第2章計算論的思考と設計の再利用性

Enterprise-level architecture encompasses various domains that define the structure, components, and operations of an entire organization. These domains provide a comprehensive framework for managing an enterprise.

Up to this point, our efforts have been centered on employing the adaptive design reuse methodology to construct business solution architectures tailored to individual projects. Within this scope, we aim to facilitate the conversion of solution requirements into a cohesive solution concept, comprehensive business and IT system outlines, and a collection of implementation activities, essentially forming the project plan. However, because the adaptive design reuse approach is top-down, it is possible to start applying it at a higher level. The enterprise level is typically the highest level of an organization, and it covers all strategic and tactical functions. An enterprise often spans multiple organizations.

Enterprise architecture (EA) emerged at the beginning of the information age in the 1970s, and various enterprise architecture frameworks (EAFs) were developed and used over time. The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) is one such framework. According to TOGAF, an EA domain represents business, data, application, and technology architectures. While specific frameworks may vary, Table 2.3 illustrates the common enterprise-level architecture domains.

EA adopts a holistic perspective, treating the enterprise as a unified system or a system of systems. Its primary aim is to integrate disparate processes, both manual and automated, into a cohesive environment that is responsive to change and aligned with the enterprise’s business strategy. EA involves designing comprehensive systems to support business processes, going beyond individual software or technology systems. By standardizing and integrating fundamental processes across various business divisions, EA facilitates enterprise-wide alignment and optimization of operations.

Solution architecture complements EA by tailoring specific system solutions to meet defined business and technological needs. While EA focuses on defining the present situation and future goals of the organization, solution architecture ensures the timely availability of suitable systems to fulfill business requirements.

TOGAF architectures promote the reuse of building blocks but lack a prescriptive method for managing them. Adaptive design reuse becomes valuable in this context, involving understanding enterprise architectures and adapting preexisting models and implementations. Detailed management of EA, solution architectures, and leveraging EAFs is explored further in Chapter 10 Enterprise and Solution Architectures Management.

The enterprise business architecture (EBA) is a comprehensive framework that defines the structure and operation of an entire organization. It is related to corporate business and the documents and diagrams that describe the architectural structure of that business. It characterizes the processes, organization, and location aspects of the EBA at hand. EBAs usually consist of different business capabilities grouped into categories, as illustrated in Figure 2.11. In this example, sample categories include product, sales, and service. The business capabilities shown under the various categories typically have business models of their own that are part of the overall organization’s business model. Note that it is clear from this diagram that the layering and componentization heuristics play an important role in structuring capability models.

Business architecture modeling helps extract the overall business model of an organization’s capability, which includes the set of underlying processes necessary to operate the various capabilities of the organization.

A business model is a framework that outlines how a business creates, delivers, and captures value. It covers the way a company generates revenue, identifies its target audience, and defines the products/services it offers. The business model includes the organization, location, and process model, as described in the following sections. It may include additional models, such as the financial model, which will not be covered here. To illustrate what a business model entails practically, we will focus on a typical financial instruments trading capability, which could be one of the capabilities in the overall business model of an organization operating in the global markets industry. The organization, location, and process models are typically represented at a logical level of abstraction, which is the most detailed representation for these types of models. Note again that layering and componentization heuristics play an important role in structuring these models.

The organizational model is the structure and design of an organization, outlining how roles, responsibilities, and relationships are defined. It provides a framework for understanding how various components within the organization interact and collaborate to support its functions. In addition, it offers clear definitions of roles and a matrix mapping of processes to roles.

Role definitions encapsulate a set of functional capabilities essential for an individual to manage one or several distinct business processes, as shown in Table 2.4. It is common for an individual to fulfill multiple roles. The process/role matrix delineates which business roles are accountable for particular business processes. Typically structured at the elementary business process level, this matrix can also be extended to more overarching levels when beneficial.

In general, the role matrix is a visual representation or chart that outlines the various roles within an organization and their respective responsibilities. It helps in clarifying and communicating the distribution of tasks and authorities among different positions or departments.

In a financial instruments trading business model, various roles contribute to the overall functioning of the organization, as shown in Table 2.5.

In addition to these titles, there are two primary management layers: upper management and systems management. Upper management is tasked with the supervision of various sectors within the organization, encompassing numerous business units, operations departments, and other key areas. This tier includes roles such as division managers, group managers, and risk managers, who collectively ensure the smooth operation and strategic direction of the business. On the other hand, systems management is dedicated to the routine functioning of the trading system. This includes positions like site manager, systems maintenance manager, content manager, and help desk personnel, all of which collaborate daily to ensure the trading system is operational, well-maintained, and user-friendly.

3 Often referred to as “back-office personnel.” A distinction may be necessary between back-office and front-office functionality. Support—Front-office operations: Typically work alongside traders and salespeople. They facilitate telephone calls, process trades, and resolve trading and sales/customer issues. Front-office personnel would consist of assistant traders and salespeople.

EBPs possess distinct characteristics that make them noteworthy in the context of business operations. They are considered significant and candidates for in-depth analysis. EBPs are typically associated with the actions of a single user, emphasizing a focused responsibility within the organization. Furthermore, these processes may encompass both manual and automated activities, reflecting the diverse nature of contemporary business workflows. User involvement in EBPs is concentrated at a specific point in time, streamlining the temporal aspect of these activities. The preservation of crucial business distinctions between processes ensures clarity and coherence. Finally, EBPs aim to leave the conceptual entity model in a consistent state, contributing to data integrity and maintaining a reliable representation of the organization’s entities and relationships where the entity model represents the various objects or concepts and their relationships within a system. A process map displays the order of chosen processes from the process hierarchies, highlighting their connection to the roles responsible for executing them. A business process hierarchy organizes a company’s activities from broad, general processes down to specific tasks, making it easier to manage and improve how the business operates. Figure 2.13 illustrates a high-level business process hierarchy that could be used for any manufacturing business process.

At the top of the hierarchy, there are three core business processes:

1. Customer management: This process plays a central role, interacting with various activities designed to acquire, retain, and develop customer relationships. It focuses on all aspects of customer interaction. There are three subsections as follows:

◦ 1.1. Target customer: Customers first discover a company and its offerings through various marketing efforts. They then evaluate these offerings to decide if they meet their needs, leading to a purchase decision. After buying, customers may require support, which is provided to ensure satisfaction. A positive experience can turn these customers into loyal buyers and advocates for the company and maintain strong customer relationships.

◦ 1.2. Lead team: This involves identifying potential leads and assessing their likelihood to purchase. It includes:

▪ 1.2.1. Outreach: This includes reaching out to customers (current and new) with promotions and advertisements.

◦ 1.3. Decision-making: This step focuses on the creation and evaluation of product prototypes to ensure they meet the required standards before launch.

2. Product development: This encompasses the entire life cycle of a product from initial idea generation through design and development to launch. There are four subsections:

◦ 2.1. Product design: This focuses on the creation and evaluation of product designs to ensure they meet the required standards before testing.

◦ 2.2. Quality assurance: QA involves checking the quality of the design and matching it with the listed requirements.

◦ 2.3. Define raw materials: Raw materials are the basic substances needed to make products. These can be things taken from nature, like wood, oil, or metals, which are used in making everything from buildings to clothes and food. The type of raw material used affects how products are made, their quality, and how much they cost. It includes:

▪ 2.3.1. Managing materials: Managing materials well is important for businesses to make sure they have enough to meet demand, keep production running smoothly, and reduce waste, making the whole process more efficient and sustainable.

◦ 2.4. Testing planning: Writing detailed instructions for setting up and conducting usability tests, including how to select participants and record feedback, is important and includes:

▪ 2.4.1. Testing guidelines: Rules that help ensure a product or service works well and is safe before it’s made available or used. These rules guide how to test the item, what tools to use, and what problems to look for, aiming to fix any issues found. The main goal is to make sure the product does what it’s supposed to do and meets quality standards.

▪ 2.4.2. Quality guidelines: These are rules that help ensure products or services are consistently good and meet customers’ needs. By following these guidelines, companies aim to make their customers happy, reduce mistakes, and work more efficiently. This involves regularly checking and improving how things are done to make sure they meet high standards.

3. Order to cash: This is a comprehensive business flow that starts when a customer places an order and ends when the payment is received and recorded:

◦ 3.1. Order management: The process begins when a customer places an order through a chosen method, such as an online platform, phone call, or sales representative.

◦ 3.2. Credit management: A credit check is performed to ensure the customer has the necessary credit to make the purchase. If the customer passes the credit check, the order is approved for processing. Otherwise, it may be held until payment is secured or canceled.

◦ 3.3. Fulfillment: The required products are allocated from inventory. If products are not available, this may trigger a back-order or manufacturing process.

◦ 3.4. Payment: The customer makes a payment using one of the accepted payment methods.

▪ 3.4.1. Invoicing: This step will start if the customer pays with a purchase order (i.e., the customer may use different payment methods such as credit card or money transfer). Once the order is shipped, an invoice is generated and sent to the customer, detailing the amount paid and/or due for the products or services provided.

◦ 3.5. Reporting: Reports are generated to analyze the sales volume, payment collection efficiency, and customer buying patterns.

EBP definitions include brief explanations of the activities within each process. These descriptions, when paired with the appropriate process flow, serve as a foundation for progressing to intricate design stages and aid in the ongoing creation of functional specifications. Furthermore, they highlight any presumptions established during the architectural development, delineate rules for decisions that require manual intervention, and, where relevant, provide cross-referencing details to ensure compatibility with the functional demands of the application being developed.

The assignment of numbers to EBPs mirrors their placement within hierarchical structures, enabling their linkage to various work products throughout the business, organizational, and location-specific domains, along with pertinent models.

Process map diagrams illustrate the order of chosen processes from the process hierarchies, focusing on their connection to the roles responsible for executing them. The process maps specifically highlight key processes that hold particular business importance. Although every process featured in a process map is also included in the business process hierarchy, not all processes in the hierarchy are depicted in the process maps. Process flow diagrams can depict various elements, such as the business events triggering a process, outcomes of completing a process, the processes themselves, the sequence of process steps, interruptions in the process flow, possibilities for repetition, choices, exclusivity among processes, and any additional notes. Figure 2.14 illustrates a process map diagram for an order to cash business process.

Figure 2.15 illustrates the process of managing orders within a business. It begins with order management, where orders are received and verified for accuracy. Next is credit management, which assesses the customer’s credit to ensure they can fulfill payment requirements. The process then moves to fulfillment, where the order is prepared and shipped. Then, during payment, the customer is invoiced and payment is processed. Invoicing is a detailed part of this step, where an invoice is generated and sent to the customer. The final stage is reporting, where the business generates reports on sales and financial transactions. This process ends once all steps are completed, ensuring each order is handled efficiently from start to finish.

A location model refers to a set of rules used to analyze and make decisions related to the positioning of entities, activities, or resources. The conceptual location model shows how business processes will be distributed geographically. Within the location model, definitions of location types specify the identification of locations based on both their type and general geographic area. Additionally, the location model contains a matrix illustrating the relationship between processes and locations, indicating the specific location types where each process takes place.