Architecture Governance
Determine the principles, decision rights, rules, and methods that are used to give direction to, and monitor the development of, enterprise architecture and its alignment and integration with wider organizational governance.
Improvement Planning
Practices-Outcomes-Metrics (POM)
Representative POMs are described for Architecture Governance at each level of maturity.
- 2Basic
- Practices
- Define and measure the impact of architecture management in the context of metrics that drive shared IT infrastructure, specific initiatives, or architecture management activities.
- The metrics may include cost reduction, consolidation, technology or vendor standardization, the number of architecture reviews, and exceptions to standards.
- Outcome
- Empirical data becomes available to guide a more standardized IT estate, with lower TCO.
- Metrics
- Survey results that identify where organization support and resistance to architecture projects lie.
- Satisfaction ratings for the architecture function.
- Basic counters and trends for architecture artefacts creation and usage.
- Budgets, costs, and resource usage.
- Aggregated project portfolio, programme, and project metrics for dash boards, and project phase and task metrics for diagnosis.
- Practice
- Apply EAM principles during the budgeting process.
- Outcome
- Budget decisions are cognizant of the business and the technology roadmap and provide better long term outcomes.
- Metrics
- Survey results that identify where organization support and resistance to architecture projects lie.
- Satisfaction ratings for the architecture function.
- Basic counters and trends for architecture artefacts creation and usage.
- Budgets, costs, and resource usage.
- Aggregated project portfolio, programme, and project metrics for dash boards, and project phase and task metrics for diagnosis.
- Practice
- Develop domain-specific architecture metrics (e.g. # of server vendors, # of operating systems, # of HR platforms).
- Outcome
- Communications with domain-specific audiences are simplified and decisions are data-driven.
- Metrics
- Survey results that identify where organization support and resistance to architecture projects lie.
- Satisfaction ratings for the architecture function.
- Basic counters and trends for architecture artefacts creation and usage.
- Budgets, costs, and resource usage.
- Aggregated project portfolio, programme, and project metrics for dash boards, and project phase and task metrics for diagnosis.
- 3Intermediate
- Practices
- Define an overall governance process that is consistent across IT.
- This includes architecture principles, decision rights, the distribution and control of authority, and the use of governance bodies.
- Outcome
- The life cycle management of architecturally significant projects is simplified because there are clear lines of authority and decision-making rights.
- Metrics
- Counts, averages, variances, and associated trends of errors and rework.
- Variance from targets and mean.
- Issue counts and trends (by severity and urgency).
- Open to close metrics (e.g. time, total cost of fix).
- Metadata enabled aggregate metrics by department, function, business unit, geospatial region, product, service, and so forth.
- Surveys on awareness of, usability, and use of architecture artefacts and guidance.
- Project portfolio, programme, and project life-cycle metrics.
- Practice
- Ensure governance accountabilities are clearly documented and transparent.
- Outcome
- Those with authority and responsibility for architecture decisions and their implementation are clearly held accountable for their actions and the quality of outcomes associated with their work.
- Metrics
- Counts, averages, variances, and associated trends of errors and rework.
- Variance from targets and mean.
- Issue counts and trends (by severity and urgency).
- Open to close metrics (e.g. time, total cost of fix).
- Metadata enabled aggregate metrics by department, function, business unit, geospatial region, product, service, and so forth.
- Surveys on awareness of, usability, and use of architecture artefacts and guidance.
- Project portfolio, programme, and project life-cycle metrics.
- Practice
- Extend the architecture governance board to include representatives from all lines of businesses, and with authority on all architecture and design decisions.
- Outcome
- Stakeholder participation reduces the likelihood of important items being overlooked and greatly enhances buy-in and acceptance of architecture decisions.
- Metrics
- Counts, averages, variances, and associated trends of errors and rework.
- Variance from targets and mean.
- Issue counts and trends (by severity and urgency).
- Open to close metrics (e.g. time, total cost of fix).
- Metadata enabled aggregate metrics by department, function, business unit, geospatial region, product, service, and so forth.
- Surveys on awareness of, usability, and use of architecture artefacts and guidance.
- Project portfolio, programme, and project life-cycle metrics.
- Practice
- Review each architecturally significant project to ensure quality and adherence to established guidelines and criteria.
- Outcome
- If there are issues, these will be found earlier in projects and the review processes will tend to eliminate non-compliance because staff understand it will be detected and rework may be ordered.
- Metrics
- Counts, averages, variances, and associated trends of errors and rework.
- Variance from targets and mean.
- Issue counts and trends (by severity and urgency).
- Open to close metrics (e.g. time, total cost of fix).
- Metadata enabled aggregate metrics by department, function, business unit, geospatial region, product, service, and so forth.
- Surveys on awareness of, usability, and use of architecture artefacts and guidance.
- Project portfolio, programme, and project life-cycle metrics.
- Practice
- Escalate projects deemed non-compliant to senior leadership for action (e.g. grant waiver, force redesign).
- Outcome
- Senior management have an opportunity to act early to resolve potential delays, architecture impairment, or architecture deficiencies.
- Metrics
- Counts, averages, variances, and associated trends of errors and rework.
- Variance from targets and mean.
- Issue counts and trends (by severity and urgency).
- Open to close metrics (e.g. time, total cost of fix).
- Metadata enabled aggregate metrics by department, function, business unit, geospatial region, product, service, and so forth.
- Surveys on awareness of, usability, and use of architecture artefacts and guidance.
- Project portfolio, programme, and project life-cycle metrics.
- 4Advanced
- Practice
- Integrate the enterprise architecture management governance process with governance processes for strategic planning and portfolio management across the entire organization.
- Outcome
- The organization and its enterprise architecture function are integrated seamlessly on projects and operational activities.
- Metrics
- Counts and trends of governance compliance and governance exceptions.
- Elapsed time and trends for governance steps such as approvals cycles.
- Counts and trends for first time fixed and count issues re-opened.
- Pareto of missing information types that cause delays in decision-making.
- Frequency and time in use of tool features.
- Cost, cycle-time, and resource utilization impact of automation and architecture driven process changes.
- Baseline measurements of business (unit) operations before an architecturally significant change implementation so that its impact can subsequently be determined more accurately.
- Comprehensive project portfolio, programme, and project metrics.
- Stakeholder surveys on communications, architecture engagement, and architecture artefact utility.
- Practice
- Ensure senior stakeholders participate in and sponsor the enterprise architecture governance board.
- Outcome
- Respect for and acceptance of architecture governance board decisions is very much the norm.
- Metrics
- Counts and trends of governance compliance and governance exceptions.
- Elapsed time and trends for governance steps such as approvals cycles.
- Counts and trends for first time fixed and count issues re-opened.
- Pareto of missing information types that cause delays in decision-making.
- Frequency and time in use of tool features.
- Cost, cycle-time, and resource utilization impact of automation and architecture driven process changes.
- Baseline measurements of business (unit) operations before an architecturally significant change implementation so that its impact can subsequently be determined more accurately.
- Comprehensive project portfolio, programme, and project metrics.
- Stakeholder surveys on communications, architecture engagement, and architecture artefact utility.
- Practice
- Maintain a strong architecture voice in overall organizational governance.
- Outcome
- Organizational governance has incorporated enterprise architecture as a core stewardship function.
- Metrics
- Counts and trends of governance compliance and governance exceptions.
- Elapsed time and trends for governance steps such as approvals cycles.
- Counts and trends for first time fixed and count issues re-opened.
- Pareto of missing information types that cause delays in decision-making.
- Frequency and time in use of tool features.
- Cost, cycle-time, and resource utilization impact of automation and architecture driven process changes.
- Baseline measurements of business (unit) operations before an architecturally significant change implementation so that its impact can subsequently be determined more accurately.
- Comprehensive project portfolio, programme, and project metrics.
- Stakeholder surveys on communications, architecture engagement, and architecture artefact utility.
- Practices
- Maintain established alternative/tiered review processes based on size, complexity, and risk of the project.
- Smaller, low-risk project teams have the option to self-score/self-certify themselves according to published guidelines and criteria — with formal review only in exception cases.
- Larger, higher impact projects are subject to formal reviews.
- Outcome
- Adaptive processes apply controls only when necessary and organizational agility is enhanced.
- Metrics
- Counts and trends of governance compliance and governance exceptions.
- Elapsed time and trends for governance steps such as approvals cycles.
- Counts and trends for first time fixed and count issues re-opened.
- Pareto of missing information types that cause delays in decision-making.
- Frequency and time in use of tool features.
- Cost, cycle-time, and resource utilization impact of automation and architecture driven process changes.
- Baseline measurements of business (unit) operations before an architecturally significant change implementation so that its impact can subsequently be determined more accurately.
- Comprehensive project portfolio, programme, and project metrics.
- Stakeholder surveys on communications, architecture engagement, and architecture artefact utility.
- Practice
- Have the architecture governance board sponsor projects to deliver cross functional/domain benefits (e.g. rationalization, archiving, IT for IT, collaboration) and the development of shared services across business areas.
- Outcome
- Senior management support for enterprise architecture cross functional projects encourages all functions to contribute towards the success of those projects.
- Metrics
- Counts and trends of governance compliance and governance exceptions.
- Elapsed time and trends for governance steps such as approvals cycles.
- Counts and trends for first time fixed and count issues re-opened.
- Pareto of missing information types that cause delays in decision-making.
- Frequency and time in use of tool features.
- Cost, cycle-time, and resource utilization impact of automation and architecture driven process changes.
- Baseline measurements of business (unit) operations before an architecturally significant change implementation so that its impact can subsequently be determined more accurately.
- Comprehensive project portfolio, programme, and project metrics.
- Stakeholder surveys on communications, architecture engagement, and architecture artefact utility.
- Practice
- Keep the scope of the standards information base and exception process broader than just technical, and include information and functional standards.
- Outcome
- The usefulness and utility of the standards information base is increased across the organization.
- Metrics
- Counts and trends of governance compliance and governance exceptions.
- Elapsed time and trends for governance steps such as approvals cycles.
- Counts and trends for first time fixed and count issues re-opened.
- Pareto of missing information types that cause delays in decision-making.
- Frequency and time in use of tool features.
- Cost, cycle-time, and resource utilization impact of automation and architecture driven process changes.
- Baseline measurements of business (unit) operations before an architecturally significant change implementation so that its impact can subsequently be determined more accurately.
- Comprehensive project portfolio, programme, and project metrics.
- Stakeholder surveys on communications, architecture engagement, and architecture artefact utility.
- 5Optimized
- Practice
- Include all components in the scope of enterprise architecture governance and extend governance across the business ecosystem.
- Outcome
- Material business decisions in most business areas (e.g. operations, sales and marketing, M&A) are considered and validated through an architecture lens.
- Metrics
- Pareto of architecture guidance principles explicitly used in decision-making.
- Count of decisions adjusted by enterprise architecture governance committee.
- % of decisions getting enterprise architecture approval without modification.
- Cost to projects of technology debt.
- Complexity metrics (e.g. # of decisions in process, divergent process path counts, count of tasks requiring experts/consultant level staff).
- Satisfaction rating surveys that are value focused (i.e. how valuable is the enterprise architecture function to the stakeholders).
- Benefits realization metrics from project portfolios, programmes, and the benefits realization function.
- Practice
- Maintain C-level sponsorship for the architecture governance board — i.e. from CEO, CFO, or COO.
- Outcome
- Material business decisions across the organization are rigorously scrutinized and enforced to ensure alignment to the business strategy and to deliver both short and long term benefits.
- Metrics
- Pareto of architecture guidance principles explicitly used in decision-making.
- Count of decisions adjusted by enterprise architecture governance committee.
- % of decisions getting enterprise architecture approval without modification.
- Cost to projects of technology debt.
- Complexity metrics (e.g. # of decisions in process, divergent process path counts, count of tasks requiring experts/consultant level staff).
- Satisfaction rating surveys that are value focused (i.e. how valuable is the enterprise architecture function to the stakeholders).
- Benefits realization metrics from project portfolios, programmes, and the benefits realization function.