) would focus is on products, services, information systems, technology
• Enterprise architecture would focus on the business and environmental architectures
• Delivering products/services commercially (ESP), architecture management will focus on all layers

Consider all four dimensions and elements of the SVS when defining AM to achieve these objectives:

• Organization’s current architecture is understood and mapped to the organization’s strategy
• The target organization’s architecture is identified and agreed
• The organization’s architecture is continually optimized to achieve the target architecture

To meet the objectives:

• Analyze current architecture, create a baseline model
• Identify gaps that would hinder the achievement of organizational strategy
• Create a target reference model incorporating the strategy that eliminates gaps
• Now can evolve from current to needed; and it can be further refined as strategy or the environment changes

1. Practice success factors (PSF)

Two PSFs for AM:

• Ensuring that organization’s strategy is supported with a target architecture
• Ensuring that organization’s architecture is continually evolving to the target state

1.1 Target reference architecture

Target reference model: supports the organizational strategy and ensure the strategy is achievable

To develop a target reference model, consider:

• Organization’s strategy and its current performance
• Current organization’s architecture, benefits, and constraints
• Major pain points and their mapping to the architecture
• Organization’s portfolios and ongoing developments
• Environmental factors and trends
• Technology trends, risks, and opportunities

Analysis of this information provides understanding of current and future desired state and the corresponding architecture to fulfill that state

Measuring architecture effectiveness:

• Scalability
• Cost-effectiveness
• Compatibility to other organizations
• Compliance
• Agility
• Sustainability
• Security

Practices that interface with AM and achieving the target reference model:

• Strategy management
• Service design
• Portfolio management
• Risk management
• Software development and management
• Infrastructure and platform management

1.2 Continually evolving

Develop an architectural road map (a plan that would include recommendations and requirements for the taxonomy, standards, guidelines, procedures, templates, and tools that would use for any architecturally important initiative): define progressive initiatives to keep the architecture moving to the target state

Manage changes as projects or programs including stakeholders and other practices in the planning and execution

Develop and follow architectural standards: ensures AM is included in every SVS that deploys new/changed components, services, or changed architecture

Target architecture may never be achieved, AM shouldn’t be a constraint to its evolution

Go back to ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Certification Course: Practices to finish this chapter or to the main page ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Certification Course.