cisco systems case study: the architecture review process improving the it portfolio

1© 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.Session NumberPresentation_ID Cisco Confidential

Cisco Systems Case Study: Architecture Review Process— Improving the IT Portfolio

Susan Bouchard

Enterprise Architecture Standards and Governance


Agenda

• Cisco Culture and History

• Managing the IT Investment Portfolio

• Architecture Review Process

• Architecture Review Process Improvement

• Improving the IT Portfolio


Cisco Culture and History


The Other Guys

Largest U.S. Foodservice Distributor


Cisco Systems: Worldwide Leader in Networking for the Internet

Cisco Products Power the Internet

Cisco Runs Its Business

on the Internet


Cisco at Work—Corporate Culture


History of Cisco Systems

19981984 1986 1990 1994 2002 2003 2004

Started at Stanford

IPO; 192 Employees

End-to-End Solutions Provider

Cisco Routers Power the Internet; LAN/WAN Switching, Remote Access

#1 Communications Equipment Supplier

Shipped First Router

$18.9 Billion Revenue; 34,000 Employees; IP Telephony, Security, Wireless, Networked Home

Cisco’s20th Anniversary

New Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System

$22 Billion Revenue

2005

37,000 Employees; 120 Locations Worldwide


Managing the IT Investment Portfolio


Portfolio Management

Portfolio Management is the Process and Methodology for Controlling and Optimizing IT Investments to Reduce Duplication, Increase Productivity, and Deliver Value to the Business


Managing the IT Investment Portfolio

Strategy Formulation

Environmental Monitoring

Value Management

Implementation Management

Architecture Planning Infrastructure

Planning

Gap Analysis

Risk Management

Project Resourcing

Project Monitoring

Migration Planning

Enterprise Strategy and Planning

Integrate Business and IT Strategy

and Planning

Implement Enterprise Transformation through Key Programs/Projects

Provide the Technology Roadmap

for the Enterprise

Technology Assessment

Investment PortfolioEnterprise

Program Management

Enterprise Architecture

Through Key Integrated Processes Focused on Creating Business Value

Adapted from Paras, G. & Buchanan, R. Chair Address: Enterprise Architecture is Growing Up. In Proc. Enterprise Architectures Conference (Phoenix, AZ Nov 2003), 11.


Enterprise Strategy and Planning

Business and IT Strategy

Undertaken to Accomplish

Goal(s)

3–5 Year GoalsCisco Strategy FY’06 Initiatives

A Series ofPlans and Initiatives


Enterprise Program Management3–5 Year GoalsCisco Strategy FY ’06 Initiatives

Resource AllocationResource Allocation

Cost and Risk Control

Cost and Risk Control

Program and Project Alignment

Program and Project Alignment

Holistic Program and Project CoordinationHolistic Program and Project Coordination

Process Management

Process Management

Value Management

Value Management

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management


Enterprise Architecture

• Process to transform

Current state into future state

• Drive alignment

Business and technical architecture

• Increase agility

Flexibility to meet business requirements

Threat OpportunityNew

Requirement


Four Focus Areas for Enterprise Architecture

Transforming the

Business

Standards and Governance

Enterprise Alignment

Cross-Process Integration

Data and Information


Architecture Review Process



Architecture Review Process is the Process and Methodology for Evaluating and Improving IT Investments to Reduce Duplication, Increase Productivity, and Deliver Value to the Business, Day-to-Day as Projects Move Through the Lifecycle


ARP Website

Functional Processes


ID and Assess

Analysis Design Build Implement SDLC/ PLC

Stages:

ConceptCommit

ExecuteCommit

DesignReview

ReadinessReview

Post ProjectAssessment

Customer AdvocacySales

Manufacturing

= Architecture Team Engagement with Project Team

2003

2004

-200

5

SDLC/PLC = Software Development/Project Lifecycle

ID and Assess

Analysis Design Build Implement SDLC/ PLC

Stages:

ConceptCommit

ExecuteCommit

DesignReview

ReadinessReview

Post ProjectAssessment

ReviewSteps:

BusinessEngagement

Invitation

PATEngagement

Invitation

1. PATEngagement

2. PATPre-EC

Review(s)3. PAT

ArchitectureReview

4. PATDesignReview

5. PATBuild

Review6. PAT

Pre-ReadinessReview

7. PAT Post-Implementation

Review

Iterate Steps, as RequiredRecommended Step

Enterprise Process


Partner Architecture Team (PAT) Organization

Infr

astr

uct

ure

Glo

bal

Sh

ared

Ser

vice

s a

nd

Ru

nn

ing

IT

En

terp

rise

Arc

hit

ectu

re

En

terp

rise

Dat

a M

gm

t

OracleCustomerAdvocacy

Issue to Resolution

CustomerSupport

ManufacturingForecast toDelivery Supply Chain

SiebelSales

MarketingChannels

Market toSell

Customer &Partner Data

Customer Service/Finance

ERPOracle

Quote to Cash

B2BCustomer Txn

AgileChief

Development Office

Idea toOffering Quality

PeopleSoftHumanResources

Hire toRetire

Employee ServicesCisco University

L1 Process Function Arch Lead Release Mgmt


Partner Architecture Team (PAT) Engagement

Self-Service Review (eReview)

Team or Cross-FunctionalReview

Review Type Engagement Outcome

Self-Service Review (SSR)

Low-Touch Project Team will use automated eReview tool to obtain architecture assessment/recommendation report

Team Review (TR) Medium-Touch PAT will work with Project Team, providing technical expertise throughout project lifecycle

Cross-Functional Review (XFR)

High-Touch PAT members from affected functional areas will work with Project Team, providing technical expertise throughout project lifecycle

PAT Members

Engagement Q&A

Determine Review Typeand Level of Involvement

Project Manager


Required for ARP Adoption

• Partners

Partner Architecture Teams (PATs) and Project Managers (PMs)

• Patterns

Standards, Best Practices and Target Architecture

• Portfolio

Projects for Review

• Plan

Schedule of Reviews


Measure ARP Impact

• Engaged before Execute Commit

• Review documented

• Standard leveraged or reused

• Redundancy eliminated

• Recommendation followed


Adoption Challenges

• Resource commitment and early engagement

• Review documentation quality

• Constant evolution of technology standards

• Support to mature process and measure impact


Architecture Review Process Improvement


Problem Statement

• Redundant engagements/questions take time

• Answers are not readily available for shared access

• Architecture decisions are not well-documented

• Engagements often occur too late in PLC for effect

• This problem impacts PMs, PATs, EA and the Business

PMs Answer Many Architecture-Related Questions to Obtain Resources and Pass Project Lifecycle (PLC) Gates


EA Action Plan

• Identify key ARP steps and improvement goals

• Improve architecture documentation

• Provide value case for adoption

• Identify and gather alignment metrics

ARP Adoption


Key ARP Steps and Improvement Goals

• PlanningAlign engagement activities and engage early

Reduce touch points for the project team

• DevelopmentRecord architecture history in a common format

Gather standards compliance metrics

• OperationAudit to confirm recommendations followed

Gather lessons learned to improve quality


Improve Architecture Documentation

B Are the business requirements for your project still pending analysis?

A Will your project use a third-party vendor solution?

D Will your solution require a new database, DB schema, or significant DBA work?

I Will your project depend on any new or non-standard Infrastructure environment?

Plan Portfolio and CreateRoadmap

DevelopStrategy

Planning Development

End of Life

Operation

Project Profile ? ? ?B Will your project's User Interface be

non-standard compared to CEC/CCO standards?

A Does the presentation layer need a plug-in to function?

D Does your project require direct access to data?

I Did this project require an InfoSec audit?

B Have the Business processes been documented?

A Are you meeting the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the application?

D Was the database sizing estimated correctly?

I Did this project follow all the recommended technology standards?

Project Profile Enables Architecture-Related Information about the Project to be Assessed Throughout the PLC and Beyond

Stage 1 ID and Assess

Stage 2Analysis

Stage 3Design

Stage 4Build

Stage 5Implement

Stage 6Support

and Maintain

ConceptCommit

ExecuteCommit

DesignReview

ReadinessReview

PostProject

Assessment

Architecture Domains: B = Business A = Application D = Data I = Infrastructure, InfoSec, or Integration

BusinessCommit


Value Case

• Eliminates redundant questions

Saves PM time

• Provides ready access to answers

Saves PAT time

• Improves architecture documentation

Improves EA results

• Facilitates earlier engagement

Improves Business results

Project Profile Consolidates Questions/Answers


Alignment Metrics

Architecture Alignment Lever Planned Measure

Alignment of Business and IT Architecture Roadmaps

% Projects Aligned to Business and IT Architecture Roadmaps

% Business Capabilities Realized in Target State

Adherence to Principles, Policies and Standards

% Projects Doing Architecture Reviews

% Projects Leveraging Standards

Data Management # and Size of Transaction Databases

% Projects Using Single-Source-of-Truth (SSOT) Data

Reuse of Business and IT Services

# Reusable Business and IT Services Created

# Reusable Business and IT Services Consumed

Business Agility Time to Implement Business Capability


Improving the IT Portfolio


Impact of ARP on IT Portfolio

• PATs halt projects having no business owner

• PAT expertise helps speed and improve delivery

• Team proficiency increases by working with experts

• Teams aware of and leverage more standards


Next Steps

• Establish PAT Community of Practice

• Consolidate/publish Standards and Best Practices

• Continue to drive ARP Adoption

• Collect and report Architecture Alignment Metrics

• Communicate and acknowledge good behavior


Q and A

cisco systems case study: the architecture review process improving the it portfolio

Technology

build review

architecture team engagement

required enterprise

prereadiness review

post implementation

history of cisco systems

agenda cisco culture

cisco systems case study