Enterprise Architecture
Sustainability needs to be incorporated into the models and plans used improve business performance. One of the strategic tools for business is Enterprise Architecture (EA).
The Australian Government Information Management Office, in their Australian Government Architecture (AGIMO 2010b) define Enterprise Architecture (EA) as:
The explicit description and documentation of the current and desired relationships among business and management processes and information technology. An EA describes the 'current architecture' and 'target architecture' to include the rules and standards and systems life cycle information to optimise and maintain the environment which the agency wishes to create and maintain by managing its ICT portfolio. The EA must also provide a strategy that will enable the agency to support its current state and also act as the roadmap for transition to its target environment. These transition processes will include an agency's capital planning and investment control processes, agency EA planning processes and agency systems life cycle methodologies.
Neil Ward-Dutton in his blog posting on Real-world Enterprise Architecture part I: journey vs destination (2007a) argues that it should not focus too much on the technical nature of EA outputs (diagrams and reports) and concentrate on communicating with business people and stakeholder engagement. In Part 2 (2007b) he argues that large organisations are rarely truly centralised and actually use a federated style of IT work.
Models
For its Reference Models, AGIMO (2007b) adapted the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) of the United States Government, which has five areas:
Performance Reference Model (PRM)
The Performance Reference Model (PRM) shows the relationship between input and output of the process being modelled and allows both to be measured and reported. AGIMO define:
- Measurement Areas: ... The PRM includes six measurement areas: Mission and Business Results, Customer Results, Processes and Activities, Human Capital, Technology, and Other Fixed Assets. ...
- Measurement Indicators: the specific measures, e.g. number and/or percentage of customers satisfied tailored for a specific BRM line of business or business capability, agency, program or ICT initiative.
Business Reference Model
The Business Reference Model (BRM) provides a functional view of the operations and its services of an organisation. This need not follow the existing organisational structure as it should reflect what the organisation provides its clients, not how it is currently structured. AGIMO uses a modified form of the US Federated Enterprise Architecture Business Reference Model (FEA-BRM). This is intended to provide a of whole-of-government approach to providing services. AGIMO identifies three levels in its BRM:
- Business Areas: which describe government functionality and activities surrounding the operations of government
- Lines of Business within each business area: which relate to government functions at the middle level of the BRM hierarchy
- Business Capabilities under each Line of Business (LoB): which relate to government sub-functions, at the lowest level of the BRM hierarchy.
Service Reference Model (SRM)
The AGIMO Service Reference Model classifies Service Domains and within these Service Types used to build the ICT system:
- Customer Services
- Customer Relationship Management
- Customer Preferences
- Customer Initiated Assistance
- Process Automation Services
- Tracking and Workflow
- Routing and Scheduling
- Business Management Services
- Management of Process
- Organisational Management
- Investment Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Digital Asset Services
- Content Management
- Document Management
- Knowledge Management
- Records Management
- Business Analytical Services
- Analyses and Statistics
- Visualisation
- Knowledge Discovery
- Business Intelligence
- Reporting
- Back Office Services
- Data Management
- Human Resources
- Financial Management
- Assets/Materials Management
- Development and Integration
- Human Capital / Workforce Management
- Support Services
- Security Management
- Collaboration
- Search
- Communication
- Systems Management
- Forms Management
Data Reference Model (DRM)
A Data Reference Model defines the information used across an organisation. AGIMO use the example of the data description for "person" and "event" entities as:
- Person is shown as personidentifier shown as an integer; fullName shown as a string; birthDate shown as a Date; age shown as an Integer; address shown as a String; etc.
- Eventis shown as eventidentifier shown as an Integer; eventType shown as a String; eventDate shown as a Date; eventTime shown as Time; etc
This allows different agencies of the Australian Government to share data on people and events.
Technical Reference Model (TRM)
Now Read
- Ward-Dutton's Real-world Enterprise Architecture part I (2007a) and Part II (2007b).
- AGIMO's Australian Government Architecture Reference Models (2010b).
Questions
- Enterprise Architecture for sustainability: EA has a bewildering range of models and diagrams to describe the business of an organisation. Pick one model or diagram from the EA of your organisation, or one you are familiar with and explain how sustainability goals can be advanced using it. If you do not have access to EA for an organisation, use the Australian Government Architecture Reference Models (AGIMO, 2010b).
- Centralised and decentralised use of ICT: Documents such as the Australian Government Architecture Reference Models, imply an organisation has just one way of working. But Neil Ward-Dutton in his blog "Real-world Enterprise Architecture part II" (2007b) says that large organisations are rarely truly centralised and actually use a federated style of IT work. Give examples from your organisation, or an organisation you are familiar with, of centralised or decentralised use of ICT and its implications for energy savings strategies.
Next: Procurement.
About the book: ICT Sustainability: Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future
ICT Sustainability is about how to assess, and reduce, the carbon footprint and materials used with computers and telecommunications. These are the notes for an award winning course on strategies for reducing the environmental impact of computers and how to use the Internet to make business more energy efficient.
Title: ICT Sustainability: Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future
Copyright © Tom Worthington, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4478-1454-2. (Paperback and PDF published by Lulu)
ISBN: 978-1-4478-6164-5. (ePub eBook published by LuLu and available via Apple iTunes)
ISBN: 978-0-9806201-9-1. (Kindle eBook published by Tomw Communications Pty, Limited)
These notes are used for the courses:
-
Green Technology Strategies: offered in the Computer Professional Education Program, Australian Computer Society (first run as "Green ICT Strategies" in February 2009),
-
Green Information Technology Strategies (COMP7310), in the Graduate Studies Select program, Australian National University (first run July 2009), and
- Green ICT Strategies (ACS25): offered in the Postgraduate Program of Open Universities Australia from 2010,
A North American version of the course by Brian Stewart, Athabasca University (Canada) is also available: Green ICT Strategies (COMP 635).
The notes were first published in 2009 ("Green ICT") and updated 2010 ("Green Technology Strategies"). Students can download or print their own copy of the e-book from the course learning management system, which is likely to be more up to date.
The web version of ICT Sustainability: Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future by Tom Worthington is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia License.