Please read this scenario prior to answering the question
You are the Lead Enterprise Architect at a major agribusiness company. The company's main annual harvest is lentils, a highly valued food grown worldwide. The lentil parasite, broomrape, has been an increasing concern for many years and is now becoming resistant to chemical controls. In addition, changes in climate favor the propagation and growth of the parasite. As a result, the parasite cannot realistically be exterminated, and it has become pandemic, with lentil yields falling globally.
The CEO appreciates the seriousness of the situation and has set out a change in direction that is effectively a new business for the company. There are opportunities for new products, and new markets. The company will use the fields for another harvest and will cease to process third-party lentils. Thus, the target market will change, and the end-products will be different and more varied. This is a major decision and the CEO has stated a desire to repurpose rather than replace so as to manage the risks and limit the costs.
The company has a mature Enterprise Architecture practice based in its headquarters and uses the TOGAF standard as the method and guiding framework. The practice has an established Architecture Capability, and uses iteration for architecture development. The CIO is the sponsor of the activity.
The CIO has assigned the Enterprise Architecture team to this activity. At this stage there is no shared vision, or requirements.
Refer to the scenario
You have been asked to propose the best approach for architecture development to realize the CEO's change in direction for the company.
Based on the TOGAF standard which of the following is the best answer?
A. You propose that the team focus on architecture definition, with emphasis on defining the change parameters to support this new business strategy that the CEO has identified. Once understood, the team will be in the best position to identify the requirements, drivers, issues, and constraints for the change. You would ensure that the architecture development addresses non-functional requirements to assure that the target architecture is robust and secure.
B. You propose that this engagement define the baseline Technology Architecture first in order to assess the current infrastructure capacity and capability for the company. Then the focus should be on transition planning and incremental architecture deployment. This will identify requirements to ensure that the projects are sequenced in an optimal fashion so as to realize the change.
C. You propose that the priority is to understand and bring structure to the definition of the change. The team should focus iteration cycles on a baseline first approach to architecture development, and then transition planning. This will identify what needs to change in order to transition from the baseline to the target, and can be used to work out in detail what the shared vision is for the change.
D. You propose that the team focus its iteration cycles on architecture development by going through the architecture definition phases (B-D) with a baseline first approach. This will support the change in direction as stated by the CE
E. It will ensure that the change can be defined in a structured manner and address the requirements needed to realize the change.
Explanation:
Based on the TOGAF standard, this answer is the best approach for architecture development to realize the CEO’s change in direction for the company.
The reason is as follows:
The scenario describes a major business transformation that requires a clear understanding of the current and future states of the enterprise, as well as the gaps and opportunities for change.
Therefore, the priority is to understand and bring structure to the definition of the change, rather than focusing on the implementation details or the technology aspects.
The team should use the TOGAF ADM as the method and guiding framework for architecture development, and adapt it to suit the specific needs and context of the enterprise. The team should also leverage the existing Architecture Capability and the Architecture Repository to reuse and integrate relevant architecture assets and resources.
The team should focus iteration cycles on a baseline first approach to architecture development, which means starting with the definition of the Baseline Architecture in each domain (Business, Data, Application, and Technology), and then defining the Target Architecture in each domain. This will help to identify the current and desired states of the enterprise, and to perform a gap analysis to determine what needs to change in order to achieve the business goals and objectives.
The team should then focus on transition planning, which involves identifying and prioritizing the work packages, projects, and activities that will deliver the change. The team should also create an Architecture Roadmap and an Implementation and Migration Plan that will guide the execution and governance of the change.
The team should use the Architecture Vision phase and the Requirements Management phase to work out in detail what the shared vision is for the change, and to capture and validate the stakeholder requirements and expectations. The team should also use the Architecture Governance framework to ensure the quality, consistency, and compliance of the architecture work.
The TOGAF Standard, Version 9.2 - Architecture Development Method: The TOGAF Standard,
Version 9.2 - Architecture Vision: The TOGAF Standard, Version 9.2 - Requirements Management:
[The TOGAF Standard, Version 9.2 - Architecture Governance]
