IT Architecture

Rapid Solution Delivery Framework

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In this tough economical situation, leading a multi-million, multi-year project to a failure is not an option for any corporation.  Leaders or managers who lead project for years without successful implementation must be watched closely by the executive management for their performance during this economical situation. I totally understand an organization can learn from their mistakes, but successful organization learns from others mistakes but not on their own cost.

The project managers and leaders are seeking the best possible ways to ensure successful implementation in spite of any unforeseen hindrance in the execution. Even for the multi-million dollar projects utilizing the cost effectively solution are demanded. The project managers and leaders are seeking the best enterprise or system architect to provide solution to exceed customer expectation, meet requirements and at the same time provide most innovative and cost effective solution.  Enterprise architects or system architects are required to have a set of tools in their arsenal to provide a rapid cost effective solution with highest possible success rate.

Rapid Solution Delivery Framework is an abstract concept used to rapidly define a cost effective and innovative solution. The key components of the framework are:

1. Cloud computing
2. Open source
3. Social network tools

Cloud computing: It addresses the rapid infrastructure setup or applicaton setup or business rules for any solution delivery. The cloud platform may come from external public cloud provider like Amazon or internal cloud provider or external private cloud provider (like secure24, rackspace for infrastructure) . It is rapid way of setting up the infrastructure for the solution delivery. There may be cases where cloud platform may also provide business solutions.

Open Source: There are lots of commercial software product companies leveraging the open source or supporting or sponsoring the open source to improve their commercial product quality tremendously. For instance, IBM supports Apache product development and leverages the Apache web server and bundles it as a IBM HTTP Server (I H S). The open source concepts are not pertained to system software. The open source concept proliferated to various segments and even in the chemical bonding structural analysis there are lots of open source tools available where the researchers and students easily learn and collaborate. Open source has become an integral of any IT solution delivery model.  Open source provides wide range of solutions from operating system, system software (webserver, database server, application server), application development frameworks (spring, hibernate, struts), security (OpenSSO, Crowd, OpenLDAP) , application development IDEs (like eclipse, Galileo ) and etc. These open source products not only provide quality solutions but also provide cost effective solutions.

Social network tools: Social networking concepts and its implementation matured over the years and it is extensively being used beyond for personal use. There are major corporations like Cisco, Deloitte, IBM uses the social network tools for better collaboration among the employees to provide effective solutions to their clients. The tools landscape in the social network media is vast and deserves a separate blog. To name a few major categories like Video, Video Aggregation, documents, events, Wiki, LiveCasting, Pictures, social bookmarks, Crowdsourced content, blog and etc. There are at least 3-4 popular tools in each of those categories. The social networking technology landscape plays a vital role in leveraging existing solutions, collaborate better among various stakeholder of the projects.

Vivek Kundra implemented few projects in DC state government as a CTO are few practical examples how social networking platform provides a foundation for a rapid cost effective solution.

Along with these key components, depends on the business requirements, there may be other commerical products like SAP, or Flex (for UI) will be part of the over all IT solution.

IT Waste Management..

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hmm.. Do you know what is being wasted in your IT organization?

Nirvana (the highest level of maturity) is not reality in IT organization. It is a stretch goal. There are always room for improvement in any IT organization.

Some time back, a set of projects were perceived as a high business value projects and in last few months the business climate or economical climate might have changed and the project could be in the brink of extinction.

Some time back, a set of skills was perceived as a core competency for the future organization and due to the recent merger or acquisition or economical situation, the business strategy changed and hence the IT strategy. The core competency developed few years ago is not core any more in the current environment.

Some time back, a set of tools bought to enable efficiency with in the organization is not really working out due to various reasons..

What ever the situations may be, the past investment made in technology, people, process may not be currently required with in the organization.

IT Waste Management must be part of IT finance management group and IT finance manager/director is responsible for IT waste management function.

IT Waste Management Process:

Trigger:
Change in business strategy, IT strategy,executive leadership (end up by changing the IT strategy) or  merger, acquisition

  1. Clearly understand the current direction of company
  2. Clearly understand the change in direction due to the trigger
  3. Identify the gaps
  4. Assess the impact of directional change in terms of
    • Vendor Contract  – Hardware/software/Purchase service/Professional service
    • Intellectual  capital loss (work with HR and IT senior management )
    • System landscape  (work with Architecture team)
  5. Identify the retirement plan or reusable plan for all IT assets. Multiple teams like architecture, HR, procurement all need to work together to develop the above plans.
  6. Execute the plan. Realize and monitor the benefits
  7. Report the sun downed systems to IT controlling as IT impairment assessment. The IT intangible assets which are in the books can be adjusted and would bring tax benefits to the company.

The systems which are sun downed or retired in the process must be reported to IT controlling as a IT asset impairment assessment to reflect the new IT intangible asset value in the books. It would bring tax saving to the company.

The above steps are part of IT waste management process and must be performed every 3-6 months in every IT organization.  It will bring operational and cost efficiency to any IT organization.

An Evaluation Matrix for an Enterprise Architect

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Some times, a simple concept may be crystal clear to you in your mind, but, it may be difficult to grasp by the audience. Enterprise Architects must continuously work on the soft skills to communicate a message successfully irrespective of the audience knowledge level. In that regard, an evaluation matrix for an enterprise architect is given below.

  • Perform the necessary action to meet the given objective and unable to communicate to the necessary stakeholders = FAILED,  as an enterprise architect to meet the mission
  • Does not perform the necessary action to meet the given objective & unable to communicate to the necessary stakeholders = FAILED, as an enterprise architect to meet the mission
  • Does not perform the necessary action to meet the given objective = FAILED, as an enterprise architect to meet the mission
  • Perform the necessary action to meet the given objective and able to communicate to the necessary stakeholders = SUCCESSFUL, as an enterprise architect to meet the mission

A set of soft skill must be possessed by an enterprise architect to be a successful enterprise architect. Enterprise architect must be able to connect to the application team, infrastructure team, IT finance team, IT procurement team, business teams, senior management, executive management and others.