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Practice: Mature & Assess

Summary
In Step 5, business architecture is applied to various business usage scenarios to deliver value to the organization. This step is the most important one and is the reason why business architecture exists. Building the knowledgebase and creating supporting practice infrastructure should be completed just enough, just in time to support the relevant usage scenarios in this step.

In Step 6, the business architecture is expanded and refined as needed, prioritized by the relevant usage scenarios from Step 5. This may include activities such as decomposing capabilities or articulating new value streams, mapping additional business architecture domains beyond the baseline (e.g., business units, strategies, policies, products, stakeholders, initiatives or metrics) or cross-mapping the business architecture to domains from other disciplines (e.g., cross-mapping capabilities to journeys, processes, applications, software services or requirements).

In Step 8, the business architecture practice maturity is assessed along with other measurements of its success. In conjunction with practice goal setting, this informs Step 9 to drive practice direction over the next horizon.

In Step 9, goals are established for the practice during the next horizon. These goals along with the results of the business architecture practice maturity assessment and other success measurements are then used to plan enhancements for the practice during the next horizon, resulting in a practice roadmap. The planned enhancements are executed and measured again in Step 8. Steps 8 and 9 typically occur as an annual planning rhythm where the measurement, goal-setting and next horizon planning for the business architecture practice are done at the end of the year, and then practice enhancements are executed during the following year. All planned practice enhancements should be directly aligned with how business architecture is being applied in Step 5.

5 Apply Business Architecture

In Step 5, business architecture is applied to various business usage scenarios to deliver value to the organization. This step is the most important one and is the reason why business architecture exists. Building the knowledgebase and creating supporting practice infrastructure should be completed just enough, just in time to support the relevant usage scenarios in this step.

RESOURCES TO EXPLORE AND ACTIONS TO TAKE
  • Read Chapter 3 of Strategy to Reality, which overviews many different usage scenarios for business architecture, including strategy execution, transformation, and much more
  • Read Chapter 4 of The Execution Challenge, which provides specific techniques for you to apply from strategy to execution 
  • Leverage complementary tools and techniques in the business architecture toolbox (share your suggestions!)
  • Visit our Resource Library  to explore the list of business architecture usage scenarios. Simply filter by the Usage category for loads of resources to help you apply business architecture across many different business scenarios.
PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT YOUR JOURNEY
  • Building a Strategic Business Architecture Practice – A 5-month hands-on, advanced program to learn how to stand up and scale an impactful, world-class strategic business architecture practice within your organization (available in a live virtual or self-paced format)
  • Leveraging Business Architecture for Strategy Execution – A hands-on workshop where you learn and apply key business architecture techniques from strategy to execution, leveraging a comprehensive case study (coming in 2025!)
  • The Business Architecture Partnership Ecosystem – A 5-month hands-on, advanced program to learn how to integrate business architecture with key functions and disciplines for a holistic approach to strategy execution, organizational design, and decision-making (available in a live virtual or self-paced format)
  • Inner Circle Alumni Mastermind – If you have completed an Inner Circle cohort, make sure to sign up for the Inner Circle Alumni Mastermind for continual learning and peer collaboration.
  • Contact us for business architecture consulting and coaching on an engagement to put business architecture into practice. We collaborate with you upfront to shape the right engagement for your organization, such as strategy translation, investment decision-making, and more. Whether leading the engagement, working alongside you, or coaching you through the process, we provide an ideal opportunity for you to learn how apply business architecture from an expert, get a win, or simply supplement your team's capacity.

 

6 Expand and Refine Knowledgebase

In Step 6, the business architecture is expanded and refined as needed, prioritized by the relevant usage scenarios from Step 5. This may include activities such as decomposing capabilities or articulating new value streams, mapping additional business architecture domains beyond the baseline (e.g., business units, strategies, policies, products, stakeholders, initiatives or metrics) or cross-mapping the business architecture to domains from other disciplines (e.g., cross-mapping capabilities to journeys, processes, applications, software services or requirements).

RESOURCES TO EXPLORE AND ACTIONS TO TAKE
PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT YOUR JOURNEY
  • BAA’s Business Architecture BootcampTMCourse 3 – BAA's Course 3 on Extending the Business Architecture is based on the BIZBOK® Guide and provides an in-depth focus on the extended disciplines of business architecture. (Note: BAA Course 1, the Business Architecture Immersion Workshop, is a pre-requisite for Course 3 and it is highly recommended that you have also taken Course 2 on Building the Foundational Business Architecture.)
  • Building a Strategic Business Architecture Practice – A 5-month hands-on, advanced program to learn how to stand up and scale an impactful, world-class strategic business architecture practice within your organization (available in a live virtual or self-paced format)
  • The Business Architecture Partnership Ecosystem – A 5-month hands-on, advanced program to learn how to integrate business architecture with key functions and disciplines for a holistic approach to strategy execution, organizational design, and decision-making (available in a live virtual or self-paced format)
  • Contact us for coaching and consulting services to help you identify and prioritize the most valuable domains to map within your knowledgebase. We can facilitate sessions and map and cross-map the additional business perspectives — or to coach you through the process. We also offer reviews of your existing knowledgebase, providing feedback and guidance on how to align it with best practices and leverage the information for greater business value.

 

8 Assess Practice Maturity and Results

In Step 8, the business architecture practice maturity is assessed along with other measurements of its success. In conjunction with practice goal setting, this informs Step 9 to drive practice direction over the next horizon.  

RESOURCES TO EXPLORE AND ACTIONS TO TAKE
PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT YOUR JOURNEY
  • Building a Strategic Business Architecture Practice – A 5-month hands-on, advanced program to learn how to stand up and scale an impactful, world-class strategic business architecture practice within your organization (available in a live virtual or self-paced format)
  • Contact us to perform a business architecture maturity assessment for your organization and provide recommendations along with a roadmap to advance your practice

 

9 Plan and Deliver Improvements

In Step 9, goals are established for the practice during the next horizon. These goals along with the results of the business architecture practice maturity assessment and other success measurements are then used to plan enhancements for the practice during the next horizon, resulting in a practice roadmap. The planned enhancements are executed and measured again in Step 8. Steps 8 and 9 typically occur as an annual planning rhythm where the measurement, goal-setting and next horizon planning for the business architecture practice are done at the end of the year, and then practice enhancements are executed during the following year.  All planned practice enhancements should be directly aligned with how business architecture is being applied in Step 5. 

RESOURCES TO EXPLORE AND ACTIONS TO TAKE
PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT YOUR JOURNEY
  • Building a Strategic Business Architecture Practice – A 5-month hands-on, advanced program to learn how to stand up and scale an impactful, world-class strategic business architecture practice within your organization (available in a live virtual or self-paced format)
  • Inner Circle Alumni Mastermind – If you have completed an Inner Circle cohort, make sure to sign up for the Inner Circle Alumni Mastermind for continual learning and peer collaboration.
  • Effective Communication for Business Architecture Success – A 6-weeks hands-on specialty program with Tamara Park, especially tailored for business architects 
  • Contact us for coaching and consulting services to develop a business architecture practice roadmap that helps you advance your practice. We also offer coaching and hands-on assistance in all areas of your practice, including defining business architecture roles, team structuring, developing learning plans, governance definition, integration with other teams, socialization, and more. Additionally, we can curate or create training curriculums and courses for your business architecture team and stakeholders. 
 
Previous Step: Establish The Foundation