About Architecture-Based Analysis [ABA]

A picture is worth a thousand words—Architecture-Based Analysis (ABA) strives to prove the meaning of this proverb through the combination of business analysis and enterprise architecture.

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Most complex organizations have trouble delivering effective change. To be effective, the architecture must be current, comprehensive, and correct. However, most organizations report that their architecture is neither current, comprehensive, nor correct.

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This is because organizations are continually changing.  Business and technical projects of all sizes constantly alter the way the organization functions. In turn, this makes these architectural views unreliable and, ultimately, unusable. The issue we're describing here is commonly referred to as the change problem.

 

The change problem is made worse due to the fact that most business projects fail to deliver effective outcomes, especially when they address large complex challenges. It is a vicious cycle that works against any hope for organizational agility.

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With ABA, a vicious cycle becomes a virtuous cycle.  This is because architecture and business analysis work together to deliver effective, efficient business change. 

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This means:

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• Architectural models are used as tools to elicit requirements information: 

  • If the architectural model is out of date or nonexistent, business stakeholders work with the business analyst to make sure it is right so they will get the outcomes they need.

• Architectural models present vital requirements information in a visually appealing way: 

  • Requirements reports can be created to support compliance, operations or training efforts. 

  • Reports can also be used when conducting impact analysis on innovative ideas or proposed business changes.

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ABA has been used effectively for over 30 years.  It combines the best of business analysis and architecture and can align with any architectural standard or project management framework.  Because it is a methodology, it does not matter whether the organization uses waterfall, agile, or some hybrid between the two.  It can also be implemented at any point in the project life cycle, often being applied when a project is in trouble.

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Perhaps best of all, ABA is less expensive to implement than traditional approaches.  Why?  Because instead of employing architects and business analysts on separate work efforts, the organization makes a single investment in a requirements architect, saving both time and money.

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If you need to learn more about whether ABA can work for your organization, contact us below.