A Framework for A Business Intelligence-Enabled Adaptive
Enterprise Architecture
Okhaide Akhigbe, Daniel Amyot and Gregory Richards
Business IT Alignment
Aligning business objectives with Information Systems has always presented a challenge.
Is the blame on the Information Systems?
Survey shows this is among the top priorities of CIOs today.
ER2014 p.2
ER2014 p.3
Source: IT WORLD CANADA (OCTOBER 17th 2014) http://www.itworldcanada.com/blog/the-alignment-of-it-and-business-doesnt-make-sense-so-dont-say-
it/98340
Source: InformationWeek (September 18th 2014) http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/team-building-and-staffing/it-business-alignment-enough-already/a/d-id/1315851
Enterprise Architecture
Informs how information, processes and technology should be positioned in an organization.
Enterprise Architecture is supposed to offer alignment.
Frameworks exist. Are they adaptive?
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ER2014 p.5
Current Business
Requirements
New Business
Requirements
Business evolves
Business
Objectives Information
System
Business requirements
drive changes Architecture drives
changes
Business
Objectives Information
System
Business Intelligence Theme
BI is about getting data in and out. But to do what?
BI helps organizations derive meaning from data (Useful in dynamic environments).
BI Theme refers to instrumenting of data used to make decisions.
ER2014 p.6
BI-EAEA Approach
The Business Intelligence Enabled Adaptive Enterprise Architecture (BI-EAEA) Framework comprises:
Methodology
Model
Tool Support
Model created with URN and tool support in jUCMNav
ER2014 p.7
Why URN
The User Requirements Notation:
First international standard to model and analyze requirements with goals and scenarios.
Goal-oriented Requirement Language (GRL): used to models actors and their intentions.
Use Case Maps (UCM): used to describe scenarios, processes and architectures.
KPIs/indicators in URN are used to evaluate performance with respect to some objective or goal.
jUCMNav is a free Eclipse-based tool that supports GRL and UCM modeling and analysis.
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BI-EAEA Approach: Methodology
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To Be Scenario
To Be Scenario As Is Scenario
As Is Scenario
Information System
and KPI Modeling
Model Response and
Potential Impact of
Modeled Constructs
Business Goal
Modeling
Evaluate Current
Impacts of Modeled
Constructs
Types of Changes and Enterprise Levels
What are the types of changes:
Modifications
Deletions
Additions
Where are changes required in an Enterprise:
Business Objectives (High Level)
Decision Makers (Decisions Level)
Information Systems (IS Level)
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BI-EAEA Approach: Sample Model
ER2014 p.11
Hig
h level
Decisio
ns level
IS L
evel
Go
al D
ecision
s In
form
ation
BI-EAEA Approach: Sample Model
ER2014 p.12
Hig
h level
Decisio
ns level
IS L
evel
Go
al D
ecision
s In
form
ation
BI-EAEA Approach: Tool Support
Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) used to get importance and contribution levels.
Models are checked against OCL rules. 28 rules exist as part of URN profile for Adaptive EA
An example: The elements of the Information System must not receive contributions from other actors
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BI-EAEA Approach: Tool Support
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BI-EAEA Approach: Tool Support
ER2014 p.15
Response and Potential Impact of Modeled Constructs
ER2014 p.16
Change Need Adaptation Automation
Modification of importance level of a High level,
Decision level or IS level modeled intentional
element.
1) Locate goal, decision or IS.
2) Increase or decrease importance level as required.
3) Check the sum of importance level.
4) Execute As Is Strategy.
2) Pairwise comparison to compute new levels.
3) OCL rule checks violation.
4) jUCMNav evaluations to indicate impact.
Modification of the contribution weights to a High
level, Decision level or IS level modeled
intentional element.
1) Locate contribution.
2) Increase or decrease contribution link.
3) Check the sum of contribution links to goal, decision
or IS.
4) Execute As Is Strategy.
2) Pairwise comparison to compute new values.
Use of jUCMNav contributions overrides for new
weights.
3) OCL rule checks violation.
4) jUCMNav evaluations to indicate impact.
Modification of the KPIs definitions or current
evaluations.
1) Change in KPI values as fed by BI System (or manual
increase or decrease).
2) Execute As Is Strategy.
1) Feeds from BI systems.
2) jUCMNav evaluations (quantitative GRL
algorithm) to indicate impact.
Modification of the desired satisfaction level of a
High level, Decision level or IS level modeled
intentional element.
1) Locate objective, decision or IS.
2) Increase or decrease satisfaction level as required.
3) Execute As Is Strategy.
2) OCL rule checks violation.
3) jUCMNav evaluations (Constraint-Oriented
GRL Algorithm) to indicate impact.
Deletion of a High level, Decision level or IS level
modeled actor or intentional element (their
importance and satisfaction levels as well).
1) Locate actor, goal, decision or IS.
2) Remove actor, goal, decision or IS from model (in a
copy of the model).
3) Check the sum of importance levels of actors
intentional elements. Also sum of related destination
contributions links if applicable.
4) Execute As Is Strategy.
3) Pairwise comparison to compute new values.
OCL rule checks violation.
4) jUCMNav evaluations to indicate impact.
Deletion of contribution links to a High level,
Decision level or IS level modeled intentional
element.
1) Locate contribution.
2) Set contribution link to 0.
3) Check the sum of importance level.
4) Execute As Is Strategy.
2) jUCMNav contributions override.
3) OCL rule checks violation.
4) jUCMNav evaluations to indicate impact.
Addition of an actor, or intentional element or their
contributions to a High level, Decision level or IS
level.
1) Include actor, goal, decision, IS (and characteristics) or
contribution link (in a copy of the model).
2) Check that they are linked.
3) Execute As Is Strategy.
2) OCL rule checks violation.
3) jUCMNav evaluations to indicate impact.
Case Study
Enterprise Architecture of the Grants and Contribution Program of a large Government of Canada Department.
Worked with 4 Enterprise Architects
The goal model comprised of 4 Diagrams, 8 Actors 40 intentional elements (12 goals, 9 softgoals. 8 tasks and 11 resources), 30 indicators and 102 links.
A To Be Scenario mainly based on a deletion, with the potential impact on the modeled constructs was investigated.
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Evaluation
Work by Yu et al. (2013) identifies 12 characteristics an adaptive Enterprise should have.
Questions based on the 12 characteristics, were asked and administered to the Enterprise Architects anonymously.
Framework performance was encouraging.
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Evaluation CHARACTERISTIC
MODEL RESPONSE Weighted
Average (Max: 5) All
(76% - 100%)
Most
(51% - 75%)
Some
(26% - 50%)
Few
(1% - 25%)
None
(0)
Diversity and Variability 3 1 3.75
Uncertainty and Commitment for
known changes 3 1 3.75
Uncertainty and Commitment for
unknown changes 2 2 3.50
Sensing and Effecting Change
(known changes) 1 3 4.25
Sensing and Effecting Change
(unknown changes) 1 2 1 4.00
Barrier to Change 3 1 3.75
Multiple Levels of Dynamics for
documented change 3 1 3.75
Multiple Levels of Dynamics for
ease of use of documented change 4 4.00
Dynamic Systems, Boundaries and
Closure 4 4.00
Actor Autonomy and Alignment 1 2 1 4.00
Business-IT Alignment 1 2 1 4.00
Adaptiveness as a Business
Requirement 1 1 2 3.75
Informal Observations from Stakeholder
They liked our URN-based modeling approach since:
It shows the levels where change occurs.
It offers minimal modeling investments.
It accommodates changing the granularity of the IS to measure other factors.
It reflects what they informally do now
It allows them to disagree sooner!
The KPIs and satisfactions values accommodates the governments needs for numbers.
The models and GRL strategies can be used as documentation trail for analysis and decisions.
ER2014 p.22
Limitations & Future Work Directions
Limitations:
What triggers decisions as organizations decide
Our questionnaires did not have a comparison point
Future:
Model and assess enterprise architectures of different sizes and domains
Look at the cost implication of decisions as adaptation occurs
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Youre Invited
http://re15.org/
Thanks! Questions?
Okhaide Akhigbe
ER2014 p.25
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