Business Architecture
Target Operating Models that Make Sense
Success Begins with the First Step
The primary focus of business architecture is on the construction of the Business-First Blueprint (BFB). The business blueprint includes the vital-few ingredients that are necessary to construct sold foundations for the architected business model. The determining success factor is to get this first step right. Classical workshops and brainstorm session typically lead to the non-actionable paper business architecture that is far from ready to implement. The architecture model that is manifested by the Business-First Blueprint (BFB) drives the required business capabilities, carefully metricised, modularised and self-enforced engineered processes that are then supported by a fit-for-purpose technology which GO2Cab calls the Business Technology Blueprint (BTB).
Solid Architecture
Go2Cab encourages organisations to step back and first construct a properly implementable (ie actionable) operational Business-First Blueprint (BFB). Driven by the business operational dynamics, we ask the vital-few questions relating to things like: why the organisation should exist, what are the measurable objectives that gauge the success of such existence, what are the services and capabilities required to validate the “perceived” justified existence of the business, what is the impact of services on various types of Customers, what is the current (versus sought) maturity of services and capabilities (taking into consideration the operational dynamics of the business), what is the cost of the desired operational maturity over time and so on.
Most organisations mistakenly focus on technology as the first step to improve on business outcomes. A common outcome of this classical approach is a set of new organisational renamed or rewired boxes with reporting lines justifying the “change” to achieve improvements. The reality is that nothing much has changed in the context of operational dynamics (ie, the moving parts) of the business. Such organisations inadvertently ignore the architectural models required to translate business strategies engineered processes required to ensure meeting the measurable objectives of the target operating model.
The approach promoted by Go2Cab appears to be too complicated. Sure, it is complicated if we use classical approaches leading to hundreds of posted notes, keep running brainstorm sessions, keep pushing OPINIONS through various meetings and presentations until the louder voices and personal agendas win. The latter, at best, can ONLY lead to SUB-OPTIMAL (if not totally wrong) decisions.