Architecture overview

1. What is an Information Architecture ?

An Information Architecture has been described in many ways, each tackling the question from often slightly different perspectives. Although no one definition offers a definitive answer, they all have a common thread. The concept of an information architecture evolved from IBM's pioneering efforts in this area, resulting in the development of the Business Systems Planning Methodology (BSP). The concept was further developed by Dr. Zachman, through his now famous "Framework". It facilitates the establishment of the underlying infrastructure for managing the information asset and is analogous to city / town planning - which allows the city to build on and thrive in a managed fashion.

An Information Architecture establishes decision making principles and standards for the use of information as a business resource. It also coordinates, integrates and harmonizes technology practices and planning throughout the Company. From a management perspective, it can also be viewed as a process to identify issues and conflicts in the area of information management. However, Information Architecture should not be viewed as the formal constructive solution to all information problems.

An Information Architecture starts with a thorough understanding of the business, its drivers and the underlying information needs, independent of organizational boundaries, systems and procedures. Defining an Information Architecture involves defining three separate architectures that provide a high-level, blueprint of data, systems and technology needed to support and enable the business strategies, objectives and vision of the company. Further, within an overall management & organizational framework, it also facilitates to manage & maintain the architectures and use it to make sound business decisions.

An Information Architecture needs to be developed giving due consideration to:

· values of the organization,

· business principles;

· degree of decentralization;

· technology risk orientation of the organization; and

· assessment of information technology evolution and direction.

2. What are the Components of an Architecture ?

The three distinct yet inter-related parts of an Information Architecture managed within an overall organizational framework are:

Data Architecture - The major kinds of data (and the relationships between them) with common definitions, needed to support the business.

Systems Architecture - The major systems (applications) and their inter-relationships that manage the data and support the execution of business functions (i.e. Plan & schedule work).

Technology Architecture - The technology environment needed to enable and support applications that manage the business data.

Each of these architectures addresses:

	direction company is headed in the particular area (desired state);
	principles;
	current situation;
	anticipated changes and implications; and
	standards, norms and rules.

Management & Organizational Framework - The architectures provide a map of these three components that form the foundation for information management planning efforts. IS and business groups can use this "map" to communicate the business needs, assess business priorities, develop detailed ;implementation plans. The establishment of policies & procedures to guide the decision making process is imperative It also forges a common understanding on the value of the architecture and makes it a critical component of effective IS planning.

The resulting near, mid and long term action plans will become part of the information management strategy. Such plans support rational decision making in order to avoid ad hoc system development efforts that create islands of information, and only support a narrow view of the business. It also considers the state of the current information & information systems asset to help prioritize which elements of the architectures need to be addressed first to satisfy crucial business needs, what dependencies exist that need to be considered and what business areas will be impacted.

3. What are the Benefits of Developing an Information Architecture ?

Some of the benefits of a well-defined information architecture include:

	Focus on the strategic use of technology to manage information as an asset and support the key decision making processes that rely on quality data;
	Improved understanding of the business through improved level of business involvement. Architecture models can be used to assess ;impact of strategic business changes;
	Information being easier to interpret and understand, resulting in productivity gains and better business decisions, through the adoption of a consistent set of business related terminology in defining data and processes;

Reduced system development effort due to a more complete understanding of the business ;information (data & process) needs; and Sharable data and systems with improved responsiveness to business change.

4. How does a company benefit from such an Architecture?

An Information Architecture provides an orderly view of an otherwise potentially chaotic information & information systems environment. It will help to effectively acquire, manage, use and conserve information throughout the company, in support of the company's ultimate business objectives:

	to support the bottom line profitability;
	to enhance the competitive position, in preparation for the deregulated market; and
	to ensure survival and even prosperity within the increasingly stringent regulatory and legal environments.

Specifically, it will address the company's needs by:

	providing for information and systems, one of the key integrating factors in the autonomous decentralized environment;
	facilitating decentralized information management activities, such as system development;
	providing staff timely access to the "right" information for making key business decisions;
	providing for improved project scoping;
	improved management of systems development sequencing and prioritization, in view of the constrained resources;
	having a consistent definition and format for representing information to avoid confusion and allow for consolidation;
	having a flexible information base to support the changing business environment;
	having sharable & integrated information across the business to simplify processes and improve productivity;
	containing system implementation costs and enabling subsequent and improved data integration and reuse; and providing a framework so that new systems developed based on business priorities that can cohabit with other systems.

5. What is Involved in Developing an Information Architecture plan ?

Development of an Architecture-based action plan is a major undertaking. It requires a substantial investment of time and resources, of both IS and business people. Like any type of planning it looks to the future and benefits are only realized in the mid to long-term. Once developed, the on-going maintenance of the architecture will also require resources, to keep it current.

Its success hinges on a number of factors, foremost of which is management's commitment to follow through and support the effort, with a view to realizing long-term, strategic benefits. Further, end-user and management participation and cooperation throughout the process is crucial.

The company has already several pieces of the information architecture puzzle in place, developed prior to the restructuring. These architecture pieces did not evolve from a single source, using a standard approach, but nonetheless they offer a sound starting point for any subsequent effort. These will need to be reviewed, validated and consolidated. However, it is expected that much of it can be reused since it is data-centred and data tends to be relatively stable over time.