ANSWER

Most of us are familiar with the term architecture… The first thing that comes to mind is a specific building or structure.  In this context, architecture refers to the practice of careful design and building of the various components, and their integration, that make up the given structure.

Very similarly, business architecture is the deliberate design, organization, and building of an organization designed for a given purpose.

The Object Management Group (OMG) defines Business Architecture as follows:

“The structure of the enterprise in terms of its governance structure, business processes, and business information. In defining the structure of the enterprise, business architecture considers customers, finances, and the ever-changing market to align strategic goals and objectives with decisions regarding products and services; partners and suppliers; organization; capabilities; and key initiatives.” 

In other words, business architecture refers to the deliberate and organized structure of the various business components and the relationships and interactions between them.

What is the difference between business architecture and system architecture? 

System architecture deals with the design and implementation of an information system in terms of the various system layers (ex: data storage layer) and the respective components (ex: databases, data feeds, data transformations, etc.).  Similarly, the business architecture deals with the various business areas (ex: finance) and the respective components (ex: accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, etc.)

What are some examples of business architecture components?

Just as there are many ways of representing system architecture, there are many ways of model and express business architecture.

Some of the more common elements of a business architecture are:

• Capabilities

• Value Streams

• Products or Services

• Processes

• Business Rules and Policies

• Organization (people, departments)

• Customers

• Partners & Vendors

• Strategy

What are the benefits of business architecture?

The definition and deliberate design of  business architecture provides many benefits to an organization, including:

• Alignment - Business architecture aligns business strategy with the organization's operations, ensuring that all aspects of the business are working towards common goals.

• Clarity - Business architecture provides a clear and shared understanding of how the organization operates, enabling effective communication and decision-making.

• Change Management - Business architecture helps organizations plan and manage change initiatives by providing the foundation upon which to build new strategies, processes, or technologies.

• Optimization - Business architecture enables the organization to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, and areas for improvement within their operations..

• Integration - Business architecture enables the integration of new systems, technologies, products, or services into the existing business ecosystem.

• Risk Management - Business architecture helps identify and mitigate risks by understanding dependencies, vulnerabilities, and potential impacts on the organization's operations.