Mike Walker's Blog

ArchiMate 2.0 Highlights

I am really excited about the new release of ArchiMate.  The reason I am so excited is that for the first time ArchiMate complements TOGAF with a compelling, versatile and unambiguous visual modeling language that covers the end to end enterprise architecture development method and not just solution architecture. Not only do we have the next evolution of the standard but it also comes backed with the training and certification aspects as well that makes this a very real and implementable standard.

This post is centered around some of the key highlights distilled from the my previous two posts (The Open Group Releases ArchiMate 2.0 , ArchiMate 2.0 Certification Released) and some additional analysis of the recent release of ArchiMate.

In general, the  ArchiMate 2.0 aids in the following ways:

• Helps model the enterprise architecture
• Works in a manner aligned with TOGAF
• Supports the preparation and management of:
• Business change
• Application rationalization
• Program and portfolio management
• Outsourcing scenarios
• Improves business and IT alignment
• Performs cost analysis and business case calculations

 

Additionally, there are six key aspect you should know about the new Archimate 2.0 specification.

 

#1 Improved and Expanded

• Based on many years of practical experience of modeling and analysis of Enterprise Architecture by a world-wide user base
• ArchiMate 2.0 now enables the creation of fully integrated models of the organization’s enterprise architecture, the motivation for it, and the programs, projects and migration paths to implement it

 

#2 Now fully aligned with TOGAF

With ArchiMate 2.0, it’s the first fully integrated version with TOGAF. With the updates of TOGAF 9.1 (clean up of the spec) and ArchiMate 2.0 we finally have a real modeling notation for EA. It promises to provide a vendor-independent set of concepts, that helps to create a consistent, integrated model “below the waterline”, which can be depicted in the form of TOGAF views.

• Integrated, consistent and coherent modeling in various phases
• Specifically designed for enterprise architecture
• Full support for viewpoints (predefined and user-defined) that supports generation of compelling views for various stakeholders from a central repository
• Not just the ‘boxes’, but also their interrelationships
• Explicit support for the service paradigm that defines business, application and infrastructure services with concrete, visible results for various stakeholders can be generated from a repository
• Impact-of-change, gap analysis, etc.
• Easy reuse of models, maintained in shared repository

 

#3 Improved TOGAF ADM alignment

• The language structure of the ArchiMate Core corresponds with the three main architectures as addressed in phases B, C & D in the TOGAF ADM
• The extensions to the Core closely correspond with the main aspects to be addressed in the Preliminary phase, Phase A and the Central Requirements management repository, as well as Phases E, F, G and H

The largest alignment area is the Architecture Metamodel as shown below:

 

However, there are great examples for each phase are shown below:

Preliminary Phase

Team Organization

 

Building Architecture Principles

 

A – Vision

Stakeholder Analysis

 

Business Goals

 

Architecture Vision

 

B – Business Architecture

Business Architecture

 

Realization of Requirements

 

C – Information Systems Architecture

Baseline / Current State Architecture

 

Target / Future State Architecture

 

Gap Analysis

 

Process Application Support

 

Information Structure View

 

Data Dissemination Diagram

 

D – Technology Architecture

Baseline Technology Architecture Model

 

Target Technology Architecture

 

Technology Architecture Gap Analysis

 

Platform Decomposition Diagram

 

Application / Technology Support Map

 

E – Opportunities and Solutions

Transition Architectures

 

F – Migration Planning

Projects for the Transitions between Plateaus

 

H & RM – Architecture Change Management & Requirements Management

Traceability Model

 

 

#4 ArchiMate 2.0 improves collaboration

By promoting a growth in shared understanding across multiple information roles including business executives, enterprise architects, systems analysts, software engineers, business process consultants and infrastructure engineers

 

#5 New Core extensions

• The Motivation extension to model stakeholders, drivers for change, business goals, principles and requirements
• The Implementation & Migration extension to support project portfolio management, gap analysis and transition and migration planning

 

#6 Inconsistencies have been removed

• Examples have been improved
• Additional text has been inserted
• Certain aspects clarified

 

 

Technorati Tags: ArchiMate,Open Group,Modeling,Enterprise Architecture

ArchiMate 2.0 Certification Released

Along side the release of the ArchiMate 2.0 specification, a new certification for the ArchiMate has been released this week.

ArchiMate, an Open Group Standard, is an open and independent modelling language for enterprise architecture that is supported by different tool vendors and consulting firms. ArchiMate provides instruments to enable enterprise architects to describe, analyze and visualize the relationships among business domains in an unambiguous way.

The ArchiMate Certification Program provides certification for people, training courses and for tools that meet The Open Group standards:

• The ArchiMate 2 Certification for People Program is a market-driven education and certification program to support ArchiMate 2, and ensures that individuals are knowledgeable about ArchiMate.
• The ArchiMate 2 Tool Certification Program ensures that a tool meets the mandatory requirements to support the ArchiMate modeling language.
• The ArchiMate 2 Accredited Training Course Program provides an assurance mark for training courses including an assessment both of the course and also the personnel and organization. In addition, all accredited training course include in their course fee the examination.

 

Resources

This section contains links to the key program documentation, including Datasheets, Policies and Conformance Requirements for each aspect of the certification program, together with the CSQ templates where applicable

 

Program Datasheets

The following datasheets are available describing the ArchiMate 2 for People Certification program.

• ArchiMate 2 Certification for People: Program Summary
• ArchiMate 2 Certification for People: ArchiMate 2 Certified

 

Certification for Individuals

• ArchiMate 2 Certification for People policy
• ArchiMate 2 Certification for People Conformance Requirements
• ArchMate 2 Certification for People Trademark License Agreement

 

Accreditation of ArchiMate 2 Training Courses

• ArchiMate 2 Training Course Accreditation Policy
• Archimate 2 Training Course Accreditation Agreement
• Archimate 2 Accreditation Trademark License Agreement
• ArchiMate 2 Training Course Accreditation Conformance Requirements
• Archimate 2 Training Course Accreditation Conformance Statement Questionnaire
• ArchiMate 2 Accreditation checklist
• ArchiMate 2 Training Course Accreditation Fees
• Requirements for IBT Examination Supervisors
• Examination Proctor Agreement
• IBT Technical Requirements
• IBT Candidate Delivery Help

 

Archimate Tool Support Certification

• Architecture Tools Certification Policy
• ArchiMate 2 Tools Conformance Requirements
• ArchiMate 2 Tools Conformance Statement Questionnaire
• ArchiMate 2 Certification and Trademark License Agreement

 

Source: http://www3.opengroup.org/certifications/archimate/

 

Technorati Tags: ArchiMate,Open Group,Enterprise Architecture,Modeling

The Open Group Releases ArchiMate 2.0

The Open Group released ArchiMate 2.0, the latest version of the organization’s open and independent modeling language for enterprise architecture. The updated version is now aligned with TOGAF, enabling enterprise architects using the language to improve the way key business and IT stakeholders collaborate and adapt to change. New certification programs for the standard will also be available for those interested in becoming certified in ArchiMate 2.0.

 

ArchiMate 2.0 will include the following features and benefits:

• Improved business and IT alignment through  enterprise architecture modeling aligned with the TOGAF ADM
• Ability to better support the preparation and management of business change, application rationalization, program and portfolio management and outsourcing scenarios
• Ability to perform cost analysis and business case calculations
• A Motivation extension to model stakeholders, drivers for change, business goals, principles and requirements
• Implementation and Migration extensions to support project portfolio management, gap analysis and transition and migration planning
• Improved consistency and examples, as well as additional clarification updates from the previous version

 

Additional Resources and More Detail

• What’s New in ArchiMate 2.0?
• Visio Stencils

Free ArchiMate Modeling Tool - Archi

If you follow my blog you will see that I am very hopeful of the future of ArchiMate. There is a great deal of potential here. I wrote a post entitled ArchiMate – The Emerging Architecture Modeling Standard that provides some insights into the standard and it’s origins.

If you are not familiar with ArchiMate it is an open and independent Enterprise Architecture modeling language that supports the description, analysis and visualization of architecture within and across business domains. ArchiMate is one of the open standards hosted by The Open Group and is based on the IEEE 1471 standard.

There is exciting news that there is a free open sourced ArchiMate tool out that is seeing quite a bit of adoption. Now at 1.5.1 and soon approaching 1.6 later this month it provides a low cost and low barrier to entry for organizations to accelerate architecture modeling efforts.

Archi is targeted toward all levels of Enterprise Architects and Enterprise Modelers. It is intended to provide a low cost to entry (i.e. free) solution to users who may be making their first steps in the ArchiMate language or who are looking for a fully-featured, professional cross-platform ArchiMate modeling tool for their company or institution. Archi more than adequately fulfills the needs of Enterprise Architects and associated stakeholders

 

Resources

Documentation: http://archi.cetis.ac.uk/doc.html

Downloads: http://archi.cetis.ac.uk/download.html

 

Technorati Tags: Enterprise Architecture,ArchiMate,Archi

A Fool with a Tool is still a Fool

Today I was asked a series interesting questions in regards to why architects are so insistent on collecting models. He asked with passion, why there was a need to capture information from across the enterprise in a systematic way. Of course it didn’t help that there was the beginnings of an architectural current state analysis and road mapping exercise on my whiteboard and posted on my wall.

This led into a series of very challenging questions posed:

• Why would you build a model/picture of an environment or set of systems when you could just walk down the hall and talk to the person that wrote it?
• Isn’t a model subject to interpretation?
• If the architects in the company are looking at these models and making decisions how can we be sure they are making the right ones based on potential inaccuracy of the models.

After talking for about an hour about this I was able to finally get to the source of all the questions. As a developer, this person felt that architects and technical decision makers in the organization would take these models and make decisions in isolation and potentially abused on false information that would in turn potentially impact the developer in a negative way. Now we are getting somewhere… We have a case of Fear Uncertainty and Doubt or FUD. But, this fear is a common fear, especially if the organization has gone from little to no architecture maturity to the very beginnings of a structured architecture discipline.

So we have some FUD here, is this unfounded? Absolutely not. Believe it or not, sometimes architects over engineer or model an application, solution, platform or an enterprise in a less than optimal way. Sometimes downright inaccurate way. So is it fair to be worried, YES!

So this is where we actually get into why I label the post the way I did. So in the analogy, “A Fool with a Tool, is still a Fool” we have a direct correlation with this scenario.

When we look at the “Tool”, it would be the architectural artifact. This could be an architecture description, a model or a set of data supporting a solution.

The “Fool” or potential fool is either the creator or the end user of the specific artifact. Let’s just say that it is an architect for a moment. The architect who is going to use this tool or architecture model for a very specific set of purposes. One being, to make decisions.

For example, if the architect is going to use this information to make decisions it is the responsibility of that architect to think about the following questions:

• Is this the right model I should be basing by decisions off of?
• How accurate is the information displayed in the model? If unsure, ask someone.
• Understand the following principle “all models are false but some are useful”. Models that are created will sometimes have interpretation of a problem built in. As an architect you need to know how to quickly identify these areas.
• What was the created date?
• Are there tools and mechanisms that keep the information refreshed and thus the model can be trusted better.
• Finally, don’t be afraid to ask a lot questions!

What about these initial questions around the validity of the architectural approach? Has anything changed? Do we change the way we make decisions? No you do not. All of these questions center around information quality and collaboration. These are core tenets of good architecture practices. Models are extremely useful if used properly. However, we always need to be mindful of the fact, garbage in equals garbage out. The architecture model is only useful as the diligence that went into it, the maintenance of the information and that it is verified as valid ongoing.

The focus on the model specifically is actually the wrong center of focus. The center of focus should actually be on the user of that model. Let’s change the scenario and say that the model is actually 100% accurate. However, the architect that uses it isn’t the most seasoned and makes bad decisions off of a very accurate model. Where is the breakdown?

At the end of the day, the best tools still need a qualified operator. That is the essence of the analogy and why it applies so much to this scenario.

So if you are not challenging and following models blindly, yes, you are the fool in the scenario. But if you understand that architecture artifacts are just one tool in the toolbox and those tools need to be sharpened, tuned and even sometimes upgraded you’ll be just fine.

Microsoft Steps Up Architecture Modeling

Sudhanshu Hate from Infosys posted a good overview article on the new architecture modeling capabilities in Visual Studio Team System - Architecture Edition.

However, even though Microsoft steps-up in the architecture modeling capability it still lacks the repository aspects that bring the most value. As an example, each one of the models is still file based stored in a project structure. This isn't conducive to enabling architecture management across an organization. Everything is built in a hierarchy within a project.

One other gap is alignment to architecture modeling standards such as Archimate. I think there is an opportunity for Microsoft to leverage this already developed standard in the same way as they did with UML. Rather what we see now is Microsoft's own definition of what a logical model is.

This is a great first step getting the modeling pieces and kudos to the VSTS Team Architecture folks but I would encourage my friends back in Redmond to align more with the architecture industry standards and build out the a repository to enable systematic reuse and to make application portfolio management a reality.

See below for his post (http://www.infosysblogs.com/microsoft/2009/11/architecture_rules_enforcement.html):

For all these years if a .Net architect has to model the software system. He or she has to rely on modeling tools like Rational XDE, or Visio Enterprise Architect. Personally I was never impressed with Visio Enterprise architect’s modeling support, and code generation it has to offer. Though Visio has several stencils, templates, symbols available; UML modeling and associated code generation was always bit stiff. Integration with Visual studio to synch up models with code and vice a versa was another challenge.  3^rd party tools like RationalXDE has good support for .NET but one has to pay hefty license fees to use such tools.

Result of this, system modeling used to get constrained into Microsoft Word, Power Points, Visio’s. Keeping Word/Visio based models up to date w.r.to the architecture, design, code changes was always a catching game leading the code, designs and overall system documentation out of synch impacting traceability between these artifacts.

Increasingly this has caused the disharmony between architecture modeling and development teams.

After all these years, finally, Microsoft Visual Studio 2010(VS2010) seem to have helped overcome this obstacle by embracing Unified Modeling Language (UML) and making architecture, design, development, testing seamlessly possible through its Integrated development environment. If not all, VS2010 has support for most of the UML diagramming types like

1.    Use case diagram

2.    Activity diagram

3.    Sequence diagram

4.    Class diagram

5.    Component diagram

With VS2010 beta 2, while there are a few UML diagram types i found missing at this point of time like the ones of State life cycle, object, deployment etc. I was impressed with the inclusion of diagram type called as “Layered diagram”. Through this modeling diagram, one can not only depict various logical layers like Presentation (UI), Business logic, Data Access, Utility and Database but also define the dependencies/coupling between them in terms which layer can call which one. This helps in establishing and adhering the architecture rules set by an architect while architecting the system like Presentation layer components should not directly call the data access layer component and vice a versa.

To validate the architecture in code, one can map various project (UI, Service, Data access) files by dragging and dropping into this layer diagram in respective layers and then validate it by using VS2010 “Validate Architecture” option which tracks down any violations in the code.

So far while most of the architects used to write similar rules as part of MS word architecture document but it was left with the wisdom of developer to adhere or violate it, catching such architecture principle violations were difficult in the million Lines of code developed.

Through Layer diagramming architecture validation support, VS2010 will help in keeping the design and code in synch with the architecture and design principles established during the early stages of life cycle. However this is not all with VS2010 architecture modeling support, I have just scratched the surface of what VS2010 has on offer and intend to cover other aspects in coming blogs.

For all these years if a .Net architect has to model the software system. He or she has to rely on modeling tools like Rational XDE, or Visio Enterprise Architect. Personally I was never impressed with Visio Enterprise architect’s modeling support, and code generation it has to offer. Though Visio has several stencils, templates, symbols available; UML modeling and associated code generation was always bit stiff. Integration with Visual studio to synch up models with code and vice a versa was another challenge.  3^rd party tools like RationalXDE has good support for .NET but one has to pay hefty license fees to use such tools.

Result of this, system modeling used to get constrained into Microsoft Word, Power Points, Visio’s. Keeping Word/Visio based models up to date w.r.to the architecture, design, code changes was always a catching game leading the code, designs and overall system documentation out of synch impacting traceability between these artifacts.

Increasingly this has caused the disharmony between architecture modeling and development teams.

After all these years, finally, Microsoft Visual Studio 2010(VS2010) seem to have helped overcome this obstacle by embracing Unified Modeling Language (UML) and making architecture, design, development, testing seamlessly possible through its Integrated development environment. If not all, VS2010 has support for most of the UML diagramming types like

1.    Use case diagram

2.    Activity diagram

3.    Sequence diagram

4.    Class diagram

5.    Component diagram

With VS2010 beta 2, while there are a few UML diagram types i found missing at this point of time like the ones of State life cycle, object, deployment etc. I was impressed with the inclusion of diagram type called as “Layered diagram”. Through this modeling diagram, one can not only depict various logical layers like Presentation (UI), Business logic, Data Access, Utility and Database but also define the dependencies/coupling between them in terms which layer can call which one. This helps in establishing and adhering the architecture rules set by an architect while architecting the system like Presentation layer components should not directly call the data access layer component and vice a versa.

To validate the architecture in code, one can map various project (UI, Service, Data access) files by dragging and dropping into this layer diagram in respective layers and then validate it by using VS2010 “Validate Architecture” option which tracks down any violations in the code.

So far while most of the architects used to write similar rules as part of MS word architecture document but it was left with the wisdom of developer to adhere or violate it, catching such architecture principle violations were difficult in the million Lines of code developed.

Through Layer diagramming architecture validation support, VS2010 will help in keeping the design and code in synch with the architecture and design principles established during the early stages of life cycle. However this is not all with VS2010 architecture modeling support, I have just scratched the surface of what VS2010 has on offer and intend to cover other aspects in coming blogs.