Oracle tools in the Enterprise Architecture world - part 1

Oracle tools in the Enterprise Architecture world - part 1

In April I have kept a presentation about the Oracle tools in the Enterprise Architect world on the Hungarian Oracle User Group (HOUG) conference in the database section. 

Topics of the original presentation

• Introduction of the Enterprise Architecture 
• What is EA?
• TOGAF
• Oracle EAF
• Oracle solutions
• Oracle products in the Enterprise Continuum
• OAEF data governance
• Data as a Service place
• Solution for system governance

Because of largeness of these topics I have splitted into three post. This blog post will talk about the introduction of the EA. The other two one will give some Oracle solution examples for some EA category. (part 2, part 3)

Introduction of the EA

What is EA?

Well many people thinks here at Hungary that they know what is it. I have seen it as top skill in many linked profile where I know that the owner of the profile doesn't know it in fact.  It's not problem, I have done it too until I begun to learn what is it. of course it is still there but now I know what is means (or I believe I know :) )

What I thought about EA earlier? I really don't know now, but because I have worked with Oracle EBS implementation, as well as with the EBS technical architectures, so practically I have identified it with my own work. Of course ones who is designing J2EE system or designing SOA systems maybe think the same. I think I couldn't made bigger mistake than this, these activities are really necessary activites but the EA much different then those. Not much more, much different! So I have started to read after it, I have participated on a EA course and start to prepare for the TOGAF exam.

Look what EA means "officially". Some definitions from around the world:
What the American government think about it:

"a well-defined practice for conducting enterprise analysis, design, planning, and implementation, using a holistic approach at all times, for the successful development and execution of strategy. Enterprise architecture applies architecture principles and practices to guide organizations through the business, information, process, and technology changes necessary to execute their strategies. These practices utilize the various aspects of an enterprise to identify, motivate, and achieve these changes." From FEAPO ”Common Perspective on Enterprise Architecture” article available in Architecture & Governance Magazine Volume 9 Issue 4 page 11.

What Oracle think about it:

"Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a method and an organizing principle that aligns functional business objectives and strategies with an IT strategy and execution plan. The Enterprise Architecture provides a guide to direct the evolution and transformation of enterprises with technology. This in turn makes IT a more strategic asset for successfully implementing a modern business strategy." From here.

Funny but I couldn't find a good, small, striking definition for EA from the Open Group. If you interested in what Open Group think about EA I mention to read this document.

They looks nice, aren't them? If you read after EA it will be much understandable, but I would like to word a much simplier defintion. My translation for the above is:

"EA contain similar tasks, responsibilities, scope and influence of the Chief Architect and his/her architect team has got on a really big building construction"

For example what usually do an architect team during a big office building construction?

• Collecting all early information, base requirements for the new building and begin to monitoring, governing their changes.
• Design the initial architecture, create high level plans.
• Presenting these plans for the customers and after acceptance made a contract for creating the detailed plans.
• After the contract the team begin to plan the details, continue to shape the plans. They create more architecture level (for example: structure, wiring, interiour, business functionality plans)
• Then they creating high level implementation plans, project schedule plans.
• During the construction the team continously monitor and govern the whole "implementation".
• Of course the team manage all change request what comes either from the end customer either from the builders.

If you already know what EA is then you could find many similarity between the aboves and what an EA architect should done at a company. Some examples for TOGAF methodology:

• The first 3 point is the same as the team done during the prelimary phase. The EA architects has to define their work, has to collect all requirements against EA inside the company, has to create high level plans and has to create a contract ("Request for Architecture Work" document) to begin the ADM phases.
• After the request the EA team begin to work on ADM phase, first with the Architecture Vision  (as above the high level plans) then the create different level of architectures (Business, Information Ssystem Architectures, Technology Architectures as the above) 
• Then based on the detailed planned archicture the EA team begin to plan the implementations, the projects
• During the implementation they govern the project, manage the change requests and so on.

Why a company need enterprise architecture?

The official TOGAF answer is (cite from TOGAF 9.1)

"The purpose of enterprise architecture is to optimize across the enterprise the often fragmented legacy of processes (both manual and automated) into an integrated environment that is responsive to change and supportive of the delivery of the business strategy."

"Furthermore, a good enterprise architecture enables you to achieve the right balance between IT efficiency and business innovation. It allows individual business units to innovate safely in their pursuit of competitive advantage. At the same time, it ensures the needs of the organization for an integrated IT strategy are met, permitting the closest possible synergy across the extended enterprise."

What I think:

The most important that EA helps in making of better plans, in early discovery of problems and in creating of better solutions. The EA gives many helps in risk handling, requirement solutions, corporate management through creating more established, better planned systems. While it gives many help in low level system management, monitoring, developing through standardization, company wide reference handling, thoughtful, really workable and helpful operating rules and gives many thoughtful, accepted informations, requirements for 3rd party companies, solution providers which means shorter, successful implementaion projects which gives better solutions for requirements. 

Now let's talk about enterprise architecture frameworks. First about TOGAF.

TOGAF

What is TOGAF? TOGAF is a buzzword for: "The Open Group Archictecture Framework"

It is define himself as:

"TOGAF is an architecture framework. TOGAF provides the methods and tools for assisting in the acceptance, production, use, and maintenance of an enterprise architecture. It is based on an iterative process model supported by best practices and a re-usable set of existing architecture assets."

What areas are covered by a full architecture by TOGAF?

• Business architecture - business strategy, management, organization, business processes, functions
• Data archictecture - description of the structure of the logical and physical data resources of the organization(s) and the data handling resources
• Application architecture - a description of the structure and interaction of the applications that provide key business functions and manage the data assets
• Technology architecture - description of software and hardware capabilities that needs for supporting the business, data and application architectures. Includes all IT infrastructures: middleware, network, communication, process handling etc...

How TOGAF works? What technics mention TOGAF for a successful EA implementation?

• Architecture Development Methods (ADM) - a step-by-step approach to developing an enterprise architecture
• Content Framework - structured metamodel for architectural artifacts, the use of re-usable architecture building blocks, and an overview of typical architecture deliverables
• Enterprise Continoum - appropriate taxonomies and tools to categorize and store the outputs of architecture activity within an enterprise.
• Reference Model - architectural reference models, which includes the TOGAF Foundation Architecture, and the Integrated Information Infrastructure Reference Model
• Architecture Capability Framework - the organization, processes, skills, roles, and responsibilities required to establish and operate an architecture function within an enterprise. Very important!

I don't want to go into the details - if you interested then you could read more here: TOGAF 9.1

Oracle EAF

Oracle EAF (OEAF) is an other framework, OEAF buzzword is for: "Oracle Enterprise Archictecture Framework"

How OEAF describe himself?

"In an effort to provide an efficient, business-driven framework to help our customers align their IT and business strategies, Oracle created a hybrid EA framework, influenced by TOGAF, FEA and Gartner. This simple yet practical and prescriptive framework is called the Oracle Enterprise Architecture Framework (OEAF). The OEAF is complementary to other EA frameworks, with clear mappings to TOGAF and FEA, such that customers can use the EA framework of their choice. The intent of building the OEAF was to leverage the strengths of the different industry frameworks and marry that with Oracle’s experience in developing enterprise solutions.

The central theme of the Oracle Enterprise Application Framework is to provide “just enough” structure, which can be created “just in time” to meet the business requirements of the organization. In addition, the OEAF provides a well-known architectural structure for sharing Oracle’s vast intellectual capital around enterprise IT solutions with its customers and partners, thereby, further enhancing Oracle’s strategic business value proposition."

The Oracle Enterprise Architecture Framework consists of seven core components.

• Business Architecture - it aligns an organization’s operating model, strategies, and objectives with IT
• Application Architecture - provides an application- and services-centric view of an organization that ties business functions and services to application processes and services to application components in alignment with the application strategy. 
• Information Architecture - describes all of the moving pieces and parts for managing information across the enterprise, and helps in the sharing of that information to the right people at the right time to realize the business objectives stated in the business architecture.
• Technology Architecture - describes how the infrastructure underlying the business, application, and information architectures is organized.
• People, Process, and Tools - identifies the people, processes, and tools used to define enterprise architectures and architecture solutions.
• Enterprise Architecture Governance - provides the structure and processes for implementing an organization’s businesses strategy and objectives through an Enterprise Architecture. An EA governance body is used to guide each project and ensure its alignment with the EA during IT transformations and solution implementations.

OEAF has got his own development process which they call "The Oracle Architecture Development Process".

The OADP contains  six high-level phases:  Architecture Vision, Current State Architecture, Future State  Architecture, Strategic Roadmap, EA Governance, and Business Case. Oracle’s approach  enables many of these phases to be run concurrently to reduce the time associated with  creating architectures of various scopes. More here.