Key takeaways
- A business scenario reveals requirements and shows the value of a solution.
- It describes the problem, environments, actors, and expected result; it is neither a use-case nor a business model.
- Six steps: problem, environments, SMART objectives, human actors, computer actors, check.
- In TOGAF, the ‘A’ in SMART stands for Actionable.
- Key uses: Preliminary Phase, Phase A, and Phase B, iteratively.
What a business scenario is, and what it is not
The technique helps identify and understand the business requirements the architecture must meet. Its result represents a significant business need or problem and lets vendors gauge the value of a solution to the customer.
A scenario describes a business problem, the business and technical environment, the human and computing actors who carry it out, and the expected result of successful execution. It is not a use-case, a business model, or a business scenario plan: it does not detail one application, model the whole business, or serve as an execution plan.
The six steps of the method
Follow the progression from the problem to the actors, then the check, to understand how the scenario reveals requirements.
- 1. Identify the problem driving the scenario, document it, and rank it
- 2. Describe the business and technical environments as high-level architecture models
- 3. State the desired objectives, that is, the results of handling the problem well, in SMART form
- 4. Identify the human actors and their place in the business model
- 5. Identify the computer actors and their place in the technology model
- 6. Check fitness-for-purpose and refine if needed
SMART objectives
Scenario objectives must be verifiable. The Study Guide spells SMART as follows; watch the ‘A’, which stands for Actionable rather than Achievable.
The R in SMART depends on the context: Relevant in the Study Guide’s Business Scenarios (§5.4), Realistic in the standard’s definition of Objective (§4.58). Retain the vocabulary used in the context being studied.
- Specific: the intended result is precise
- Measurable: it can be quantified or observed
- Actionable: it can lead to concrete actions
- Relevant: it truly matters to the business
- Time-bound: a deadline is set
Where to use it in the ADM
The method can be used in any phase, but three uses stand out. In the Preliminary Phase, it helps define the requirements for setting up the Enterprise Architecture Capability. In Phase A, it brings out the relevant business requirements and builds consensus with stakeholders. In Phase B, it helps derive the architecture’s characteristics from high-level business requirements, and can be repeated at different levels of the Business Architecture decomposition.
TERMS TO KNOW
The terms, in context.
- Business Scenario
- A description of a significant business problem, its context, its actors, and the expected result.
- SMART
- Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, Time-bound: the qualities expected of scenario objectives.
- Human actor
- A participant in a scenario, positioned in the business model.
- Computer actor
- A computing component of a scenario, positioned in the technology model.