Business Architecture
What is the Business Architecture?
Business Architecture provides a structured, disciplined approach to translate strategic intent into focused, effective action.
Business Architecture is about understanding the organization’s vision and strategic intent and translating that through analysis, Value Stream Mapping, and establishing processes, people, and technology to support the process.
It is more about how organizations think, act, and how we organize, and deliver the end value to our customers and end-users.
Business Architecture is part of Enterprise Architecture.
Business Architecture provides a structured approach to analyzing the operation of an existing business function or entire organization to improve its operations or develop a new business function, with a strong focus on processes and technology. It is not about requirements management.
It is about business solutions and organizational changes to deliver an organization’s business objectives
As per McKinsey and Henley Business School,
The EA function is a core element of the foundation that both enables and accelerates the tech transformation that companies need to compete in a digital-first world
Business Architecture provides alignment between Business and IT.
Business
- Evolving Business Needs
- New Technology and Market trends
- Changes in the Regulatory requirements
- Organizational changes
- Customer Requirements
- New Products/Projects and Services
Information Technology (IT)
- Solution Design and Delivery
- People, Process and Technology Support for the Solution delivery
Organizations need Business Architecture in three significant areas, Organizational transition and transformation journey. In process redesigning, we can identify the existing process or As-Is status/process, chart it out To-Be status/process, and have a backlog of improvement areas that our teams can work on ( Value Stream Mapping). Also, for improving the existing solutions.
- Redesigning or refining a specific business process or redesigning the entire organizational process
- Developing architectures for systems/applications, IT, infrastructure/communications
- Planning development of systems/applications
- Developing major integrated systems and applications
Business Architecture in Context of The Enterprise Architecture
- As shown in the image here, business architecture is part of enterprise Architecture and a precursor to information systems architecture.
- Enterprise Architecture defines the overall IT operating boundaries.
3. Solution Architecture defines the solution boundaries − There is a substantial overlap between Business Architecture and Solution Architecture. Similar skills are required − The roles may be performed by the same person or a team.
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3. Business Architecture is not solely concerned with IT − Where there is an IT dimension, it will be governed by Enterprise Architecture and work with Solution Architecture to design the overall solution and its components
4. Enterprise Architecture without Solution and Business Architecture will not deliver on their potential
5. Business Architecture is an essential part of the continuum from theory to practice.
What does a Business Architecture Offer to an Organization?
- Identify the gaps in the process/Process improvements through Value Stream Mapping
- Identifying the current Cycle time, Lead time
- Reduce Cycle time and Lead time
- TTM — Improvements in Time to Market
- Improve the quality of our products, projects, and services
- Reduce Operational Costs
- Improve Customer Satisfaction
Business Architecture is part of The TOGAF ADM or TOGAF Architecture Development Method. It sits next to the Architecture Vision in phase B of the ADM.
Phase B, the Business Architecture, is a vital phase for creating a baseline Architecture of an Organization so we can brainstorm and define what is target architecture thus by conducting a Gap Analysis.
Further Study & Reference:
