BPM Strategies - March 2008 - (Page 21) done. You want a result within a certain period of time.” These kinds of projects are not strategic, Decker noted. They are not necessarily a component of driving a projected future state for the enterprise. They are often projects that have already been planned. But by demonstrating the value of applying business architecture to the solution, front-line personnel become engaged in the change process. These grass roots activities help shape the story of business architecture throughout the enterprise. They give the organization experience and skill in the approach. As projects are successfully completed, the frontline staff will help “sell up” the concepts to senior management. And senior management must be involved for business architecture to achieve the impact that it can have on organizations. Business architecture should be incorporated in strategy and planning at the highest levels of the enterprise. “It is a way to engage leaders and enable them to look at their business and see it in ways that are not easily seen,” Decker said. At this level, the approach does not require developing detailed architectures but “painting pictures for people about what they are deciding; what they are anticipating; and what they are thinking about,” Decker said. The use of business architecture can help management scan the environment for opportunities based on what is already happening within the organization. “It raises up what we already know to be true about the organization and raises them up in terms of strategy and planning,” she said. In the long run, the strategic and tactical aspects of business architecture intersect. Business architecture helps support the company vision and ensure that its roadmap is embedded in a consistent language. On the other hand, ideally no tactical projects would be implemented without a clear understanding of their alignment to strategy. March 2008 Challenges and Benefits Incorporating the principles of business architecture into the culture of an enterprise is not easy. First, businesses are ongoing entities. In some ways, it is not a question of having a blueprint to build a skyscraper. The skyscraper is already built and not every aspect of an ongoing business can be architected. Because business is ongoing, it can be difficult to measure “before” and “after” states to determine the impact of business architecture. Complicating matters, the benefits can be intangible. “If you don’t know how you are performing now, it can be challenging to suddenly try and measure how you have improved,” Decker observed. Third, people often remain anchored in their functional silos. There is a learning curve involved in the business architecture approach. “People have to train themselves to think differently,” Decker said, “and this takes time.” With those difficulties in mind, Decker recommends that companies start with projects that have demonstrable benefits. “You have to have small wins in small areas and be able to prove it,” she said. For example, she noted, if you can show that you have shortened an effort’s time and resources spent in analysis, or in the testing phase of an IT project, that is easy to document and leads to faster time to market. If you can bring a product to market more quickly, that is a business win. “These are tangible business benefits,” she said. As business architecture becomes ingrained in the culture, the impact can be significant. Organizations can become more nimble. Major initiatives can be better focused. Innovation can be better targeted. And companies can better manage complexity and change. Elliot King, Ph.D. is editor-inchief of BPM Strategies and a professor of communication at Loyola College in Maryland. He can be reached at eking212@gmail.com. The successful implementation of business architecture concepts requires both a top-down and a bottom-up approach. It can be applied to tactical projects as well as strategy and planning. 21
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