Serge Thorn

Enterprise Architecture domains include Business Architecture which is the first architecture domain within TOGAF 9. An Enterprise Architecture program that includes this domain, maps critical business processes to their application, information, and infrastructure components to ... (more)

In my previous article I describe the role of the Solution Architect within the TOGAF ADM, mostly acting between phases E to G, with a specific focus on E (Opportunities and Solutions) and F (Migration Planning). This article will cover the role in phase G: Implementation governa... (more)

Quite often people wonder where a Solution Architect fits within the TOGAF Framework and it is not obvious that there is a single answer. I suggest we look first at a generic profile for a Solution Architect. Companies such as Oracle, Cisco, SAP and others have roles called Solutio... (more)

For many years I have observed lots of confusion with some basic definitions such as IT and Enterprise Architecture among other terms. I will not try to define the meaning of Enterprise Architecture by myself (despite I have my own view on this) as this is something being right n... (more)

As a strategic activity for IT, communication is important for the effective management of both internal and external relationships. The IT function in many organizations operates with highly diverse stakeholders from different parts of the world. The situation has evolved rapidl... (more)

Many companies in their IT department have two units: IT Strategy & Planning and Enterprise Architecture. As regularly these are two different people managing these units, there is a high risk this ends up in serious conflicts. The IT Strategist needs to understand the organization... (more)

ITIL V3 is structured in 5 modules, one of them being The Service Design book. This book refers to technology-related activities (requirements engineering; data/information management and application management). It also covers some of the practicalities: functional roles analysi... (more)

Phase H in TOGAF helps to describe how to create a viable implementation and migration plan in co-operation with the portfolio and project managers. Very often companies already have in place a Project Portfolio Management framework and there may be a need to integrate your enter... (more)

TOGAF 9 has been announced at the Open Group 21st Enterprise Architecture Practitioners conference in San Diego. The Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral consortium, in early February delivered TOGAF 9, an enterprise architecture framework. TOGAF 9 introduces significant... (more)

OneCMDB Version 2.0 is a real interesting concept and product as this may be one of the first IT Service Management solution developed in an Open Source mode. It will not replace your Service Desk solution but may help companies with limited budget or companies which have a wide ... (more)

Quite often as an Enterprise Architects we are asked to show what the deliverables of an Enterprise Architecture program are. TOGAF provides a methodology for analyzing your specific situation and turning that analysis into deliverables and actionable artifacts. Artifacts may hav... (more)

The Integration Consortium asked me to run a TOGAF 9 Workshop at their Global Integration Summit on the 2nd of June in Las Vegas. Details ... (more)

TOGAF 9 promotes a very interesting concept related to Capability-based planning which is an approach more focused on business issues and outcomes. TOGAF 9 defines a capability as “An ability that an organization, person, or system possesses. Capabilities are typically expressed ... (more)

For those who are interested in TOGAF 9, I have written an article for the Integration Consortium. http://www.integrationconsortium.org/?page=TOGAF9 ... (more)

There are plenty of comparisons between architecture frameworks and the one I like is written by Roger Sessions from Objectwatch, Inc. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466232.aspx However when you need to explain this to your IT Management or to any decision maker, it beco... (more)

Linkedin introduced recently a new feature: Polls. I wanted to test that feature and created a poll with the main EA frameworks. Unfortunately, this is limited to 5 and I have not been able to include something like "others" or "proprietary". Furthermore it is not possible to selec... (more)

Finally IT Governance will be recognised as a standard. We already had a series of ISO standards for various IT Governance domains such as IT Service Management ISO 20000, Security Management ISO 27001, and Quality ISO 9000, but recently the international organization recognized ... (more)

The ISO standard is related to the definition and requirements of a quality management system. It helps an organization to operate with increased effectiveness, consistency and customer satisfaction and have the capability to continually improve the management system. ISO 9001:20... (more)

Capability modeling is an emerging technique for analyzing a business and modeling it in terms of its competencies. Capabilities are the building blocks of business. A business capability tipically defines what a business unit‘s purpose is, its core competencies, and is therefore... (more)

IT Governance is the responsibility of the board of directors and executive management of an IT department. It is an integral part of the enterprise governance and consists of the leadership and organizational structures and processes that ensure that the organization's IT sustai... (more)