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eXtreme Enterprise Architecture eXplained - Part 1by Jeff Tash The complex task of
Worst of all -- the requirements keep constantly changing. XEA to the rescue! XEA -- eXtreme Enterprise Architecture -- is a lightweight methodology for creating and managing technology portfolios. Technology portfolios guide the assessment of risk related to the performance of investments. The goal is to more quickly and more reliably:
XEA is targeted to teams of IT professionals - those groups of people responsible for:
Standards and architectures are intimately intertwined. One way to distinguish between the two -- think of “standards as the maintenance of architectures.” XEA is truly eclectic -- a combination of the best elements from a variety of sources -- with clearly stated goals:
XEA is quite different than most of today’s more typical, comprehensive enterprise architectural approaches. XEA concentrates on establishing a dynamic, flexible, technology portfolio -- a platform -- the bedrock upon which rests the rest of enterprise architecture. The title of this document is a take-off on Kent Beck’s best-selling book, which is entitled “eXtreme Programming eXplained: Embrace Change” [ see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201616416/qid=1045493594/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-5792550-5713627 ] Paraphrasing Kent Beck, XEA takes commonsense principles and practices to extreme levels. Just like Kent Beck’s eXtreme Programming (XP) -- XEA is a lightweight, efficient, low-risk, flexible, predictable, scientific, and fun way to develop technology portfolios. XEA is distinguished from other enterprise architecture methodologies in that it focuses on modeling an organization’s technology portfolio from a product-centric perspective. People often ask, what’s so special about product-centric? Why should IT care about product-centric? Let me share with you an anecdotal story about a personal epiphany I experienced -- an ah huh. I was chairman of a DCI event with appearances in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. I’ll never forget how amazed I was by how different the cultures were in each of these different parts of the world. I recall presenting my first lecture in New Zealand. It was my very first trip down under. Not seeing the Big Dipper in the night sky was just one of my many observations. Traveling by car from Auckland to Wellington, let’s just say this “Dorothy” knew she wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Next, I ventured on to that other land of “Oz” -- Australia. What surprised me most was how similar Australians were to Americans -- only with very funny accents. No one, anywhere, knows how to party like the Australians. These people genuinely enjoy life to the fullest. Next, I flew from Sydney to the city-nation of Singapore. I don’t know how to begin describing my reaction to this glittering city only 90 miles north of the equator. One thing’s for certain -- this wasn’t New Zealand or Australia or the old U. S. of A. Finally, my journey brought me to Hong Kong -- a city of indescribable hustle and bustle everywhere -- in the city -- on the harbor -- aboard the ferries. Most memorable were the contrasting sights and sounds and odors that were everywhere -- especially the odors. So, there I’d been, four places in three weeks, as different as different could be. Yet, you know what surprised me most? The moment I stepped foot inside a room full of IT professionals -- I was home -- we were family. IT has its own unique, global culture -- one that permeates across national, ethnic, cultural, and organizational borders. The epiphany that struck me is that products are the lifeblood of every IT organization. People, the world over, who work with the same set of products, struggle with the same set of issues and problems, regardless of where they live. An Oracle DBA is an Oracle DBA is an Oracle DBA. A Visual Basic programmer in Singapore is grappling with the same exact set of issues as VB developers in Sydney, Hong Kong, or Auckland. Products are, literally, the glue that unifies a global IT organization. Concentrating my attention on products has led me to two additional insights:
Jeff Tash is CEO of Flashmap Systems, Inc. (www.FlashmapSystems.com) and creator of two free interactive sites: ITscout (www.ITscout.org), provides a formal way of organizing, classifying and categorizing the multitude of products within the computer industry in a way that both technical and non-technical people can easily understand; and the Architecture Resource Repository Site (www.ITscout.org/architecture) that provides information specific to IT architecture, including descriptions of products, consultants, concept definitions, glossary terms and more. Jeff is a Microsoft MVP Architect and an IASA Fellow.
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