IT Systems Engineering
Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise Architecture is comprised of documents, diagrams, drawings and engineering artifacts intended to align an enterprise’s IT strategy with its business objectives.
Enterprise Architecture expresses how an enterprise information system will operate across organizational and computing domains to drive common approaches, expose information assets and integrate processes across an enterprise. Enterprise Architecture prepares you for the best way to spend your money. Effective Enterprise Architecture shapes the policies, standards and guidelines by which a business selects implements and uses information technology. The reward of good architecture is a technology solution that serves your product, process and customer. The cost of not achieving effective architecture includes non verifiable requirements, inadequate requirements, stove piped requirements and/or the continual rewriting of requirements. Poor requirements are notorious predictors of failed systems, cost overruns and schedule slides.
Data Architecture
Data Architecture defines a system’s criteria for data processing, management and storage operations. Data Architecture includes essential criteria for both the design of data flows as well as the control of data flows. It is the basis of requirements for data targets, sources, formats, security, storage, network, transactions, caches, queues and other critical factors. Data Architecture conforms to Enterprise Architecture.
Data Architecture is critical to the achievement of an effective information system. It is an emphasized focus on the core purpose of any Information technology solution. It is unfortunate but not uncommon to see data architecture neglected altogether. Failure to develop well planned data architecture is likely to result in delays and even redesigns late in the engineering life-cycle. A focus on Data Architecture should be premiere rather than secondary.
Hardware Architecture
Hardware Architecture defines a system’s hardware components, their interrelationships, cost, security features, maintenance schedule, life expectancy, reuse capacity, and performance. Hardware
Architecture serves as a guide for design decisions and as a blueprint for recording trade study specifications, drawings, assembly instructions, part’s lists, circuit and connection diagrams, layout
& delivery instructions. Hardware Architecture conforms to Enterprise Architecture.
Hardware Architecture is more than fundamental, core design; it is a gateway to one of the most critical choices impacting your system security, availability, capacity, bandwidth and performance.
Hardware may not be exciting, but your software won’t run without it, your network won’t work without it and your data won’t last without it. Effective hardware architecture supports the
accomplishment of efficiencies such as System Virtualization, System Scalability and Service Oriented Architecture. Effective hardware architecture increases system reliability, maintainability and
sustainability while reducing down-time, risk and the rate of obsolescence.
Network Architecture
Network Architecture defines criteria for network devices, security devices, Network Area Storage, interconnections, protocols and topologies that define internal and external connections at the system or enterprise level. Also covered are criteria for items such as network facilities, Quality of Service, network equipments, wireless technologies, remote network management, diagnostic tools, server farms, mobile nodes, application service providers and remote network management.
Network Architecture is critical to achieving a system compatible with the evolution of modern business. In the era of web services, a network implements far more than traditional functions such as bank transactions and point of sale inquiries. Today, network infrastructures extend active user interfaces to applications hosted on geographically distributed servers. As technology advances, so will the requirements and challenges of your network infrastructure. Effective network architecture will prepare your system today for what will come tomorrow.
Security Architecture
Security Architecture provides a framework for the management of IT Security across the business activities and domains defined by Enterprise Architecture. It defines the master strategy for securing the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of an enterprises’ information and ensuring that its protection is commensurate with mission needs, information value, and potential threats.
Security Architecture is the platform for preparing an information system for the ever changing demands of IT security. Gone are the days of approaches focused solely on transport e.g. encryption alone. Relevant IT security takes a “defense in depth” approach. It begins at the point of creation of information, with a particular focus on defining and documenting protection levels and access control decisions throughout the life cycle of the information. It is enhanced through conformance to industry standards and guidelines. It is measured through carefully planned performance metrics.
Requirements Decomposition
Requirement Decomposition is the analytical process of incrementally specifying functionality in increasing levels of detail.
Requirements Decomposition is the activity by which an enterprise translates vision to requirements. Whether the vision is expressed through documentation or architecture, there is a starting point artifact that defines the highest level specification of what an enterprise wants from its information system. It is important to realize that “Requirement Decomposition” refers to the process of defining requirements, but not the specific method for its accomplishment. Industry is plagued by a range of techniques and recommendations for how best to conduct requirement decomposition, but the success of any technique depends entirely on the discipline of the team responsible for its implementation.
Subject Matter Expertise
Subject Matter Expertise is the seasoned knowledge and experience that best informs a system concept of the industry it intends to serve.
Subject Matter Expertise is a core, fundamental resource, the value of which is often underestimated or underutilized. For the purpose of discussion, consider the Defense Industry. There are several layers by which a developmental, procurement program can leverage effective Subject Matter Expertise. The most obvious benefit is the quality of operational analysis that a Subject Matter Expert (SME) could lend to the concept, design and development of a system. The next, and perhaps more critical, value is the credibility and communication skills by which a SME can foster and enhance strong, positive customer relationship, feedback and participation. For vendors in the Defense Industry, a good SME is an effective agent whose service reputation presents an image of credibility and integrity both to the Defense Customer and the engineering staff.
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