Architecture and Engineering Role for Digital Transformation Programs
Initiatives, Programs, and Projects are bodies of people that are brought together to realize a mission, launch a product, etc. They are established within companies and governmental bodies while doing business. We are speaking here of Transformation Programs designed to either introduce new Capabilities or to make capital investments in existing Capabilities. IT transformation is seen and discussed by companies, businesses, and organizations in the media and particularly in annual reports and updates. Now Digital transformation has become a catch-all term for various types of business change, but what does it mean and what is the difference? “Transformation” in any form means major change. Digital transformation is about major change to the way an enterprise uses IT, while IT transformation refers to how the IT products and services are delivered. These Transformation Programs are typically chartered and launched by the Business Areas or Business Lines.
A Transformation Program is responsible for an agreed to investment and a decision that was made during the early stages of the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Process to pursue the investment. While a certain amount of Architecture was developed during those early stages, the transformation program now needs to expound upon that architecture to form a complete set of blueprints for the Capability being introduced or refreshed. Note that the idea of producing a complete set of blueprints does not preclude agility: the IT detail is produced by applying agile techniques within the context of the transformation programs. Additionally, some of the data being produced in the architecture and engineering activities (like the process taxonomy) make agility feasible, and other more detailed IT data is fed to the Service Management / Operations team or directly fed into the Service Management System and Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
An architecture and engineering approach for Transformation Program Management is shown in Figure 1. This process is noteworthy because it iterates acquisitions and contract development as one converges on a solution.
The Evolutionary Process for the Integration of COTS-based Systems (EPIC) is a great approach to follow and leverage for the architecture and engineering activities that need to occur in the context of your broader Transformation Program Management Process.
The reason why an architecture and engineering approach is important for a successful Transformation Program are listed below:
- Transformation Programs are business focused, meaning that they are typically looking at a new Business Model or analyzing aspects of existing business models and operations.
- Transformation Programs scope is typically the full Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership, Personnel, and Facilities (DOTMLPF) spectrum and rarely deal solely with IT. It is a common mistake to think that these programs are IT only. For instance, many businesses launch programs to establish company-wide Systems / Applications like a Financial Management System / Application. Setting aside the fact that they are creating a silo, they tend to gloss over the Policy and Organizational impacts and changes, they overlook education and training, and they ignore skills and staffing plans, etc.
- The Transformation Programs are governed by the established management system. This is to avoid indiscriminate decisions and single person decision making
- Transformation Programs begin in one fiscal year as part of the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Process and then continue after the proposed investment and the budget has been approved.
In a nutshell, we are talking about your ability to handle Strategic Planning and transformative initiatives in a systematic way. You’re planning and resulting success in the market are worth the discipline and investment. We are in the midst of a digital revolution; it is in the midst of this revolution that you might take a moment to Architect and Engineer the business and future state, and to establish the Architecture as the heart and brain of your business.
