Information is the lifeblood of most organizations. In fact, in many cases information is not just critical to the business - it IS the business. Organizations struggling with the fallout from today's economy have a heightened need for enterprise architecture the set of IT plans that describes how all parts of the IT infrastructure need to behave to support the organizations needs. Urgent cost-containment issues, consolidations, productivity pressures and ebusiness integration all demand solutions. This book will help you master the vital skills needed to plan how data is collected, how data should efficiently flow through your organization, and how data is transformed into information can your business can use. Learn from Ms. Carbone's decades of experience and proven approaches to better understand and implement enterprise architecture.

Table of Contents:
Preface. Frequently Asked Questions. Acknowledgments. About The Author. Introduction. The Role of IT Planning. Four Mini Case Studies-Best (and Worst) Practices. Introducing the Enterprise Architecture Toolkit. Getting Started. Components of an Enterprise Architecture. A Comparison of the Toolkit and the Zachman Framework. Critical Success Factors. A Word about Integration. How This Book Is Organized. Connecting Architecture to the Business. The Business Framework. Describing the Business Current State-Collecting Key Facts. Suggested Exercise. Another Approach to Describing the Current State. Analyzing the Business Current State. Using Assessment Indicators. Environmental Scan. Suggested Exercise. Using Process Flows. Constructing the Business Target State. Using Assessment Indicators. Using Process Flows. Digging Down. Suggested Exercise. Analyzing the Target State-Identifying Gaps and Opportunities. Analyze the Target State. First Approach. Second Approach. Suggested Exercise. Integration. Principles. The IT (Architecture) Framework. Defining Principles. CDCo IT Principles. Suggested Exercise. Architecture Models. Setting the Context for Architecture Models. Ground Rules For Modeling. Rule #1 Agree on a set of standard components. Rule #2 Use a standard representation scheme. Rule #3 Set a scope. Rule #4 Determine the level of detail. Rule #5 Define the state to be modeled. Rule #6 Define the environment. Building Architecture Models. Level 0 Current State Model. Considerations for Assessing Current State Architecture. Level 0 Target State Model. Architecture Strategies. Level 1 Model. Level n Models. Suggested Exercise. Architecture-Based Logical Models. Translating Architecture to Conceptual Data Model. Inventory. Set a Scope. Determine the Level of Detail. Define the State. Define the Environment. Agree on a Format. Suggested Exercise. Standards. Ground Rules for Setting Standards. Establish Ownership. Define the State. Define the Environment. Define the Level of Detail. Setting Function/Application Standards. Selecting Technology Standards. Setting People Standards. Setting Data Standards. The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. The Payoff. Then and Now. Some Good Examples. Suggested Exercise. Integration-Again. Projects. The Framework for Implementation. Translating Architecture to Projects. Identifying Architecture Projects. Selecting Architecture Projects. Data-Driven Approach to Project Selection. Apply Viability Criteria. Suggested Exercise. Six Strategies for Containing Project Scope. First Things First. Use It or Lose It. No Data before Its Time. Smaller Is Better. Just in Time. Something New under the Sun. The Project Brief. Suggested Exercise. Summary. Establishing Metrics. Measuring Architecture Effectiveness. Setting Business Objectives. Setting Project Objectives. Setting Architecture Objectives. Measuring Architecture Value. Benchmark Data. Sample Data. Suggested Exercise. Presenting the Plan for Buy-in. Gaining Executive Support. Creating a Presentation-Level Architecture Model. Gaining Support from IT. Suggested Exercise. Compliance and Other Key Processes. Architecture Governance Process. Architecture Development Process. When Should Architecture Be Developed? Where Is the Architecture? SDLC Process. People. Human Resources Issues for Architecture. Evaluating HR Practices for the Architecture Team. Staffing the Architecture Team. Key Architecture Roles. Data Management Roles. Organization Structure. Putting It Together. A Final Word. Business Framework Interview Outlines. Group 1 Questions. Group 2 Questions. Group 3 Questions. Business Framework Data Collection Documents. Architecture Data Collection Documents. Sample Architecture Principles. Enterprise IT Principles. Example Architecture Strategies. Application Development Strategies. Data Management Strategies. Technology Strategies. Example Target Application Architecture Patterns. Estimating IT Work Effort for Projects. Sample Scale for Estimating IT Effort. Add New Code. Change Script-Wording-Only. Create New List. Modify Existing Script. Add New Code-Code Contains Intelligence Used by Applications. Fix Small Bug. Create New Report. Create Customer List. Modify Existing Applications-More Than One Module. Add New Function and Interfaces. Reorganize Work across Functions-Existing and New. New Process, Applications, Data Store, and Cross-Function Data Movement. Sample Current Architecture Cost Data Collection. Current Cost of Projects Survey. Sample Job Descriptions. Data Steward. Key Functions. Expected Outputs. Key Skills/Knowledge. Data Architect. Key Functions. Expected Outputs. Key Skills/Knowledge. Data Acquisition. Key Functions. Expected Outputs. Key Skills/Knowledge. Common Data Services. Key Functions. Expected Outputs. Key Skills/Knowledge. Data Architecture Associate. Key Functions. Expected Outputs. Key Skills/Knowledge. Enterprise Architecture Toolkit: 3-Day Workshop. Course Description. Course Overview. Target Audience. Course Approach. Course Outline. Course Logistics. Conducting Enterprise Architecture Assessment: 2-Day Workshop. Course Description. Course Overview. Target Audience. Course Approach. Course Objectives. Course Outline. Course Logistics. Index.