Two IT reference books
Metrics-driven Enterprise Software Development, Effectively Meeting Evolving Business Needs, by Subhajit Datta, J. Ross Publishing 2007, and Designing Enterprise Architecture Frameworks, Integrating Business Processes with IT Infrastructure, Editor Liviu Gabriel Cretu, Apple Academic Press CRC Press 2014
If your company is looking to fill the gap between enterprise architecture, legacy systems, lean methods and The Cloud, you’re going to have to look hard for help, because many companies have neglected or ignored their IT systems in favor of other initiatives for too long, and short of complete reliance on commercial systems suppliers, there is just not enough of the right kinds of resources out there right now. As many manufacturing and supply management execs have told us, it’s a big headache.
We reviewed two heavy volumes looking for more help understanding what systems architecture is, and how to approach it to modify or acquire the right IT systems for an on-going live business. Metrics-driven Enterprise Software Development offers a look at ways to structure an IT project; toward the end of the book the author reviews Tina and her team’s MAGIC 2.0 Project, from wish-list down through mapping and execution. Assuming your company will not rely completely on an outside supplier’s consulting effort to design and install new systems, or modify and up-grade an old one, this case study will be useful to readers who need to monitor for results. Readers may also find the discussion how what metrics to rely on, and how to develop your own relevant to tracking.
In Designing Enterprise Architecture Frameworks, section 6.2 talks about Strategic Planning for IT and the questions that must be asked and answered first to develop a working plan. Here the particular discussion of the need to align IT with business goals is a great starting place. Section 10.3 “Change Processes in Six Sigma,” the section on Supply Chain maintenance and the final chapter on architecture for mobile commerce will be useful to readers for pre-project prep reading. Neither book, however, covers the pressing questions around maintaining Part Masters, Bill of Material and Master Files, particularly in an environment where spreadsheets and product and parts proliferation dominate – this is a topic where we will continue to search for solutions. (See Blue Heron Journal for Gloucester Engineering feature for part master Bill of Material/system upgrade solution.)