Repeatable Architecture Processes

In my consulting practice, there are several tools that I've created over the years to help clients move toward establishing repeatable architecture processes - and eventually moving toward an Agile (and Lean) Architecture approach.

For example:

1) Architecture Assessment Checklist - useful for quickly assessing an enterprise, application, or vendor product/service offering (often used in collaboration with a client's procurement team during their RFP process and preparing recommendations and vendor evaluation feedback to the leadership team). Using this particular tool - primarily focused on evaluating technical aspects, this level of assessment analysis can often be completed over a period of 3-5 days.

2) Enterprise Architecture Assessment Template - A template for a deeper-dive assessment process - that is typically completed over a period of four (4) weeks - with the report usually consisting of 60-80 pages - that is intended to examine the following areas:

• Business Operations
• Product Management
• Enterprise Architecture
• Engineering
• Infrastructure
• Data Management
• DevOps
• Non-Functional Requirements
• Information Security

3) Enterprise Architecture Artifact Category Taxonomy - Currently in a working draft status, with 369 entries. I recently completed a major revision (v2) to its organization and structure. The next version (v3) will be another major revision and restructuring - and will be formally defined via OWL/RDF - to help facilitate some additional automated processing capabilities that I have in mind for the future.

4) Architecture Decision Record (ADR) Template - used to help facilitate the adoption of Agile Architecture practices - and help an organization move away from historically centralized governance of the majority of their architecture decisions - and minimizing the historically draconian "gating" function of more heavy-handed choke-point processes such as Architecture Review Boards (ARBs)

5) Solution Architecture Document (SAD) Template - An "illustrative, not exhaustive" exemplar - to provide a team or organization with a starting point of establishing a repeatable level of analysis in the preparation of a Solution Architecture - intended to provide guidance to team members that may be new (or, less experienced) - with respect to the concerns that are often missed. Always customized to suit the culture of the client - depending on their level of Enterprise Architecture Maturity, regulatory/compliance requirements, progression on their journey toward adoption of Agile Architecture practices, and on complexity and mission-critical nature of their systems and business operations.

The journey with a client is always a process of evolution - seeking to: "Accelerate. Innovate. Elevate.".