Assessment Details:

This assessment is designed to assess develop your skills in Enterprise Architecture (EA). You are required to develop knowledge on EA methodology, EA Framework, data model and emerging EA. In completing this assessment successfully, you will be able to know major widely accepted Enterprise Architecture (EA) domains, layers, frameworks and governance, which will help in achieving ULO-3, ULO-4, and  ULO-5.

Report: Part-I (Case Study)

Techbank is a mid-size financial company. A couple of years ago Techbank decided to establish a fullfledged EA practice to accommodate with the growing problems around non-transparency of its IT investments and poor business and IT alignment in general. To boost its EA initiative, the company decided to purchase a specialized software tool for enterprise architecture. For this purpose, its IT leaders studied the available offerings on the EA tool market, contacted most promising vendors, organized meetings with vendor representatives and listened to their presentations. As a result, Techbank had selected and acquired a rather powerful and expensive tool for enterprise architecture from a well-known vendor. Then, the company had installed and configured the tool, established a central repository for storing architectural information and sent its architecture team to a special training supplied by the tool vendor. After the training, architects had documented most areas of the organizational IT landscape and associated business processes in the EA repository and started to update this information to keep it current. Architects were also impressed with the modeling, visualization and analytical capabilities offered by their new EA tool.

However, Techbank’s CIO is sceptical towards the chosen EA tool. He believes that the company is only wasting money on the tool as it is essentially nothing more than a sophisticated repository of current-state information. Furthermore, the tool is used by only 4-5 people in the entire organization (all architects), does not facilitate informed decision-making among business stakeholders in any sense and does not contribute to achieving the original objectives of the EA initiative to improve business and IT alignment.

As a newly manager at Techbank, Techbank’s CIO has asked you to provide a report that addresses the following:

1. Discuss 5 reasons why the implementation of the EA tools at Techbank is NOT a waste of money.
2. Discuss the five key difference between EA Tools and CMDBs(Configuration Management Databases)
3. Based on your lecture notes, discuss 4 archetypes of architects that would be employed at Techbank

Report: Part-II

Data#7 is a diversified, multi-profile company. Essentially, it is a conglomerate company consisting of three diverse strategic units acting as independent businesses under separate brands in different industry sectors: Unit Alpha, Unit Beta and Unit Gamma. Data#7 is governed from the central head office, which oversights the three subsidiary business units and their financial performance indicators, though without any operational interventions. Each strategic business unit has its own managing director with full discretion and responsibility over its competitive strategy, investment priorities, budget allocation and ensuing yearly profits.

Unit Alpha is in the food manufacturing business. The unit produces and distributes a variety of goods including, but not limited to, vegetables, groceries, meat and dairy products. Each of these product lines requires unique production processes, storage arrangements, transportation approaches and underlying equipment and is organizationally implemented by a separate specialized product department. However, these products are delivered largely to the same circle of customers, including both major retailers and local food shops. All product lines are also served by a number of common unit-wide functions, e.g. HR, finance, accounting, logistics, legal, marketing and sales support.

Unit Beta competes in the restaurant business with 450 IT staff. Specifically, the unit controls a chain of small fast-food restaurants occupying the low-cost market niche. In total, the chain includes more than 159 restaurants located in different geographies and more restaurants are planned to be opened in the foreseeable future. All restaurants offer same interiors, menus, prices, meals and services to their customers and imply standardized policies, working procedures and supporting equipment. However, each restaurant is run separately by a chief manager responsible for its overall financial well-being and all necessary business processes, e.g. recruiting, training, procurement, cooking, servicing, cleaning and complaints management. With the exception of Unit Beta’s lean central office, where chain-wide branding, marketing and other strategic decisions are made, the restaurants operate independently from each other and even have their own profit and loss statements.

Finally, Unit Gamma runs a chain of resort hotels. These hotels gravitate towards the high-end price segment and offer premium-quality services to their customers. Unit Gamma’s competitive strategy implies improving its brand recognition and achieving consistent customer experience. For this purpose, the unit’s leadership plans to standardize all customer-facing and, to a lesser extent, backoffice processes across all hotels of the chain as well as all its suppliers and service providers. Moreover, Unit Gamma also intends to become “closer” to its customers and build lifelong customer relationships. This strategy requires collecting more information about customers, their individual preferences and transaction histories, aggregating this information globally and leveraging it for providing customized services, launching loyalty programs, developing special offers and promoting personalized discounts.

As an EA manager at Data#7, you are required to write a report that discusses the following:

1. Describe five major roles that OUTLINE as EA Artifacts will play in Data#7.
2. Discuss four reasons why outsourcing of EA practice is NOT a good option for Data#7
3. Discuss three type of consulting engagement that Data#7 would consider and; recommend consulting engagement that would be approved by Data#7’s CIO
4. Discuss 5 reason why implementation of Architecture Debt is very important in Data#7
5. Based on IT staff ratio model and degree of decentralization as a factor, name and discuss architects positions that would be required in Unit Beta.

Note: This should be answered based on the information provided in lecture notes

Report: Part-III

Yepstock is a large financial and stockbroker company. 8 years ago Yepstock decided to establish a full-fledged EA practice to accommodate with the growing problems around non-transparency of its IT investments and poor business and IT alignment in general. The establishment of EA practice was successful, and it was completed last 1 year. Due to recent advancement in technologies, Yepstock wants to implement Cloud Computing technologies that would empower their staff and customers for example, implementation of analytical Cloud Computing Technologies that would enable Yepstock staff to approve credit card application within 30 minutes of the submission of the application.

However, Yepstock’s CEO is sceptical towards the implementation of cloud computing technologies. He believes that the company is only wasting money on the cloud computing technologies as it is essentially nothing more than a sophisticated collection of data.

As a newly promoted IT manager at Yepstock, you are required to write a report that discusses the following:

1. Four (4) types of cloud computing that Yepstock could use or implement.
2. Five (5) challenges that Yepstock may have with implementation of Cloud Computing Technologies and how the challenges should be resolved.
3. Five (5) characteristics of cloud computing and explain 4 major cloud computing services that you would recommend to Yepstock.

Five (5) IT Governance and IT Service Management, recommend with 5 reasons if COIB or ITIL framework should be implement in Yepstock organization