Navigate Atlas to support Strategy
The Navigate Atlas to support Strategy is a component of Navigate, Conexiam's Enterprise Architecture Framework. In terms of TOGAF, it is an enterprise architecture content framework.
Through the Navigate Atlas, strategy development and implementation can be achieved by gaining insights into various aspects of the organization, such as processes, capabilities, IT systems, and governance.
It helps enterprise architects develop high-quality guidance to effect change more quickly.
What is The Navigate Altas to support Strategy?
Explaining the Atlas requires a common vocabulary. Our understanding of business strategy, enterprise architecture, and enterprise architecture use cases needs to be consistent..
What is Business Strategy?
Business strategy is a plan of action. It identifies an organization's long-term objectives and the means to achieve them. Developing a strategy requires making deliberate choices. What will not be done, and what resources will be allocated.
What is Enterprise Architecture?
An enterprise architecture is an organization's blueprint. An enterprise architecture is developed to guide effective change.
Enterprise architecture can guide different organizational change. It is developed to support different use cases.
What is the Enterprise Architecture to support Strategy use case?
Understanding the use case helps you understand how to develop enterprise architecture. What an enterprise architecture consists of, and who to do the work for.
Enterprise Architecture Teams that support Strategy will deliver and end-to-end target architecture. It will look out five to ten years.
The critical deliverables will identify change initiatives and supporting portfolio and programs. They will set the terms of reference, identify synergies. They will govern the execution of strategy via portfolio and programs.
Who will Use the Navigate Atlas to support Strategy
The EA Capability to support Strategy includes strategy development for Enterprise Strategy, Departmental Strategy and Initiative Strategy.
A strategy that doesn't cover the entire enterprise, crucial departments, or initiatives is often pointless.
What is the Navigate Atlas to support Strategy
The Navigate Atlas to support Strategy is part of Conexiam's enterprise architecture framework. The Navigate Atlas is developed by Conexiam Consulting to more quickly develop high-quality guidance to effect change.
Learn More about the Navigate Atlas to support Strategy
Navigate Atlas to Support Strategy Contents
Common Architecture to support Strategy deliverables
How to develop Enterprise Architecture to Support Strategy
Enterprise Architecture Capability to support Strategy
Self-Help Tools to develop Enterprise Architecture to support Strategy
What is Business Strategy?
To put it simply, your business strategy is a plan of action. It details the actions and changes you'll take to reach your objective. As importantly, it identifies what you will not do.
A business strategy can be developed for your entire organization. It can be developed for a department. One can also be developed for a significant initiative.
To describe a business strategy, we often use Hambrick's Strategy Diamond and a simplified Business Motivation Model.
The Hambrick Strategy Diamond is silent on objective or goal, but strong on action.
It starts with Staging. What will be our pace of action? What are the sequences?
It ends with Vehicles. What change programs will be harnessed to deliver the objectives?
It grounds the action of Arenas and Vehicles with constraints and success measures. Arenas tell us where we will, and will not engage. Differentiation provides the scorecard. How do we know we are succeeding.
The Business Motivation Model is clearly links Outcome and Action.
It starts with Ends. What do you want to achieve? It lets us describe these in two levels – Goals and Objectives.
The power of the model is in Course of Action. What actions will you take to realize what outcome? You see which actions might support more than one outcome. You see when you are overloading an action. You see when you are ignoring some outcomes.
A business strategy is not an exercise in fantasy. Imagining easy work that will reach lofty goals. Developing a strategy requires making deliberate choices. What will not be done, and what resources will be allocated.
Navigate Atlas to support Strategy includes
Understand how and when to exercise the techniques for value
Communicate the actual source of deficiency and options to address them for trade-off
Effective enterprise architecture analysis techniques to support strategy development
Crisp guidance on applying specialist tools and techniques
Navigate Atlas to support Strategy
Navigate Atlas to support Strategy extends Navigate Core to address the developing architecture to support strategy.
The Navigate Atlas to support Strategy includes:
- Business Architecture Models
- Application Architecture Models
- Technology Architecture Models
- Analytic Techniques
- Reporting Techniques
Every architect needs to gather information, perform analysis, and engage with stakeholders.
To develop strategy, we must find the problem and ways to fix it. The problem will be complex. There won't be a single solution.
What is Conexiam Navigate?
Navigate is an optimized enterprise architecture framework. Conexiam Navigate was designed to solve an enterprise architect's problem of getting things done. Navigate minimize information demands to keep a sharp focus on the expected value. Specialized Atlases extended Navigate.
Enterprise Architecture Landscape supporting Strategy
| No pattern. Some Strategy will have a broad impact while other Strategy will cover a narrow subject. | Not very detailed. May contain point constraints that are very detailed when the value is dependent upon tight control. Typically, more guidance than constraint. | Typically, looking ahead for a 3 to 10-year period when Target. Current Architecture to Support Strategy tends to have a short timeframe of validity. | Typically, the need to update and keeping current this architecture is highly variable. |
Standard Navigate Atlas to support Strategy Stakeholders
- Senior Leaders are those with responsibility for management and oversight
This responsibility includes approving and realigning strategic initiatives, tracking a portfolio of projects, ensuring transformative benefits are realized, and meeting operational business goals. - Program/Portfolio Managers are those with responsibility for management and oversight of strategic initiatives
This responsibility includes approving and realigning projects, tracking project progress, and ensuring project benefits are realized. - Business Requirements Owners are those responsible for identifying and expressing business requirements
Typically, these stakeholders handle some aspect of business operation.
- Sponsor (Implementers) are those responsible for developing, integrating, and deploying the solution (Portfolio)
- Risk Owners are those interested in risk (Threat & Uncertainty)
- Business Partners are those who are engaged to provide services sustaining a customer value proposition
Note: The architecture may not be provided to business partners but must be evaluated from their perspective. - Customers are those who consume products and services
Note: The architecture may not be provided to members but must be evaluated from their perspective.
Navigate Atlas to support Strategy Standard Enterprise Architecture Concerns
- Agility What is the ability of the architecture to adapt to future unanticipated change?
- Efficiency How does some aspect of the architecture contribute to efficiency of operations?
- Value What is the value of the architecture?
- Value Proposition How does some aspect of the architecture address a value proposition?
- Differentiation How does some aspect of the architecture address enable differentiation?
- Customer Intimacy Is the enterprise delivering products and services the customers want? What is the confidence that they will like new product or a service?
- ROI & Risk What is the economic return on investment? Are there other measurable returns on investment? What is the risk posed to Assets (Things of Value)? What is the Risk to Benefit (Expected measurable outcomes of the change)?
- Change Impact What is the impact, or scope, of a change to the architecture?
- Change Cost What is the impact of a change to the architecture in terms of cost of change?
- Sustainability How does the architecture demonstrate sustainability?
- Confidence What confidence they can place in the target?
- Feasibility What is the probability the architecture will be realized and sustained?
- Security Will the architecture consistently address the risks and opportunities embedded in operations?
- Continuous Operations Can the architecture operate continuously?
- Dependability How will the architecture consistently deliver value and operate safely?
- Business Continuity Does the architecture provide an appropriate level of continuity needs relative to the enterprise’s needs?
- Scalability Can the architecture and the enterprise handle the range of demands and growth cycles?
- Ecosystem
- Compliance (regulatory / contract) How will we protect assets in the architecture?
- Competitive Landscape How does the architecture improve position in the competitive landscape?
- Social Responsibility Does the architecture provide appropriate social responsibility?
Navigate Atlas to support Strategy Standard Enterprise Architecture Deliverables
| Key Deliverables | Business Model Operating Model Value Chain Model | Application Development Model Digital Product Model | Infrastructure Provider Model | Roadmap Type 4: Scenario Implementation Strategy Model | Deloitte Enterprise Value Map Business Motivation Model (Courses of Action & Outcomes) Option Analysis | Hambrick Strategy Diamond Architecture Principles Portfolio |
| Regular Deliverable | Capability Map Organizational Model Functional Model | Information System Model Application Functional Model | Infrastructure System Model Infrastructure Service Model | Roadmap Type 3: Impact & Dependency |
How to develop Enterprise Architecture to Support Strategy
The activity of developing enterprise architecture to strategy will be driven by the stakeholders. An enterprise architecture team will need to be nimble. However, the information required is very predictable.
Understand the current context
- in-flight improvement portfolios and their success
- the planning horizon (3, 5, or 10 years)
- any crisis
- goals, objectives, initiatives, competitive, and tactic analysis
- how the organization generates value (operating model)
Find assumed & actual deficiency
- Assess current state against Concerns
- Agility
- Efficiency
- Differentiation
- Value Proposition & Customer
- Confidence (Uncertainty)
- Competitive Landscape
- Assess current state again Value reference model
- Deloitte Enterprise Value Map
Major information gathering and analysis steps for an Enterprise Architecture Team
Find the source of deficiency
- Business Model
- Value Chain Model
- Digital Product Model
- Application Development Model
- Infrastructure Provider Model
Explore options to overcome deficiency
- Options Analysis
- Roadmap Type 3: Scenario
- Hambrick Strategy Diamond
- Business Motivation Model (preferred courses of action)
- Architecture Trade-off using Concerns
Document the target architecture
- Hambrick Strategy Diamond
- Business Motivation Model (courses of action and outcomes)
- Portfolio (Capability-based Plan)
- Architecture Principles
Using Architecture Principles
Architecture principles are brief statements that identify your organization's enduring priorities. They explain how to approach a problem and decision. They can test potential choices and speed up good decision making.
Architecture Principles have no sense of time or sequence. A strategy stated in terms of Architecture Principles will have its preferences and value preferences embedded.
For example, in the 7 Principles every Enterprise Architect should know several statements of strategy are evident:
Don't Mess With Success tells you the company approach supersedes potential external best practice
Focus on Excellence tells you that competitive positioning, the primary value chain, and your product and service value propositions win trade-off with efficiency.
Using Scenario Analysis
We use scenario analysis in Strategy to gain a deep understanding of the forces, events that surround us and highlight the choices we need to make.
While we can look forwards and backwards, we tend to look backwards from a plausible future. We want to understand what we need to do to get there, or to prevent a potential dystopia.
Using the Hambrick Strategy Map
We lean heavily on Hambrick's Strategy diamond to test the strategy.
Hambrick's Diamond isn't perfect. Being able to answer the five questions ensures your strategy is not skipping essentials.
- Where will the strategy be activated (Arenas)?
- How we will win (Differentiators)?
- What change programs will move us (Vehicles)?
- What our pace and sequence of change (Staging)
- How we get our returns (Economic Logic)?
An enterprise architect will often focus on Arenas, Vehicles, and Staging. Differentiators often take the form of governance directions.
Using the Deloitte Value Map
For private-sector organizations, we will leverage Deloitte's Value Map. The Value Map concisely highlights the options available to drive shareholder value. They net down to:
- Grow Revenue
- Grow Operating Margin (Lower Cost)
- Improve Asset Efficiency
- Improve Expectations
We will use the top-layers of the Enterprise Value Map to ask questions about the deficiency. We will use the lower levels to test for potential opportunities to address the deficiency.
Wherever possible, we leverage existing high-quality analytic tools and techniques. Our value comes from driving to an actionable answer, not inventing an elegant technique. The Deloitte Value Map is an example of our approach.
Enterprise Architecture Capability to support Strategy
The Enterprise Architecture Capability Reference Architecture lists the following capabilities for an EA Team supporting strategy:
2.1 Capability to support Strategy
The ability to provide an architecture that supports the formulation and direction of the organization’s primary goals and initiatives. Strategic Architecture provides overall direction and constraints to more detailed architecture.
2.1.1. Capability for Enterprise Strategy
The ability to identify and re-articulate the overall scope and direction of the Enterprise and how its various internal organizations and operations work together to achieve the particular goals.
2.1.2 Capability for Departmental Strategy
The ability to develop and explain a department's strategy. Including the connection to the overall strategy, and how its internal operations function.
2.1.3 Capability for Initiative Strategy
The ability to identify, articulate and align operational methods of the initiative to enable the department and the Enterprise to achieve its overall goals. A Digital Transformation Strategy is an example of an Initiative Strategy.
2.1.4 Capability for Strategy Roadmap
The ability to create a time-based roadmap for an Enterprise, Department, or Initiative. Includes the intended target and the steps to get to the target. It includes the ability to represent enabling organizations, critical assets, their relationships, dependencies, and requirements in a fashion that supports decisions. Includes the ability to facilitate trade-off between competing priorities, preferences and approaches.
How can I gain access to the Navigate Atlas to support Strategy?
The Navigate Atlas to support strategy is available in a consulting engagement and in our packaged training.
We will leverage the Atlas when consulting to develop enterprise architecture to support strategy. We will also use the Atlas when consulting to develop an Enterprise Architecture Team with the use case of supporting strategy.
The Navigate Atlas to support strategy is available in our packaged training Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF and Navigate.
Going Further on Your Own with Enterprise Architecture to support Strategy
Chapter 7 of the EA Practitioner's Guide discusses how to develop enterprise architecture to support strategy.
The Business Leader's Guide to AI provides a working example of making strategic choices with key decsions. Download it below.
What happens next
You will get an email with your download of the Practitioner's Guide to Developing Enterprise Architecture
We will add you to our mailing list and send notes and additional materials to help you with your Digital Transformation and becoming a better Enterprise Architect.
