Enterprise-Wide Portfolio Analysis

Overview

Symptoms

Many times an IS organization requires an accounting of all application systems. This may be enterprise-wide or may be restricted to a business segment, such as a division. This accounting identifies all systems, sub-systems and run streams by providing summary level technical and functional information on those systems. It further summarizes relationships among systems. This Comsys-TIM scenario is called Enterprise-wide Portfolio Analysis. It utilizes a subset of steps contained in the Enterprise Redevelopment Planning stage.

A main difference between this scenario and performing all steps within Enterprise Redevelopment Planning is that this scenario summarizes current capability while a complete enterprise assessment maps findings to strategic requirements. The information gathered through this type of analysis, however, provides a basis for assessing current information and process flows across functional areas to support business process redesign/business re-engineering efforts.

Symptoms indicating a need to perform an enterprise-wide portfolio analysis include:

· Management requires detailed audit of information systems environment to estimate asset value

· Categorization of systems and sub-systems by business area is required to establish portfolio baseline

· This baseline is to be represented in some type of repository for ongoing reference purposes

· Planning initiatives require current systems data structure and functional overview

· Migration and redevelopment projects require baseline information to segment portfolio into functional work units

· A business re-engineering effort requires cross functional information indicating how existing systems support current processes

Requirements

The Enterprise-Wide Asset Analysis scenario provides a snapshot of the organization's information systems asset. This analysis can be used to plan maintenance and enhancement initiatives, perform resource allocation, establish technical standardization strategy or plan various redevelopment projects. This is particularly valuable as a first level of analysis to support Comsys-TIM redevelopment scenario selection that focuses on improving, migrating or replacing systems.

Specific requirements met by this scenario include:

· Determine specific enterprise information objectives for the enterprise-wide assessment

· Inventory and categorize application systems portfolio

· Define overall system technical quality and hardware/software platform utilization

· Document general areas of management responsibility

· Document enterprise level information data flows

· Summarize and incorporate prior assessment findings

Enterprise-Wide Analysis Planning Considerations

The following steps depict a basic level of understanding and preparation suggested prior to entering the scenario.

· Concurrence as to why an enterprise assessment is being performed

· Identification of all physical locations, hardware platforms and organizational units

· General knowledge of technical environments, resource availability and roles as defined in scenario step and task guidelines

Enterprise-Wide Portfolio Analysis

Develop Enterprise Assessment Plan

Enterprise analysis planning

Note: Following step completes planning estimates for the remaining steps within this scenario activity.

Develop Enterprise Analysis Planning Work Plan

Note: Strategic goals are not required as input to this scenario. Key factor in this step is to identify functional areas to be assessed. Goals include a need to gain control over the enterprise-wide information asset and a requirement for enterprise-wide documentation of data flows and interfaces.

Establish Redevelopment Related IS Goals

Note: Objectives not relevant to this assessment include any strategic comparison of current to target architectures.

Establish Enterprise Architecture Objectives

Note: Do not include any variance analysis in scoping effort.

Establish Enterprise-Wide Analysis Scope

Note: Do not include any variance analysis related steps.

Create Enterprise Assessment Step List

Verify Assessment Roles & Deliverables>

Develop Enterprise Assessment Estimates

Finalize Enterprise Analysis Work Plan

Inventory Business Area Applications

Technical architecture assessment

Note: The following step is key to establishing a reflective enterprise-wide application inventory.

Categorize Systems Inventory

Summarize Technological Attributes

Inventory Enterprise Mainframe Systems

Note: Updating of the LTM (see step and related task).

Update Technical Summary Legacy Model

Summarize Current Technical Architecture

Assess Data & Functional Environment

Data architecture assessment

Note: Use discretion in performing the following analysis steps. The depth of analysis performed is dependent on level of detail required, time allotted and resources available.

Analyze Physical Data Architecture

Note: Only create an enterprise-wide matrix unless there is a specific directive to create individual business area data usage matrices.

Detail Enterprise-Wide Physical Data Usage

Note: If LTM was loaded in prior section, the following step should be performed.

Load Data Usage into Open Repository

Note: The following step creates logical view of enterprise data. Apply only if this logical view is to be input to a subsequent effort such as a data warehouse project.

Document Enterprise-Wide Logical Data View

Summarize Data Architecture Findings

Business architecture assessment

Note: Use discretion in performing the following analysis steps. The depth of analysis performed is dependent on level of detail required, time allotted and resources available.

Analyze Current Business Architecture

Note: This step, and the prior step, take some time to perform but are well worth it in terms of creating a baseline as input to ongoing systems planning efforts.

Define Business Architecture Interfaces

Note: The following step depicts information flows between business areas. Organizations should determine value of having this type of documentation as input to systems planning. Proceed accordingly.

Summarize Business Architecture Flows

Note: If LTM was loaded in prior sections, following step should be performed. Having business planning data represented in repository format is invaluable for ongoing planning, but assumes an ongoing effort to keep this information current.

Load Functional Summary into Repository

Note: The following step analyzes planned and in progress projects and their relationship to each other (i.e. overlap, conflict, etc.). Management should determine value of this step after reviewing step level details.

Assess Current IS Project Activities

Summarize Business Architecture Findings

Develop Enterprise Summary Findings

Information redevelopment planning

Note: The following step is where assessment findings are summarized. Complete this to degree required by management team - i.e. if they do not want a report minimize efforts.

Merge Enterprise Assessment Findings

Note: The ability to perform the following step is limited to input from management team. This is due to the fact that strategic inputs were not required as input to this scenario and variance analysis was not performed during individual steps. Proceed accordingly under the direction of a skilled redevelopment SME.

Create Architecture Transition Strategy

Note: Project recommendations are dependent on prior completion of the Assess current IS project activities step.

Build Enterprise Project Recommendations

Note: Skilled redevelopment SME (planner) is essential to selecting and recommending scenarios for certain business areas.

Recommend Redevelopment Scenarios

Note: The following step completes summary report as required by management team.

Complete Enterprise Assessment Summary