Post 1: Understanding the Enterprise Architecture in the context of the Business Operating Model

Enterprise Architecture establishes the policy and principles that determine how best to assist the organization in formulating the plans necessary to achieve business strategic objectives through optimum technology advantage. There are many ways to interpret and practice EA depending on the size and complexity of the organization. I’ve found that large organizations will benefit from understanding their operating model before attempting to pair information system decisions to business goals.

Many students and practitioners of EA know Jeanne Ross through her publications on EA and strategy. Ross’s literature on EA illustrates and defines the enterprise through “operating models” and develops the foundation by which architects in this space need to understand the organizations they are working to optimize.  

Figure 1. Operating Model characteristics according to Ross, J. W. (2005).

In my experience, some architects have been reluctant to talk about operating models with the business for fear of sounding too theoretical. Instead, Ross argues that a company should not only be talking about it but actually adopt go so far as to adopt an operating model. She states that an operating model helps define the logic by which “standardized technology, data and/or processes” can be optimized to improve business performance. Ross suggests that choosing an operating model does not mean sticking to it 100% of the time and admits that most companies should anticipate some experimentation with initiatives that don’t fit the foundation in place. Nevertheless, identifying an operating model for part or all of the organization will give needed direction to EA and their counterparts in IT to define reusable building blocks for business execution, thus IT becomes an enabler whose value is easier to distinguish.

A. Schank

References:
Ross, J. W. (2005). Forget Strategy: Focus IT on Your Operating Model. Center for Information  Systems Research (CISR). Retrieved from http://cisr.mit.edu/blog/documents/2005/12/09/2005_12_3c_operatingmodels.pdf/