Many Enterprises struggle with IT frameworks. These frameworks are meant to help turn Business strategy into executable plans. Some frameworks, such as TOGAF or Zachmann will help an Enterprise IT group understand WHAT it needs to do to achieve its goals. Other frameworks, like COBIT or ITIL will further explain HOW to achieve those goals. When an Enterprise does not follow any of the established frameworks, they will often try to devise their own. The diagram above illustrates one such framework - the "CLP" framework (the "A" was added later, after missing information was identified).
Conceptual - this stage of the framework takes the Business Activities into account. Each discrete activity can be mapped out as a few elements in a process, describing a single activity. An example might be "calculate price".
Logical - this stage maps the discrete activities required. To calculate price, we need some information from a number of sources, such as the gross price, a taxation rate, a discount and a profit margin. Further, architectural governance (standards) are applied, such as use of a Linux operating system, or mandating a particular security framework. Finally, Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) are described, such as how quickly a system must respond or how many transactions per minute the system must satisfy.
Application - this stage is where we begin to apply some business logic about what to do with the information. It maps out what the information should be expected to look like, such as expressing numbers in Currency notation, with two decimal points of precision. It will also describe any user interfaces and other means of accessing information. It specifically maps business activities to Functional Requirements.
Physical - this final stage helps identify all of systems that are required. Items such as CPU utilization and storage requirements are calculated to determine how best to implement the system into a computing environment. It describes systems interactions in terms of protocols and transports.
This is not an exhaustive look at frameworks, and many Enterprise Architects will keenly assess missing elements from this simplistic framework. But, executed properly, a framework such as this one could be sufficient for an Enterprise to begin taking advantage of IT to realize their business strategy.
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1 comment:
This is a very good framework, Mark. It's at a very high altitude, which leaves much to interpretation ... which can also be it's flexibility. But it is clearly sound. I would argue with (what appears to be) some small details of allocation to which group, particularly amongst Conceptual, Logical and Application. But that's probably because I'm a pedant.
This is an excellent, and sound conceptual start. Knowing your abilities, I would recommend you expand on the concept and then publish a book on what could be an exciting new IT Business Development Framework.
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