Business Architecture (BA) Initiative

Ralph Whittle

Consultant: Ralph Whittle

Offering Duration:  10-40 days

Inquire: Inquire for assistance.

Offering Description:
The Business Architecture service offering provides both training on the business architecture approach and post class consultation in starting the BA initiative by building a business architecture model.

Training: The three day training class teaches business architecture concepts and principles.  It defines an approach and method for building an architecture of the business by integrating corporate processes.  It formally captures the company’s intellectual capital in an “architectural type” blueprint or model of the enterprise that is available for strategic and tactical analysis. The training is supported with a high level case study, illustrating all of the business architecture artifacts.  The class participants receive instruction on the BA through lectures, interactive discussions and hands-on workshop exercises.

Initiative Start-up: Once the participants have learned the concepts of a business architecture and received training in how to build one, the post class consultation provides guidance and direction in the development of the business architecture.  The business architecture models are developed over a few weeks in several workshop sessions, very similar to JAD sessions.  The emphasis is to develop the candidate value streams (which are the same as core cross-functional processes) with their respective inputs and outputs, and integrated with one another.  The business architecture team members will expand their knowledge and understanding of the enterprise up from the typical functional view, to a customer-centric view using value streams.           

The intent of the service offering is to transfer knowledge about the BA, its approach and development, thereby enabling the client to sustain and advance the initiative themselves. 

Offering Outline:

Development of candidate BA models include:

1. BA Entity and Hierarchy models
2. For the chosen or selected enterprise value streams, their supporting architecture, workflow and event models at the level of detail defined in the statement of work.
3. Optional deliverables include value stream opportunity/problem matrices and defined metrics and measures.

Offering Objectives:

The dominant theme of the BA is a customer-centric focus coupled with a holistic view of the enterprise, to deliver a value creating system.  Consequently, the business and IT teams can work in harmony with the insight from the Enterprise Business Architecture creating higher profits, superior customer service and a competitive advantage for their enterprise.

Instructor Biography:
Ralph Whittle is co-author of a book titled, Enterprise Business Architecture: The Formal Link between Strategy and Results, CRC Press 2004.  He is a subject matter expert in Enterprise Business Architecture development and implementation.  He has built Enterprise Business Architectures in various industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, financial, and technology.  He has conducted engagements in enterprise business process modeling, strategic/tactical business planning, enterprise business requirements analysis, enterprise business architecture and IT architecture integration.

Target Audience:

• Participants include people skilled in BPM, process analysis and improvement, object-oriented analysis, SOA, software package configuration, IT infrastructure build-out and wishing to develop expertise as a business architect.  
• Work may be done at the client location.
• Requires client to provide access to people, documentation, existing models and supporting information as specified in the engagement schedule.
• Clients with laptops including MSOffice (with VISIO) and internet connectivity.
• Available for all industries.

Inquire for assistance with your BPM initiative.

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