Bridge IT and the Business With Business Architecture
Use business architecture to gain a clear understanding of the business strategy and align IT with the business.
Onsite Workshop
Business architecture can address the following challenges:
- IT strategy does not seem to line up with the overall business strategy.
- The organization does not see IT as a business enabler.
- IT is considered more of a cost center than a strategic partner.
- You want to bridge the gap between IT and the business.
Business architecture will help you:
- Accurately reflect the organization’s capabilities through modelling.
- Make decision making and planning a traceable endeavor that promotes transparency and improved communication at every level.
- Make more efficient use of organizational resources through better planning.
Module 1: Opportunity Identification & Stakeholder Analysis
The Purpose
Identify the business architecture (BA) practice’s key stakeholders and come up with a plan to effectively engage them in business architecture endeavors.
Key Benefits Achieved
Effectively engaging with key stakeholders will help ensure that the further efforts of the business architecture practice, namely modelling and assessment, are done accurately.
Activities: | Outputs: | |
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1.1 | Introduction to Info-Tech’s business architecture methodology. |
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1.2 | Identify the right opportunity for business architecture work. |
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1.3 | Identify and conduct stakeholder analysis. |
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1.4 | Develop a tailored stakeholder engagement strategy. |
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Module 2: Strategy Map & Value Streams
The Purpose
Develop a connection between business strategy and the activities the organization undertakes to create and capture value.
Key Benefits Achieved
The key benefit of strategy mapping and creating value streams is the uncovering of potential opportunities for improvement in areas that are critical to the organization achieving its goals.
Activities: | Outputs: | |
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2.1 | Create a strategy map to connect business goals to value streams and capabilities. |
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2.2 | Identify and define value streams that support specific business goals. |
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Module 3: Business Capability Modeling
The Purpose
Business capability modelling is done in order to form an accurate perspective of what the organization actually does to facilitate the creation of value.
Key Benefits Achieved
Modelling business capabilities produces a common language that facilitates discussions on how to execute on strategy.
Activities: | Outputs: | |
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3.1 | Decompose the organization into its capabilities using business capability maps. |
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3.2 | Connect value streams to business capabilities. |
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3.3 | Identify areas for further assessment. |
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Module 4: Business Capability Assessment
The Purpose
The purpose of conducting a business capability assessment is to build an understanding of how well the organization’s value creation activities are being supported.
Key Benefits Achieved
The key benefit of conducting an assessment is the identification of an area or capability that requires improvement.
Activities: | Outputs: | |
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4.1 | Introduction to Info-Tech’s capability assessment framework. |
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4.2 | Mapping applications to business capabilities. |
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4.3 | Create application capability assessment and heat map. |
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4.4 | Prioritize business capabilities using Info-Tech’s prioritization framework. |
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Module 5: Portfolio Analysis & Best Practices
The Purpose
- The purpose of conducting a portfolio analysis is to make sure the organization is investing its resources in the right places.
- The purpose of following best practices for business architecture is to maximize the value that BA provides.
Key Benefits Achieved
The benefit of conducting a portfolio analysis is that it serves as a dashboard and communications tool that can be used to check on the status of critical capability improvement projects.
Activities: | Outputs: | |
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5.1 | Conduct investment analysis through an initiative portfolio map. |
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5.2 | Review business architecture best practices. |
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5.3 | Discuss next steps. |
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5.4 | Present workshop final presentation. |
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