Funded by the: JISC Flexible Service Delivery programme.

Lead Institution: Liverpool John Moores University.

Key Words: Enterprise Architecture (EA).

Our Enterprise Architecture (EA) journey

a story of impact and value

 

Background and institutional context

 

Institution: Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU)

 

Since 2003 LJMU have been running a major Information Systems and Processes Development Programme with the overall objective to deliver 'high value added student and learning support services and achieve effectiveness and efficiency gains through the development of LJMU as a process-managed organisation, supported by an appropriate and integrated ICT infrastructure and a trained and empowered workforce, and conforming to the Excellence Model requirement to manage by fact and process' (Programme Definition v4, 2006). Since 2007 the programme has been included within an Information Governance Structure focused on the effective, efficient and flexible deployment of ICT in support of the University, and on ensuring that ICT developments are aligned with business requirements. Under the auspices of this structure LJMU have engaged with both the initial Enterprise Architecture (EA) pilots and the EA Practice Group (EAPG), and have made some progress in embedding EA within our project and programme structure.

 

In 2010 the retirement of a number of senior managers within the then Computing and Information Services (CIS) department led to a rethink about the positioning of the ICT function. This led to the merger of CIS with Academic Planning and Information, to create a new Planning and Information department under a new business focused Director and Chief Information Officer (CIO). Following the merger, the department is undergoing a restructure based around service redesign and with the following objectives:

 

• Improve the alignment of the ICT function with the business/corporate strategic objectives
• Raise the profile of ICT with senior management
• Align the structure more closely with the ICT Governance Structure and reinforce its effectiveness
• Move from a system-based to a service-based approach—restructuring around key services, not specific systems or technologies

 

This whole process is based on:

 

• the what: the need to be flexible for the future and prepared to adopt new methods of delivery
• the how: by taking a service-based approach, supported by EA, making the key step from thinking about systems to thinking about services
• and the why: so that we can deliver quality services to increasingly demanding customers within the current financial constraints

 

This provides clear synergy with the Flexible Service Delivery (FSD) programme and also clearly justifies membership. The service redesign project at LJMU is all about flexible service delivery, and the lessons learned during the process will be of value to anyone else trying to take a business-focused service management approach. 

 

Objective: Value from engaging in the programme

 

To date	Looking ahead (next 12 months post June 2011)
The opportunity to explore best practice approaches and engage in focused discussion on areas which will help us to:   Move from a system to a service-focused approach Use EA as a tool within projects and services to promote understanding Promote and communicate the role of the Governance Structure in aligning ICT services with business requirements	More of the same!

 

Objective: Overall vision for EA practice

 

To date	Looking ahead (next 12 months post June 2011)
EA is a fundamental tool/approach in moving from a system to a service-based approach and in promoting a holistic understanding of the business and supporting ICT services. We are moving ahead with embedding EA in our projects, structures and services as ‘the way we do things round here’.	More of the same! Would be nice to see tangible applications that demonstrate value—we are planning on developing an EA model as part of the UMF-funded DARE project, which will be an interesting exercise as it involves 7 institutions in developing a cloud-based shared service.

 

Getting value from JISC resources

 

To date	Looking ahead (next 12 months post June 2011)
Engagement with the EAPG has been invaluable in providing a forum for focused discussion on key areas. The Foundation Programme has been equally invaluable in bringing new practitioners up to speed in the theory and practices of EA.	It is to be hoped that the JISC resources in this area will be maintained and built upon.

 

Progress and achievements

 

• EA in terms of referencing the Governance Structure as the approach to be taken in all projects
• EA in job and service descriptions for restructured department
• EA used effectively as communication and problem-solving tool in ‘boundary disputes’ over ‘which system does what’ between major projects
• Process mapping and EA work merged in new structure
• ‘Developments without architecture’ policy confirmed and to be published

 

Business benefits (impact) and opportunities (3xE's)

 

Efficiency: we have effectively deployed existing systems to provide new services where the business was initially going to invest in additional systems eg Oracle Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Case Management for Disability Tracking where a new technical system had been envisaged; EA modelling has been used to demonstrate the one-to-many relationship between systems and services. It is however extremely difficult to quantify benefits, partly because EA/FSD approaches are enablers rather than deliverables, and partly because we have discovered, having invested significant effort in benefits management over a number of years, that attributing outcomes, financial or otherwise, to one specific enabler is close to impossible.

 

Effectiveness: again, hard to link outcomes to enablers. This will become more apparent as we use EA approaches to promote our overall strategy of aggregating services at the point of use, where the benefits will be more obviously apparent to customers.

 

Enablement: this is the area where we are most able to identify benefits. The DWA policy and the thinking behind it has already enabled us to intercept ‘stray’ developments and incorporate them into central project portfolios. We are hopeful that the overall EA/Service approach will enable us to be more responsiveness to internal and external challenges and opportunities. 

 

Key learning points: do's and don'ts, and advice to those who follow

 

Image Courtesy of ziopaopao CC-NC-SA

Don’t make a big deal of EA—it’s a change management tool that sits alongside all the others, and can probably be most effectively deployed where it is simply seen as a common sense approach to solving business problems Ground EA work in reality: focus on where it can be of practical use in delivering projects or solving business problems. Don’t have an EA project, have projects that use EA Do make sure you have some kind of ICT Governance structure ie a Structure within which the institution makes strategic decisions about Information Management and the use of ICT Try to speak English, not ‘techie’ or ‘business’. Just get on and do it: ‘Hell, yes!’

 

Additional Comments

 

In my view, it is hard to overestimate the importance of changing the language, and moving on from talking about ‘systems’ to talking about ‘services’. The institution may think it wants systems—it doesn’t, it wants services. People are temperamentally inclined to think of systems as ‘inside’ whilst services can be ‘in’ or ‘out’. Moving the language on to services frees up the discussion. If someone wants a student record ‘system’, they’re describing a tangible ‘thing’ that they can build or buy and place within the institution. If they want a student record ‘service’, it’s not a tangible thing, but an overall function and I think this leads on to thinking that it can be sourced/provided in a number of different ways.