For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Five Essential Metrics For Managing EA

by Jeff Scott, November 17, 2009

Enterprise architects frequently ask what metrics they should use to demonstrate EA's progress and value to the organization. CIOs want to know what they are getting for their investment in EA, and EAs see metrics as an important tool for promoting their . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Develop A Technology Watch List

The Top 15 Technology Trends To Watch

by Sharyn Leaver, November 13, 2009

As IT executives set out their strategies and plan for 2010 and beyond, they must determine what the top technology trends are for their business and gauge IT's ability to support the next phase of technology innovation and growth. To help, Forrester . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Learn More About Your 2009 Business Analysts  (694 KB PPT)

by Mary Gerush, November 13, 2009

These data charts highlight more data from the Forrester Research/IIBA Q2 2009 Global Business Analyst Online Survey, first reviewed in the July 23, 2009, "Your 2009 Business Analysts: Know Them To Grow Them" report.

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Global Enterprise Architecture Self-Assessment Tool  (186 KB XLS)

by Jost Hoppermann, November 5, 2009

Forrester's Global Enterprise Architecture Self-Assessment Tool is an interactive tool designed to help enterprise architecture professionals identify their global EA initiative's probability of success. The tool bases this assessment on an organization's . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Global EA Drives Global IT: Assess Your EA Initiative's Global Readiness

by Jost Hoppermann, November 5, 2009

Poor results when working to facilitate global IT are often a result of poorly executed global EA programs, poor preparation, and/or a too-positive perception of the global business and IT environment. Forrester's Global Enterprise Architecture Self-Assessment . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

When Selling EA Value, Context Is Everything

Align Your Value Message With Your Marketplace To Make It Stick

by Katie Smillie, Jeff Scott, November 3, 2009

Describing success as a result of being at "the right place at the right time" is often akin to saying "I just got lucky." So rather than waiting for the right place and time to market EA's value, continuously craft your message around what will be successful . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Case Study: WestJet Creates Clarity With Its Architecture Services Catalog

by Jeff Scott, October 26, 2009

EA organizations struggle to define what they do in terms the organization both understands and appreciates. The root cause for this struggle is often that the EA team itself is not clear about what it delivers, what stakeholders it is delivering to, . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Successful EA Programs Integrate Specific Value Levers And Accelerators

by Jeff Scott, October 22, 2009

CIOs intuitively understand the value of a well-architected environment but are less certain of how (or if) their enterprise architecture (EA) teams deliver that value. This disparity generates a great deal of discordance in EA efforts: Companies charter . . .

For CIOs

Role Descriptions For The Office Of The CIO

Key Roles Support The CIO In Driving IT's Success

by Marc Cecere, October 22, 2009

Forrester has assembled job descriptions for several roles within the Office of the CIO — the group of IT leaders who report to the CIO and provide services outside of applications and infrastructure. Based on analyst expertise and a sampling of actual . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

What's Next For The IT-To-BT Transformation: The Contractualization Trend

by Henry Peyret, October 14, 2009

The combination of the current economic climate and business globalization is accelerating the evolution of business models toward a networked model, where businesses focus on their core competencies to add value and engage with other external and internal . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Top 15 Technology Trends EA Should Watch

by Alex Cullen, October 6, 2009

IT organizations need to inform their annual and longer-term plans with an understanding of how changes in technology will enable business outcomes. EA groups are the logical leaders for this effort. Forrester has identified 15 technologies with the greatest . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Global EA Drives Global IT: Case Studies

by Jost Hoppermann, September 24, 2009

More and more, large global enterprises are going for global modes of operation, including global IT and, in particular, globally used applications. Enterprise architecture (EA) is one of the crucial tools organizations should use to establish global . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Economic Forces Drive Lean BPM Trends And Adoption  (631 KB PPT)

by Clay Richardson, September 18, 2009

Data chart with key findings from the April 2009 Global Lean BPM Online Survey. Results include data on BPM initiative ownership, budgets, tools, and SaaS.

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Integrate EA With Project Portfolio Management Governance

Organizations Should Use EA Archetypes To Align Expectations With Deliverables

by Henry Peyret, September 18, 2009

Project portfolio governance is often the entry point for EA governance: EA teams are involved to validate projects' design and architecture fit with standards. A recent survey suggests that current EA involvement in project portfolio governance suboptimizes . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Road-Mapping: An Essential EA Skill  (1.6 MB PPT)

by Jeff Scott, September 15, 2009

This workbook discusses road-mapping essentials including best practices for building and managing road maps as well as examples depicting how to build a road map and what road maps look like.

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Consolidating Vendors? Make Sure EA's Voice Is Heard On Strategic Products And Services

Enterprise Architects Need To Become More Involved In Corporate Initiatives To Rationalize The IT Vendor Portfolio

by Gene Leganza, September 4, 2009

When CIOs and CFOs launch vendor consolidation initiatives to cut costs and simplify their environments, they turn to their sourcing and vendor management teams to lead the charge. But enterprise architects must play an active role, identifying the enterprise's . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Integrate Enterprise Architecture With Application Portfolio Governance

by Henry Peyret, August 24, 2009

IT organizations that are seeking to drive down operating costs while delivering business projects on time and on budget find they must manage their application portfolios to provide an optimal foundation for execution. Application portfolio management . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Case Study: Using SOA And BPM To Support Enterprise Agility

How A Florida College Used An Integrated Approach To Reach Its Goals

by Ken Vollmer, August 14, 2009

Case studies are often the best way to illustrate technology's dramatic impact on enterprises. This case study provides an excellent example of how a joint implementation of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) can . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Characterizing EA Teams And Their Challenges

by Alex Cullen, Katie Smillie, August 6, 2009

Forrester has seen that the mission and operating model of enterprise architecture teams can be characterized along two dimensions: orientation (technology-oriented or business-oriented) and focus (project-focused or strategy-focused). These two dimensions . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Your 2009 Business Analysts: Know Them To Grow Them

by Mary Gerush, July 23, 2009

A recent survey of approximately nine hundred current business analysts (BAs) indicates that business analysts are alive and kicking in organizations of all sizes and in all industries. They report into many different groups, and many are finding homes . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Case Study: DHL Express Uses Business Architecture To Design A New Service Offering

by Gene Leganza, July 21, 2009

Enterprise architecture (EA) programs are becoming more business focused and helping IT deliver greater value to business. Business-focused EA teams are developing the "next practices" for interacting with the business, collecting and analyzing data, . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

European Airline Aims To Delight Passengers Through RFID Bag Tracking

Event-Driven Solution Lowers Costs While Promoting Happy Travelers

by Mike Gilpin, July 15, 2009

Processing lost bags costs airlines a lot of money: more than $1,200 per thousand passengers, not to mention the inconvenience to passengers. Thus, airlines are highly motivated to apply new technology to solving this problem. Through an innovative combination . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Software AG Acquires IDS Scheer To Finalize Its Five-Year Restructuring Plan

Software AG Will Pass The €1 Billion Revenue Mark Once It Closes The Deal

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., July 15, 2009

Software AG continues to stay the course on its five-year turnaround plan. After stabilizing its legacy application business — mostly by replacing its former integration offering with the webMethods technology stack it acquired in 2007 and successfully . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Survey Data Shows Enterprise Architects Are Gatekeepers Of Technology Acquisitions

Despite A Growing Focus On Business Architecture, Data Shows That EA's Technology Role Has Not Diminished

by Gene Leganza, July 13, 2009

Recent Forrester survey data shows that, in most organizations, enterprise architects strongly influence technology purchase decisions. Three-quarters of our respondents said that all or most major technology purchases at their organization require enterprise . . .

For CIOs

SOA: Dead Or Alive?

by Sharyn Leaver, July 10, 2009

Some recent buzz in the industry would have you believe that SOA is dead, but that just isn't the case — in fact, its use and influence are still growing. Stories of less-than-successful results may dent its reputation, particularly in today's climate . . .