Benefits of a Comprehensive Methodology Creating a Well-Structured Business Architecture

Introduction

Many benefits accrue to developing the individual features of the critical analysis methodology and from the developed business architecture. It is helpful to think critically of each component of the methodology and to separately consider the usefulness of an architecture to understand how each advantage is obtained. The main advantageous features that are contained within the methodology are:

• 1.

  The critical thinking and analysis employed.

• 2.

  A defined central aim for the business

• 3.

  The core structures that are described.

• 4.

  All linkages and dependencies are determined.

• 5.

  Essential explanations are documented: a raison d’etre or rationale (for the aim, structure, and linkage).

• 6.

  Evolving descriptive documentation is available – developing toward the business architecture.

• 7.

  To Have an available visualisation of the business structure and its competition, showing linkages and dependencies (the business architecture described in layers of abstraction).

Each feature has its particular benefits or advantages as follows:

• a.

  There is a smaller volume of information to be considered in decision making, and the information is more objective, accurate and complete.

• b.

  Point of validation available through the development of the information management project.

• c.

  The business structure and value architecture will provide the project team guidance and focus and facilitate control of the scope of the research and analysis investigations.

• d.

  Threshold points are given to indicate potential limits to strengths and capability.

• e.

  An aid to visualize impact and manage changing circumstances.

• f.

  The information management project control is helpful at all stages of developing a project.

• g.

  Provides an easy to use tool for strategic discussions, communication and teamwork.

• h.

  The previous chapter explained that a well-structured business architecture would contain several structures that describe the main aspects of the business organisation. As in the methodology above, each of those structures can provide information to help create a business advantage.

  • •

    The business capability map will show essential capabilities required for the delivery of service to the customer. It informs about how business capabilities are arranged and their relationships. It may be a decomposition of the mission of the enterprise. The structure can be shown as levels of abstraction from Level 0 (mission statement) to detail at Level 3.

  • •

    A value chain diagram displays the value produced for the customer and consists of key-value activities. It is the industry view of the significant steps in delivering products and services. The value activities should describe the highest-level structure of the critical process flows that need to be included to communicate the business architecture; it may be helpful to show the value activities across department responsibilities using the swim-lane diagram.

  • •

    Competencies represent a system property that is required to emerge from the business system. It resonates with a long history expressed in a need to have good concepts for describing what the features of a business system must have to accomplish its ambition.

  • •

    An organisational chart shows the social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or pursue collective goals, including responsibilities and authority.

  • •

    An operational context view presents the integration of all aspects at the operational level. It needs to show in a structured way how all business imperatives are structured at the operational level (TOGAF, 2016).