A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture

by McGovern, James; Ambler, Scott W.; Stevens, Michael E.; Linn, James; Sharan, Vikas; Jo, Elias K.

• ISBN13: 9780131412750
• ISBN10: 0131412752
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-28
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

bull; Written by expert practitioners who have hands-on experience solving real-world problems for large corporations bull; Helps enterprise architects make sense of data, systems, software, services, product lines, methodologies, and much more bull; Provides explanation of theory and implementation with real-world business examples to support key points

Author Biography

James McGovern, Enterprise Architect for Hartford Financial Services Scott W. Ambler, Senior Consultant with Ronin International Michael E. Stevens, Software Architect for Hartford Financial Services, is a columnist for Developer.com James Linn, Consultant at Hartford Financial Services Vikas Sharan is Managing Partner of Lozoic Elias K. Jo, Systems Architect for The New York Times Digital

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Foreword	xvii
Preface	xxi
chapter 1 Systems Architecture	1	(34)
Canaxia Brings an Architect on Board	2	(15)
Network Protocols	17	(17)
Conclusion	34	(1)
chapter 2 Software Architecture	35	(28)
What Is Software Architecture?	36	(1)
The Role of a Software Architect	37	(1)
Why We Need Software Architecture	37	(2)
The System Stakeholders	39	(2)
Creating a Software Architecture: An Example	41	(7)
Architecture Description Languages and UML	48	(1)
Quality Attributes	49	(7)
Architectural Viewpoints	56	(4)
Architectural Styles, Patterns, and Metaphors	60	(2)
Conclusion	62	(1)
chapter 3 Service-Oriented Architecture	63	(28)
Benefits of an SOA	63	(4)
Characteristics of an SOA	67	(10)
Web Services	77	(3)
Services at Canaxía	80	(2)
SOA Issues	82	(2)
SOA Management	84	(3)
SOA Best Practices	87	(1)
SOA Antipatterns	87	(2)
Conclusion	89	(2)
chapter 4 Software Product Lines	91	(20)
Product Lines at Canaxia	93	(1)
History of Product Lines	94	(1)
What Is a Software Product Line?	95	(1)
Product Line Benefits	96	(1)
Product Line Aspects	97	(13)
Conclusion	110	(1)
chapter 5 Methodology Overview	111	(30)
The Software Development Life Cycle	112	(2)
Extreme Programming	114	(6)
SEI/CMM	120	(6)
The Zachman Framework	126	(4)
Model-Driven Architecture	130	(3)
Rational Unified Process	133	(5)
Using These Methodologies	138	(2)
Conclusion	140	(1)
chapter 6 Enterprise Unified Process	141	(8)
The Enterprise-Unified Process	142	(2)
The Production Phase	144	(1)
The Retirement Phase	144	(1)
The Operations and Support Discipline	145	(1)
The Enterprise Management Discipline	146	(1)
Why Adopt the EUP?	147	(1)
Conclusion	147	(2)
chapter 7 Agile Architecture	149	(16)
Agility ín a Nutshell	150	(2)
Potential Problems with Traditional Approaches to Enterprise Architecture	152	(1)
An Agile Approach to Architecture	153	(5)
What Should Agile Architecture Efforts Produce?	158	(1)
Agile Architecture at Canaxia	158	(3)
Introducing an Agile Approach into Your Organization	161	(1)
Are Other Architecture Approaches Agile?	162	(1)
Potential Problems with an Agile Approach	163	(1)
Conclusion	164	(1)
chapter 8 Agile Modeling	165	(14)
The Goals of Agile Modeling	166	(9)
Agile Models	175	(2)
Agile Documents	177	(1)
Conclusion	178	(1)
chapter 9 Presentation Tier Architecture	179	(26)
Key Presentation Tier Components	181	(6)
General Design Recommendations	187	(4)
Design Guidelines for Interface Components	191	(12)
Conclusion	203	(2)
chapter 10 Usability and User Experience	205	(20)
Understanding Usability	207	(1)
User Experience Components	208	(7)
Usability and User Experience Design Process	215	(1)
Usability Techniques	216	(6)
Sharing the Usability Test Reports	222	(1)
Out-of-the-Box Experience	222	(1)
Conclusion	223	(2)
chapter 11 Data Architecture	225	(32)
The Business Problem	226	(1)
Baseline Data Architecture	227	(3)
Frameworks	230	(4)
Metadata	234	(5)
Advanced Metadata Architecture	239	(2)
Data Security	241	(1)
Agile Database Techniques	242	(13)
Conclusion	255	(2)
chapter 12 Thought Leadership	257	(12)
Organizational Matrix	257	(1)
Outsourcing and Core Competencies	258	(1)
Strong Technical Leadership	259	(1)
Architects Stand the Test of Time	260	(1)
The Savage Pursuit of Best Practices	261	(1)
The Agile CIO	262	(1)
The Mysteries of Open Source	263	(1)
Consultant 101	264	(1)
Why I Should Be a CIO	265	(1)
The Next Minute	266	(1)
Conclusion	267	(2)
Appendix A	269	(4)
Appendix B	273	(2)
Appendix C	275	(2)
Appendix D	277	(4)
Appendix E	281	(6)
Appendix F	287	(6)
Appendix G	293	(2)
About the Authors	295	(2)
Index	297

Excerpts

Preface In today's business climate, the rules of competition have changed. Organizations are forced to eliminate the process of reinventing the wheel each time a new business problem arises that forces the enhancement of an existing system or implementation of a new one. Enterprise architecture is the practice that allows organizations to build foundations they need to survive and adapt to present and future business challenges. Sound enterprise architecture supports the ability to stay agile, provides for increased return on investment, and creates a framework for making future technology decisions. Enterprise architecture identifies the main components of an organization and how components in the organization's nervous system function together to achieve defined business objectives. These components include personnel, business processes, technology, financial information and other resources. If decisions about components and their interrelationships are uncoordinated, minimally effort and resources will be duplicated; performance and management problems will arise and will result in the loss of agility. Enterprise architecture done correctly will ensure the choice of appropriate components and will specify how each component will operate together in a fluid manner that increases organizational efficiencies. Enterprise architecture is one of the most challenging roles in information technology today. Many aspects of the role are technical while much more of it is about interaction. Many people who have this position have significant responsibility but do not have authority or control. Enterprise architecture as an area of study allows one to focus on interesting, complex problems, to advance on the corporate ladder, and to maintain technical competencies while making a colossal difference to the enterprise. Enterprise architecture requires skill sets not normally taught in university curriculum or acquired on the job. Even good architectures are rarely accepted without formidable challenges. The successful architect has to overcome any aversion to politics and become the evangelist of architecture in the eyes of its various stakeholders. Architects cannot simply buy into any vision that is articulated. Any involvement in the implementation of enterprise architecture requires one to understand it. The most successful architecture will have an architect that can describe the motivation behind architectural choices. Likewise, a successful architecture has an architect who leads the architecture team, the development team, the technical direction of the enterprise, and sometimes the organization itself. The primary focus of this book is to be a guide and trusted advisor to those who want to be successful in this role.A wise enterprise architect once worked for a very well-respected organization (name intentionally withheld). He was passionately engaged in a conversation with a senior executive about what direction the organization should take with its information systems. His recommendations fell on deaf ears until he asked the executive three very simple questions: How can we have a viable customer relationship management strategy when we do not even know where all of our customer's data reside? How does our technology spending equate to enabling our strategic business goals? Does our organization have an operational process model? As you can surmise, the answers to these questions were not known. Many executives in information technology are not knowledgeable about what it takes to guide the architecture in the direction that results in the biggest bang for the buck. Sadly, many executives have lost control of the ship they steer, which has resulted in bloated infrastructures and conclusions being made on whims rather than on sound principle-based judgment and experience.In many organizations, the annual budget cycle starts with clueless, disruptive ques