Key takeaways
- Phase H decides whether a new target is needed, based on realized value and preferences.
- Its objectives aim at sustaining the cycle, governance, and the architecture capability.
- Simplification, incremental, or re-architecting: the change class drives the response.
- Re-architecting goes through a new cycle, triggered by a Request for Architecture Work.
- Requirements Management supports Phase H in assessing the impact of new requirements.
Purpose and essential knowledge
The practitioners’ guide gives Phase H a directional purpose: decide to start developing a new Target Architecture when perceived, real, or anticipated shortfalls appear against stakeholder preferences. The standard describes it as setting up procedures to manage change to the new architecture.
The phase relies on continuous monitoring of the context: technology changes, business changes, and lessons from increments already delivered arrive as Change Requests.
- Value realization: the gap between the approved target and what delivery actually brought
- Changes in stakeholder preferences or priorities
Phase H objectives
The three objectives are less about any single architecture than about keeping the architecture practice itself alive.
- Make sure the architecture development cycle is kept going
- Make sure the architecture governance framework is actually applied
- Make sure the Enterprise Architecture capability meets current needs
Steps and change classification
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The phase starts by setting up the value realization process and monitoring tools, then manages risks, analyzes requests, formulates change requirements, runs governance, and, where needed, activates implementation of the change.
Changes come from top-down strategic directives, bottom-up fixes or enhancements, and experience from delivered increments. They fall into three categories:
- Simplification: handled with the usual change management techniques
- Incremental change: handled through change management or partial re-architecting
- Re-architecting: requires the architecture to go through a new ADM cycle
Inputs and outputs
Phase H takes up Phase G outputs (signed Architecture Contracts, Compliance Assessments), the Implementation Governance Model, the roadmap, Transition Architectures, and Change Requests related to technology changes, business changes, or lessons learned. Its outputs can reopen a full cycle.
- Architecture updates for maintenance changes
- Changes to the architecture framework and principles
- A new Request for Architecture Work to start another cycle
- Updated Statement of Architecture Work, Architecture Contract, and Compliance Assessments where needed
TERMS TO KNOW
The terms, in context.
- Value Realization
- Measuring the value actually obtained against the approved target.
- Simplification change
- A minor change, handled with the usual change management techniques.
- Re-architecting change
- A major change that requires a new architecture development cycle.
- Request for Architecture Work
- A formal request that triggers an architecture cycle; Phase H can issue a new one.