High-Level Strategy
This is the high level technical direction for a given technology and the benefit to the business for this particular technology. For example, consolidating file servers down to fewer servers will reduce operating costs and maintenance fees. Reducing costs is one of the core ways that IT can help an organization. Another example of a recent addition to the list is the usage of wireless e-mail devices (i.e. Blackberries). These devices allow the field sales personnel more timely access to information, allowing quicker response to customer inquires. This can directly benefit the business by creating more beer sales, contributing to increased revenue, the other major contributing benefit of IT. This documented strategy allows management to see the business value of upcoming IT projects.
Communication And Project Planning Tool
Secondly, these architecture plans contain a list of high level projects with estimated dates of initiation and completion. This list is useful for communicating upcoming projects to other team members, both within the IT area and within the business units.
The architecture plans are not written and hid in a drawer until the next year. They are used for communication with management to assist in their budgeting, and HR needs. They are used to communicate with other portions of the organization, such as the application development group so they are aware of what infrastructure is in place for them to develop applications. In the example above, with wireless e-mail, now it would make sense to possibly develop an application that utilizes this wireless infrastructure for some other business process.
These plans give management a “heads-up” as to what projects they can expect to see. So when a project is brought forward for approval, projects that are already on the architecture plans list are more readily approved. This goes back to the previous mentioned “Project Identification and Selection” Phase of the SDLC. Projects are identified and perhaps approved way before detailed analysis is done. This saves the company time and money in not developing projects that have no business need.
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