Chapter 4. The End-to-End Perspective

The three principles of BTM ”utilize predictive modeling, in still collaborative decision-making, and make knowledge and assets reusable ”provide an essential foundation for aligning business and technology. Nevertheless, they're more like tools than a finished product: you need them to get the job done, but, in the end, how they're put to work is just as important as what they are. If you're trying to build a birdhouse, for example, you'll need a hammer and nails. But the same hammer and nails can also be used to build a doghouse, a toolshed, or, for that matter, a dilapidated shack .

This same tenet holds true for modeling, collaboration, and reuse. Modeling often shows up in the form of data or object modeling, collaboration in groupware and virtual conferencing, and reuse in document management and repositories of code ”all good and useful in their own right, but not necessarily the best approaches for meeting the specific challenges posed by the business/technology disconnect. To deliver on its promise, then, BTM needs to include not just generic principles, but also a blueprint for how to put those principles to work to solve disconnects. This is where the activities of BTM come into play. During business model definition, process optimization, and technology automation, companies leverage modeling, collaboration, and reuse to develop an enterprise architecture that keeps IT projects firmly aligned (see Fig. 4.1).

Figure 4.1. The principles of BTM combine with the activities of BTM to help companies model enterprise architecture

Business model definition, process optimization, and technology automation are by nature specific activities that need to be undertaken by someone somewhere in order to have an effect upon the enterprise. If you're thinking about practicing BTM, then, a logical question to ask is where and when should all this happen? To answer this question, let's turn back to the real-world disconnects highlighted in ch. 1 Each of these examples points to specific IT projects that somehow spun off course. This doesn't mean that BTM should be confined to the PMO, however; there are any number of methodologies and guidelines available to help companies manage IT projects that don't focus primarily upon alignment. But projects are the primary mechanism for designing and ultimately changing how IT functions (by installing a network, modifying a business process, or installing a new application, for example), so if we're looking to make changes to close disconnects that have cropped up over time, the IT project is nonetheless the right place to start.