Yesterday Adrian Reed from Blackmetric Business Solutions hosted a #BAcommunity webinar on Business Architecture led by Thamer Miles and Andrew Roche.
See the presentation here.
I like writing articles on the back of these sessions to spread the word (I strongly recommend them both as networking and development opportunities) but also because I know I listen more carefully when I make notes and I retain more information (and can refer to it afterwards) when I write about it.
So here go my take aways, feel free to improve them :)
1. The Objective and Challenges of the BCM Project
Thamer and Andrew presented their journey as part of project they called the ' Business Capability Model (BCM) Project' at Whitbread, sharing how they leaned on a comprehensive business architecture framework and why.
They mentioned Premier Inn and the 50k rooms they manage.
The drivers for the project were:
- The need to modernise legacy systems (e.g., Oracle Opera for reservations).
- A lack of a unified view of business capabilities to support strategic and operational decisions.
- Previously fragmented and incomplete capability models.
- Hundreds of process models scattered across various repositories, creating inefficiencies.
2. The Approach and Methodology
To address these challenges, the team followed a structured yet iterative process:
- Funding and Resource Allocation: Secured a 10-week funding pilot, later extended.
- Phased Delivery: Used an agile approach with 8-week delivery cycles, starting with high-level models and progressing to detailed artefacts.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Adopted a stealthy (cautious) approach to highlight operational benefits (e.g., speeding up analysis) rather than strategic uses to avoid resistance.
- Collaboration: Formed a working group with business analysts (BAs), architects and other stakeholders.
3. Key Artefacts and Tools Used
The team developed and used several artifacts and tools, each serving a unique purpose:
- Meta Model ("Jigsaw Box Lid"): A visual representation of how all artefacts interconnect, guiding the project and avoiding unnecessary complexity.
- Business Model Canvas: Provided a high-level overview of Whitbread’s value proposition, key activities and customer interactions.
- Value Chain: Mapped primary (customer lifecycle) and secondary (internal support) activities, creating a narrative for how the organisation delivers value.
- Value Streams: Focused on specific processes, customer journeys and data exchanges to identify and improve value delivery.
- Capability Model: Represented core business capabilities, aiding in the analysis of change impacts and structuring requirements.
- Process Models: Unified using new BPMN standards for consistency, highlighting pain points (e.g., fraud processes in finance).
4. Lessons Learned
The presentation reflected on key lessons:
- Iterative Value Delivery: Starting small, demonstrating early wins and adjusting based on feedback helped build momentum.
- Engagement Challenges: Winning over senior stakeholders required patience, tailored communication and demonstrating tangible value. Some stakeholders remained resistant.
- Balance in Detail: Striking a balance between sufficient detail and avoiding rabbit holes was essential. Overly granular models risked slowing down progress.
- Scalability and Maintenance: Ensuring long-term usability and sustainability of the framework remains a challenge, especially with over 3,000 processes catalogued.
5. Strategic Shifts During the Journey
The project evolved from focusing solely on business analysis efficiency to supporting strategic change management.
- Piloted a product-centric approach, using value streams to understand product lifecycles and their broader organisational impacts.
- Simplified artefacts (e.g., one-page business model canvases) to align with stakeholder needs and facilitate high-level discussions.
6. Final Outcomes and Future Plans
The BCM Project achieved significant progress:
- Developed a comprehensive framework supported by a newly implemented business architecture management tool, BiZZdesign, enabling centralised data storage, reporting and analysis.
- Plans include further refinement of customer journey maps and integrating portfolio analysis into the architecture for strategic planning.
Conclusion
Throughout the presentation there were images about roads (supposed to be winding) and a construction site that because an emerging landscape. They underscored that building an effective business architecture framework requires patience, adaptability and iterative value delivery.
You can't build Rome in one day!
