BTABoK Scenarios
This article is based on scenarios to help individuals and organizations use the BTABoK in growing their practice and maturity. The first priority is to identify ‘scenarios’ which are common moments or needs where the BTABoK might be helpful in delivering better architecture. The article will first give an overview of the scenarios and some basic guiding principles and then will expand on those in individual articles or even learning shots and training.
Most of the BTABoK uses third person voice to ensure that it has some academic rigor and can be understood that it is not a personal opinion. However, in these scenarios, we will be giving direct advice and thus we will switch to first and/or second person.
Here is the starting list of scenarios, feel free to add additional scenarios as you find them either in github issues or by adding a new scenaro to this list:
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I am an aspiring architect - how do I grow?
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I am a solution architect, I have been asked to produce an architecture for a new product?
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I am an application architect, what should I do during product development?
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I am a solution architect, I have been asked to help with a package selection, or buy vs build.
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I am looking after an architecture practice, what should I do?
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I am have been asked to perform an architecture review, can the BTABoK help me with this?
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I am a business architect, how can the BTABoK help me approach my job?
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How does the BTABoK apply to enterprise architecture?
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I have a set of stakeholders that are complicated and I want to work with them better.
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I am a consultant working with a client to try to make recommendations on the best approach to their work, how can I use the BTABoK?
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How do I deal with all these canvases and how are they linked?
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How do I update a legacy system?
Adopting the Competency Model
The competency model of the BTABoK is at the core of the practice. It is the most robust and well-documented competency model for architects on the market. In this article we are going to evaluate methods for adoption and their benefits to your organization.
Authoring For the BTABoK
This series of articles describes the Structured Canvas Approach and how to use it. It lays out basic artifact relationships to the scenarios in this document and describes other aspects like relationships to architecture tools, storage of models/canvases, and implementation patterns in lifecycles and deliverables.
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Found an Error
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Updating an Article
Designing with the BTABoK Series
Design methodologies for architecture are relatively difficult to find, especially those that relate to both technical and business outcomes. One of the goals of the BTABoK was to create a ‘method to the madness’ for current architects and architecturally significant decisions. Keep in mind, in this article, we are referring to the design of the combination of business and technology areas, so the design of a purely manual business process is not part of our consideration (see Iasa’s definition of architecture). We are going to discuss the following model for design relationships and a structured approach using the BTABoK structured canvas approach. Here is my current thinking on the order they will come in:
The Aspiring Architect
As an aspiring architect, whether you are more of a developer or fill another role, your number 1 goal should be to understand where you fall in the competency model. This you can do through the free assessment at assessments.iasaglobal.org. Rotation, technical depth vs breadth, and specialization.
Legacy Systems Modernization
The demands on business to meet customer needs are a key factor in maintaining competitiveness. A common challenge faced by business is the management, replacement, and decommissioning of legacy systems. What happens when your key IT systems just aren’t keeping up with the demands of the business? Perhaps the system no longer fits with the business process and is too expensive to change, or the maintenance costs are seriously cutting into your profit margin. Perhaps it is a change in the direction or strategy of the business which means that the IT landscape needs to change.
In this series of short articles, we will look at how we can use the BTABoK to help manage legacy systems and legacy transformations. The articles cover the following topics:
Architects During Development (Software Solution Architecture)
This article explores the relationship to architects, emergent design, and tasks associated with architecture in an extended team model. It looks at architecture competencies and their application to non-architect roles and how to utilize the BTABoK in those environments as well as the tradeoffs necessary to make that work. In addition, we will discuss a full architect position and how to execute successfully in multiple fast-paced teams.