Technical architecture assessment categorizes and inventories systems, documents existing technical attributes, and compares current to target technical architectures. Specific objectives of this task include:
· Categorize and inventory physical systems and components that comprise those systems
· Determine technical attributes, including platform, language, DBMS and related factors, for each system
· Assess high-level quality of each system
· Summarize current technical architecture findings
· Compare current technical architecture to target technical architecture requirements
The entrance criteria for the technical architecture assessment are listed below.
· Unless otherwise indicated by a specific Comsys-TIM scenario, completion of the Enterprise Analysis Planning task
· Access to management personnel and subordinates as needed to inventory current systems portfolio
· Senior management sponsorship required to interview staff and complete analysis based on work plan created in Enterprise Analysis Planning task or driving scenario
· Security access to production and non-production libraries as needed to inventory application environment
· An understanding of future technological architecture requirements
The personnel and skill requirements necessary to meet the technical architecture assessment task objectives are identified below.
· Redevelopment Expert
- Ability to facilitate, analyze and record enterprise level technical architecture assessment issues and results
· Application Area Manager
- Insights as to the technical attributes and physical boundaries of each system being assessed
· Current Systems Expert
- Subject matter expert with high-level knowledge of technical attributes for each business area and related system being assessed
· Repository Administrator
- Subject matter expert with open repository tools
· IS Management/Executives
- Knowledge of strategic technical architecture requirements
The following inputs may be obtained as output from the Enterprise Analysis Planning task or from a similar source if this task was not performed.
· List of enterprise redevelopment assessment objectives
Note: If redevelopment goals include Year 2000 project or language level upgrade effort, Form 40A or Form 040B may be required as input.
· List of business areas and related systems defined on Enterprise Summary Form 040 as initiated in Enterprise Analysis Planning task
· Enterprise Redevelopment Assessment task, inputs, roles and deliverable list
· Enterprise Redevelopment Assessment work plan
If there is a target technical architecture that has been developed:
Note: Target architecture requirements are required to assess technical architecture variances as defined in the last step of this task. The following items may be obtained from the Information Strategy Plan (ISP) technical architecture definition task.
· Strategic business systems (i.e., Sales Management, Order Processing, Personnel, etc.) to technical facility (i.e., platform, communications, DBMS, etc.) matrix
· Technical requirements to location matrix
· Technical facilities to be considered
· Technical requirements for business areas
· Matrix of technical requirements at locations
· Feasible technical products
· Recommended technical architecture - Diagram & Policy Statements
Technologies supporting this task include environmental analyzer, spreadsheet, open systems repository, and word processing tools. These tools are used to represent information as required by this task.
Environmental analyzer
It is difficult to perform a large scale systems inventory without automated tools. In an IBM MVS or similar mainframe environment, the task involving the gathering of summary level counts across numerous systems and the programming of libraries is very time consuming. The main role this tool plays in this task is in automating the creation of an inventory of physical components within a system.
Key requirements include the ability to rapidly parse and cross reference system objects (i.e., Control language, Source, Load, etc.) across multiple application areas for production hardware and software platforms.
Due to the high-level analysis required for this task and the fact that the majority of legacy systems being analyzed during an enterprise assessment are mainframe based, only mainframe based environmental analyzers are referenced in steps within this task.
Open systems repository
A repository provides an important, yet optional, capability to link business areas and systems using the legacy transition meta-model. Loading this meta-data into a repository during an enterprise-wide assessment provides an easily referenced, summary view of the current enterprise. It also forms the basis for subsequent analysis and planning efforts in later enterprise assessment tasks and the Comsys -TIM Inventory/Analysis stage.
Requirements include the ability to reflect system components as objects within the repository model and populate that model from a legacy environment. A recommended legacy transition meta-model supporting this analysis is shown in the Appendix section of the Comsys -TIM product. A secondary, and optional, requirement involves accepting an automated load format based on tools that parse and analyze legacy environments.
Spreadsheet
Spreadsheet tools offer a convenient format for recording much of the information gathered throughout this stage. Comsys -TIM Form 040, Form 040A, or Form 040B have been pre-loaded into certain spreadsheet tools (see the step level tool guidelines for specific tools) to facilitate data entry and analysis. While highly desirable, spreadsheets are not essential to this task.
Word processor
Word processing tools support narrative development and supplement form development in the absence of spreadsheet technology.
The technical architecture assessment task is comprised of the following task steps:
