June 14, 2005

Archestra Topical Framework

The purpose of the Topical Framework is to organize Archestra content as an explanation of how the "functionality" of the enterprise structurally relates to the strategy. In effect, it "reverse-engineers" the enterprise capability.

The architecture of strategy is based on the following idea.

First: every enterprise accomplishes its intents by taking four essential types of action:
- Model: design an idea in a form that explains its production
- Build: realize the model in a specific form that is practically applicable to operations
- Use: put the built version into live action
- Change: modify, "in effect", the idea through remodeling, rebuilding, and/or reassignment

Second: each of those types of action can be "strategically" significant in the sense that it can critically alter the status of essential constituent conditions that define the current enterprise capability. This includes five essential conditions:
- market position: the location from which effectiveness is predicated
- performance logic: the theory and method behind the successful exercize of distinctive capability needed in the market
- competency: the distinctive capability accompanying the motivation of the enterprise in its environment
- infrastructure: the constructed support facilities underlying the exercize of competencies
- ownership: the ultimately authorizing stake limiting the intent and scope of the enterprise constitution

Beyond planning, capability is expressed through execution, and execution is based on functions.

- Architecture creates "spaces" for functions. Neither just physical nor metaphorical, these spaces are actually the domains of the conditions structurally comprising the overall enterprise capability. Managing the domains creates the potential positions that the enterprise can take and leverage.

- Strategy creates "functions" for those spaces. Strategy proposes and directs the action that leverages the positions provided by the spaces.

The Archestra topical framework conceptually represents how the four basic types of action (functions) relate to the five primary constituent domains (spaces). In this way it identifies a universe of "touchpoints"; each touchpoint is a topic of study.

In real organizations, the twenty touchpoints influence each other, and therefore each touchpoint has both cross-domain and cross-functional "presence"... However, the framework argues that each touchpoint makes a distinctively critical contribution to the complete enterprise capability. The framework initially represents each touchpoint uniquely, with a representative label indicating the kind of requirements and decisions that distinguish each touchpoint's importance.

As used in the framework, the names of these touchpoints do intentionally reflect the usual objects tracked around the enterprise. However, even moreso, they identify a more abstract concept that is appropriate. This emphasis on concept explains why some of the names fit where they are shown. For example, while any particular implemented "system" (such as an IT application) might usually be thought of as an Infrastructure issue, the concept of "a system" is more important to consider, and here it is shown in the Performance Logic space under "Build", where it generically pertains to all kinds of self-contained structures for continuous rational interaction.

As the framework evolves, some touchpoint names may change, allowing improvement in representing the critical essence of the relation.

In the framework, each touchpoint in a space contributes to execution through a function, and it can be discussed in terms of how it pertains to the way its function is managed.

This issue of managing the functions (i.e., "practice")is detailed in the following way.

As affected by the practices, a touchpoint in turn impacts its domain and the overall potential of the enterprise capability. Archestra content can describe this chain of influence.

Posted by Malcolm Ryder at 2:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack