Scenario: St. Croix Consulting
Please read this scenario prior to answering the question
St. Croix Consulting started as an accounting and financial services company. It has expanded over the years and is now a leading North American IT and Business Services provider.
With numerous practice areas and a multitude of diverse engagements underway at any given time, overall engagement management has become challenging. The company does not want to risk its outstanding reputation or its international certifications and CMM ratings. Senior partners must become team players, working to support the broader needs of the company and its shareholders.
The Enterprise Architecture team has been working to create St. Croixs Enterprise Architecture framework to address these issues. The team has defined a preliminary framework and held workshops with key stakeholders to define a set of principles to govern the architecture work. They have completed an Architecture Vision at a strategic level and laid out Architecture Definitions for the four domains. They have set out an ambitious vision of the future of the company over a five-year period.
An Architecture Review Board has been formed comprised of IT staff executives and executives from the major practice areas.
The Enterprise Architecture framework is based on TOGAF 9.
The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Information Officer have co-sponsored the creation of the Enterprise Architecture program.
Refer to the St Croix Consulting Scenario:
You have been assigned to the role of Chief Enterprise Architect.
As the EA team prepares to formulate an Implementation plan, they have been asked by the CIO to assess the risks associated with the proposed architecture. He has received concerns from senior management that the proposed architecture may be too ambitious and they are not sure it can produce sufficient value to warrant the attendant risks.
You have been asked to recommend an approach to satisfy these concerns.
Based on TOGAF 9, which of the following is the best answer?
A. An interoperability analysis should be applied to evaluate any potential issues across the Solution Architecture. Once all of the concerns have been resolved, the EA team should finalize the Architecture Implementation Roadmap and the Migration Plan.
B. The EA team should gather information about potential solutions from the appropriate sources. Once the Solution Architecture has been assembled, it should be analyzed using a state evolution table to determine the Transition Architectures.
C. Prior to preparing the Implementation plan, the EA team should create a consolidated gap analysis to understand the transformations that are required to achieve the proposed Target Architecture. The EA team should gather information about potential solutions from the appropriate sources. Once the Solution Architecture has been assembled, it should be analyzed using a state evolution table to determine the Transition Architectures. An interoperability analysis should be applied to evaluate any potential issues across the Solution Architecture.
D. Prior to preparing the Implementation plan, there are several techniques that should be applied to assess the risks and value of the proposed transformation. In particular, the EA team should pay attention to the Business Transformation Readiness Assessment and the Business Value Assessment.
Scenario: Zephyr Enterprises
Please read this scenario prior to answering the question
Zephyr Enterprises specializes in the development of wind turbine blades for use in large-scale commercial wind energy production systems. Zephyr has manufacturing facilities located in Palm Springs, California, Omaha, Nebraska, and Winnipeg, Ontario. Each of these plants supplies a different manufacturer that builds and sells complete systems. The turbine blades are custom engineered to meet each manufacturers design specifications.
Until recently, most turbine blades were fabricated manually using molded fiber-reinforced plastics. However, recent improvements in composite materials, coupled with enhanced automated methods for precision application of materials during the molding process, have led to significant reduction in weight, increase in strength, and greatly improved blade longevity. Zephyr has pioneered the development of a proprietary automated process for continuous extrusion of the turbine blades. Patents have been filed to protect the process, but certain trade secrets must be closely guarded.
Zephyr has a mature Enterprise Architecture organization that is supported by a cross-functional Architecture Review Board. The Chief Information Officer and the Chief Operating Officer co-sponsor the Enterprise Architecture program.
Zephyr has used TOGAF and its Architecture Development Method (ADM) to develop its automated manufacturing processes and systems that are used to design, manufacture, and test the blade assemblies. They have recently updated to TOGAF 9 and have adapted the Zephyr Enterprise Architecture to closely follow the TOGAF 9 framework. All of Zephyrs IT architects have been trained and certified on TOGAF 9.Recently, an architecture project was completed that defined a standard approach for controlling the Automated Test System that is used at each plant to perform final quality assurance
tests on each completed blade assembly. The Manufacturing Architecture Board approved the plan for
immediate implementation at each plant.
An Architecture Contract was developed that detailed the work needed to implement and deploy the new
Automated Test System controller. The Chief Engineer, sponsor of the activity, has expressed concern
that a uniform process be employed at each site to ensure consistency.
Refer to the Zephyr Enterprises Scenario:
You have been assigned by the Lead Architect for the Automated Test System controller project to
conduct Compliance Assessments at each manufacturing plant.
During the course of the assessment at the Omaha plant, you discover that the Distributed Data
Acquisition System they have purchased uses a proprietary Remote Procedure Call (RPC) that utilizes
kernel mode threads instead of the user mode threads that are specified in the Architecture Definition
Document. In all other respects, the system meets the requirements stated in the Architecture Definition
Document and seems to perform correctly.
You have been asked to describe the compliance of this system for the final report.
Based on TOGAF 9, which of the following is the best answer?
A. You observe that all of the features in the Architecture Definition Document have been implemented in accordance with the specification, except for the RPC mechanism. Your recommendation is that the system be described as conformant.
B. You observe that the system has many features in common with the Architecture Definition Document, and those features have been implemented in accordance with the specification. However, you note that the RPC mechanism has been implemented using features that are not covered by the specification. Your recommendation is that the system be described as consistent.
C. You observe that the implementation of the RPC mechanism has no features in common with the Architecture Definition Document, therefore the question of its conformance should not be considered. Your recommendation is that the system be described as consistent.
D. You observe that the system meets most of the requirements stated in the Architecture Definition Document and appears to work correctly. However, you note that the RPC mechanism has not been implemented according to the specification. Your recommendation is that the system be described as non-conformant.
Scenario: Summer Seeds BV Please read this scenario prior to answering the question Summer Seeds BV is an international agricultural company exporting bulbs, flowers and seeds worldwide. It is headquartered in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and has sales and distribution centers in over 60 countries worldwide. Several of these centers include administrative, manufacturing, and research facilities. To achieve full integration of their research capabilities with their development centers located in various climate zones, the company wants to develop strong self directed teams in each location. It also wants to define new business models that are profitable while reducing their impact on the environment. The management is deeply committed to ensuring that the company is a world leader in socially responsible seed development with a business strategy that focuses on profitability through environmentally friendly operating processes. Summer Seed's international operations are subject to various legal and regulatory requirements. In areas such as genetically modified seeds, governmental controls are strictly enforced and compliance is critical. Recently a competitor was heavily fined for violating the regulations in a country where it was developing pest-resistant seeds. The Governing Board is concerned, and as a result has approved the expenditure of resources to establish an Enterprise Architecture program. They have requested information about the status of projects that could impact regulatory compliance. They also want to enable the corporate legal staff and auditors to analyze proposed architectures to ensure that they are within the legal guidelines for a given location. In addition, the research organization should be able to see that the architecture is appropriate for its needs. TOGAF 9 has been mandated as the guiding framework for the development and evolution of the Enterprise Architecture practice. Refer to the Summer Seeds BV Scenario You have been appointed as the Lead Consultant. You have been asked to recommend an approach that would enable the development of an architecture that addresses the needs of all these parties. Based on TOGAF 9, which of the following is the best answer?
A. Depending on the nature of the architecture, a set of models should be created that can be used to ensure that the system will be compliant with the local regulations. Stakeholders should be able to view the models to see that their concerns have been properly addressed.
B. Each architecture activity should be developed using a consistent modeling approach that is uniform across all architecture projects. Each architecture should be defined based on this fixed set of models so that all concerned parties can examine the models to ensure that their issues and concerns have been addressed,
C. A stakeholder map should be developed that allows the architects to define groups of stakeholders sharing common concerns. A set of views should then be defined that addresses the concerns for each group- Architecture models can then be created for each view to address the stakeholders' concerns.
D. For those groups that have sufficient power and level of interest, a special report should be created that summarizes the key features of the architecture with respect to the particular location. Each of these reports should reflect the stakeholders' requirements.
Scenario: MegaMart
Case Study Title (Case Study):
MegaMart is a Retail Chain which has expanded throughout India and the Far East.
The CEO and CIO decide that there is a crying need to put an Enterprise Architecture in place to realize
MegaMart's strategy to expand its revenue and diversify. The CIO has evaluated and decided to go in for
TOGAF9 and adapt it to his enterprise requirements.
The Preliminary and Vision Phase have been completed.
As such very few architectural artifacts exist and the target architecture as of now is not very clear. As the
Lead Architect how would you guide your team of architects for the Business Architecture definition?
A. In the first iteration start with the definition of the Target Business Architecture using a Top down Approach. Then keep on iterating in Phase B till the Target Business Architecture is refined before going to Phase C and Phase D. After Phase C and Phase D are over, iterate again to Phase B and define the baseline Business Architecture, analyze the gaps finalize the Architecture Definitions documents and proceed to
Phase C and Phase D.
B. In the first iteration start with the definition of the Baseline Business Architecture using a Top Down approach. Define the Architecture Definition document after analyzing the impacts and reviewing with the stakeholders. Then proceed to Phase C and Phase D. In the next iteration finalize the Target Business Architecture and proceed to Phase C and Phase D.
C. In the first iteration start with the definition of the Baseline Business Architecture using a Bottom Up approach. Define the Architecture Definition document after analyzing the impacts and reviewing with the stakeholders'. Proceed to Phase C and Phase D. In the next iteration finalize the Target Business Architecture, determine the gaps and the roadmap, and the impact and update the Architecture Definition document. after analyzing the impacts and reviewing with the stakeholders. Then proceed with the iteration.
D. In the first iteration start with the definition of the Target Business Architecture using a Top Down approach. Define the Architecture Definition document after analyzing the impacts and reviewing with the stakeholders proceed to Phase C and Phase D. In the next iteration finalize the Baseline Business Architecture, determine the gaps and the roadmap, and the impact and update the Architecture Definition document. After analyzing the impacts and reviewing with the stakeholders. Then proceed with the iteration.
Scenario Please read this scenario prior to answering the question You have been appointed as a consultant to the Chief Enterprise Architect of a multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The corporation includes 30 subsidiary companies with operations in over 60 countries and products sold in over 125 countries. It has major research and development sites in over 45 locations worldwide.
The management team is deeply committed to ensuring that the corporation is a world leader in socially responsible pharmaceutical development with a business strategy that focuses on profitability through environmentally friendly operating processes as well as a commitment to disease eradication.
The operations of the corporation are subject to legal and regulatory requirements for each country where they operate. The production of prescription pharmaceutical products has governmental controls that are strictly enforced and compliance is critical. Recently a competitor was heavily fined for violating the regulations in a country where it was conducting a clinical trial for a new regulated drug.
The Governing Board is concerned about the risks posed in this complex global environment. As a result the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) to be responsible for overseeing and managing compliance issues for the corporation. The CCO reports directly to the CEO.
The CCO has approved the expenditure of resources to establish an Enterprise Architecture program. He has requested to be informed about the status of projects that could impact regulatory compliance. He also wants the corporate legal staff and auditors to analyze all proposed architectures to ensure that they are within the legal guidelines for each country. In addition, the research organization should be able to see that the architecture is appropriate for its needs.
TOGAF 9 has been mandated as the framework for the development and evolution of the Enterprise Architecture practice. The Preliminary Phase has been completed to establish the enterprise architecture capability for this project.
Refer to the Scenario You have been asked to recommend an approach that would enable the development of an architecture that addresses the needs of the Chief Compliance Officer, legal staff, auditors and the research organization.
Based on TOGAF, which of the following is the best answer?
A. You recommend that a stakeholder map be developed. This will allow the architects to define groups of stakeholders that share common concerns. A set of views should be defined to address the concerns for each group of stakeholders. Architecture models should then be created for each view to address the stakeholders' concerns.
B. You recommend that each project architecture activity is developed using a consistent modeling approach that is uniform across all architecture projects. Each architecture should be defined based on this fixed set of models so that all concerned parties can examine the models to ensure that their issues and concerns have been addressed.
C. You recommend that a special report be created for those groups that have sufficient power and level of interest. This report should summarize the key features of the architecture with respect to the particular location. Each of these reports should reflect the stakeholders' requirements.
D. You recommend that a set of models be created for each project architecture that can be used to ensure that the system will be compliant with the local regulations. Stakeholders should then view the models to verify that their concerns have been properly addressed.
Scenario Please read this scenario prior to answering the question Your role is that of Lead Enterprise Architect within the staff headquarters of a large hotel chain. The chain manages over 500 hotels across North America and Canada, with another 230 hotels internationally in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Unlike other hotel chains, which are often a mix of company-owned and franchised units, each hotel in the chain is an independently owned and operated franchise. Many of the hotels use the same internal IT systems that they used before they joined the franchise. Until recently, the only requirement that has been placed on each hotel is that they use a standard financial reporting system to report their financial results to the headquarters on a weekly basis.
The CEO of the chain has stated his concerns about the inefficiencies of the current approach and identified the need to change. He has defined a new strategic vision that will enhance the business by providing its franchisees new support services including worldwide reservations, global, national and regional marketing as well as consolidated financials, logistics, and yield management. This strategy is part of the long-term commitment to enhance the brand image and drive superior revenue for the chain. He has also stated that he expects improved financial results by the end of the current fiscal year.
These changes will provide the chain with improved utilization of its capacity and more efficient operations. The addition of a corporate-wide data warehouse will provide analytics that will enable the marketing group to improve its ability to target advertising into key national and regional markets to improve yields.
The chain has a mature enterprise architecture practice based in its headquarters and uses TOGAF 9 as the method and guiding framework. The CIO is the sponsor of the activity. In planning this change, the Chief Architect engaged the services of a well-known consulting firm that specializes in business strategy. An initial study has been conducted to identify the strategic changes needed to implement the CEO's vision. This recently completed with approval of a strategic architecture encompassing the entire chain, including detailed requirements and recommendations.
Based on the recommendations from the initial study, the chain has taken the decision to adopt a packaged suite of integrated applications that is tailored to the needs of the hospitality industry.
Refer to the scenario You have been asked by the Chief Architect to propose the best approach for architecture development to realize the CEO's vision.
Based on TOGAF, which of the following is the best answer?
A. You propose that this engagement define the baseline Technology Architecture first in order to assess the current infrastructure capacity and capability. Then the focus should be on transition planning and architecture deployment. This will identify requirements to ensure that the projects are sequenced in an optimal fashion so as to realize the vision.
B. You propose that the target architecture is defined first, followed by transition planning. This is because the vision is well understood and the strategic architecture agreed. The target first approach will ensure that the current problems and inefficiencies of the baseline architecture are not carried forward, and that the proposed solution addresses the requirements identified in the initial study.
C. You propose that the team focus on architecture definition, with a specific emphasis on understanding the strategic change parameters of the business strategy. Once understood, the team will be in the best position to identify the requirements, drivers, issues, and constraints for this engagement. You would ensure that the target architecture addresses non-functional requirements so as to ensure the target architecture is robust and secure.
D. You propose that the team focus on defining the target architecture by going through the architecture definition phases (B-D). This is because the initial study identified the need to change. This will ensure that the change can be defined in a structured manner and address the requirements needed to realize the vision.
Scenario Please read this scenario prior to answering the question You are serving as the Lead Architect for an insurance company, which has been formed through the merger of three previously independent companies. The company now consists of three divisions with the same names and division headquarters as their predecessors.
The lack of integration between the three divisions has increasingly caused problems in the handling of customer and financial information. The inability to share information has resulted in lost opportunities to leverage the synergies that should have been possible as a result of the merger. At present, each division maintains its own applications. Despite an earlier initiative to install a common application to manage customer, products, and claims information, each division has different ways of defining these core elements and has customized the common application to the point where the ability to exchange information is difficult, costly, and error-prone.
As a result, the company has made the decision to introduce a common web portal, contact center software suite, and document management system. Also the company has selected a single enterprise-wide customer relationship management (CRM) application to consolidate information from several applications that exist across the divisions. The application will be used by each of the divisions and accessed by third party partners through well defined interfaces.
The Corporate Board is concerned that the new application must be able to manage and safeguard confidential customer information in a secure manner that meets or exceeds the legal requirements of the countries in which the company operates. This will be an increasingly important capability as the company expands its online services in cooperation with its partners.
The CIO has formed an Enterprise Architecture department, and one of the primary goals in its charter is to coordinate efforts between the implementation team and the migration teams in each division. The CIO has also formed a cross- functional Architecture Board to oversee and govern the architecture. The company has an existing team of security architects.
TOGAF 9 has been selected as the core framework for use for the Enterprise Architecture program. The CIO has endorsed this choice with the full support of top management.
Refer to the Scenario As part of the process for establishing the Enterprise Architecture department, you are developing a set of architecture principles to guide the activities.
You need to recommend the best approach for this work.
Based on TOGAF, which of the following is the best answer?
A. You would review the mission statements for the company and its divisions, together with the corporate business goals and business drivers. Based on that review, you would work closely with the key stakeholders and the Architecture Board to define the architecture principles. You would ensure that they actively promote the alignment of IT with the corporate business strategies. You would then hold review meetings with the relevant stakeholders, including senior management, ensuring their support.
B. You would gather information from credible industry sources in the insurance business. Based on that information, you would assess current trends and apply them to defining a set of principles that embody best practices. You would select architecture principles that do not conflict with each other and that should be stable. You would ensure that all the principles are realistic and avoid including principles that are too obvious.
C. You would analyze the mission statements for the company and each of its divisions, together with the corporate business goals. Based on that analysis, you would define a set of architecture principles and review them with the CIO. When developing the principles you would ensure that they actively promote the alignment of IT with the business strategies and initiatives of the company. You would then seek the endorsement of the CIO and senior management.
D. You would define a set of principles that support the preferred best practices embodied in the Enterprise Architecture department charter. You would publish the principles on the corporate intranet to ensure widespread acceptance and compliance. You would then schedule regular periodic Compliance Assessments with each of the divisions to check that they have made satisfactory progress toward meeting the objectives and conditions embodied in the principles.
Scenario
Please read this scenario prior to answering the question
You are serving as the Lead Architect for the Enterprise Architecture team at a multinational company. The company has grown rapidly by acquisition and has inherited numerous supply chain processes and related IT systems. Several supply chain processes have had problems related to the timing of purchases, which has led to excess inventory. The Vice President in charge of Supply Chain Management has made the decision to consolidate and reduce redundant processes and systems. The company will move to a "Justin-time" supply chain management so as to keep inventory costs low.
The TOGAF standard is followed for internal Enterprise Architecture activities. This project is using an iterative approach for executing the Architecture Development Method (ADM).
At present, there are no architectural assets in the Architecture Repository related to this initiative. All assets will need to be acquired, customized, or created. The company prefers to implement commercial off the shelf package applications with little customization. The CIO, who is the project sponsor, has stated that she is not concerned about preserving the existing supply chain management processes or systems.
The architecture development project has completed Phase A and has started a number of iteration cycles to develop the Architecture. As a packaged application is being considered, the next iteration will include both the Business and Application Architectures. Key stakeholder concerns that should be addressed by these architectures include:
1.
What groups of people should be involved in the supply chain management-related business processes?
2.
What non-supply chain management applications will need to be integrated with any new supply chain management applications?
3.
What data will need to be shared?
Refer to the Scenario
[Note: You may need to refer to the Architectural Artifacts chapter, section 31.6 (located in Part IV) of the reference text in order to answer this question.]
You have been asked to identify the most appropriate catalogs matrices and diagrams to support the next iteration of Architecture development.
Based on the TOGAF standard, which of the following is the best answer?
A. You would describe the Baseline Business Architecture with a Business Service/function catalog, an Organization/Actor catalog, and a Data Entity/Business Function matrix. You would describe the Baseline Data Architecture using a Data Entity/Data Component catalog. You would describe the Baseline Application Architecture with an Application/Function matrix.
B. In the next iteration of Architecture development, you would describe the Target Business Architecture with an Organization/Actor catalog, a Business Service/Function catalog, and Data Lifecycle diagrams. You would describe the Target Application Architecture with a Data Entity/Data Component catalog. You would describe the Target Application Architecture with an Application Interaction matrix and Application Communication diagrams.
C. You would describe the Target Business Architecture with a Business Service/Function catalog, and a Business Interaction matrix. You would describe the Target Data Architecture with a Data Entity/ Business Function matrix and an Application/Data matrix. You would describe the Target Application Architecture with Application Communication diagrams and an Application Interaction matrix.
D. In the next iteration of Architecture development, you would describe the Baseline Business Architecture with a Value Chain diagram, and a Baseline Business Process catalog. You would describe the Baseline Data Architecture with a Data diagram. You would describe the Baseline Application Architecture with an Environments and Locations diagram.