Enterprise Architecture Training Course: IT Strategy Alignment, Target State and Transition

Programme Summary

Enterprise architecture is the subject of this two-week training course for CIOs, chief architects and heads of IT strategy at strategic level, ending in an IT strategy and architecture roadmap pack for one business domain. Technology plans written apart from the architecture produce duplicated platforms, stranded investments and transitions nobody has costed. The programme moves from principles, through diagnosis of capability and architecture baselines, to design of the target state, governance and transition, then to application on one domain over the final session. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this enterprise architecture programme for technology leaders across sectors.

The Business Case

Technology strategy and architecture are often owned by different teams, so strategy states ambitions the estate cannot carry and architecture describes a state that no budget funds. Leaders who join the two can explain why each investment is made, in what order, and what it retires. Two weeks allow baselines, options and governance to be built on a real domain rather than discussed in the abstract.

• Platform Duplication: Falls as capabilities are mapped to the applications and technologies that support them.
• Investment Alignment: Improves as each funded change is traced to a strategic objective and a target state element.
• Transition Predictability: Rises as roadmaps carry dependencies, costs and retirement dates agreed with owners.

Principles and Evidence Base

• TOGAF Standard: Its architecture development method frames the baseline, target state and transition work from Session 3 to Session 9.
• ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010: Its architecture description concepts guide the stakeholders, concerns and viewpoints defined in Sessions 1 and 4.
• ArchiMate: This modelling specification supports the capability, application and technology views produced in Sessions 4 and 6.

Intended Participants

• CIOs who must justify a technology direction to the executive committee.
• Chief architects who own the architecture and the decisions that change it.
• Heads of IT strategy who translate business strategy into technology plans.
• Senior technology planners who sequence programmes, funding and retirements.

The programme serves banks, government entities, energy utilities, telecommunications operators and health systems.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to construct an IT strategy aligned to business objectives and capabilities.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose capability and architecture baselines and the gaps between them.
3. Participants will be able to evaluate target state options against cost, risk and strategic fit.
4. Participants will be able to prioritise initiatives into a sequenced architecture roadmap.
5. Participants will be able to justify architecture governance decisions and exceptions with evidence.
6. Participants will be able to design a transition and investment plan for one business domain.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Enterprise Architecture Principles and Stakeholders

What is architecture for, and whose concerns does it answer?

• Architecture Principles Catalogue
• Stakeholder and Concern Matrix per ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010
• Architecture Domain Model
• TOGAF Standard Overview
• Architecture Capability Maturity Sketch

Day 2: Business Strategy and IT Strategy Formulation

Which business goals must technology serve, and in what priority?

• Strategy Map Translation Sheet
• Business Driver and Constraint Register
• Technology Trend Screening Grid
• IT Strategy Options Paper
• Strategic Objective Scorecard

Day 3: Diagnosing Business Capability Baselines

Which capabilities matter most, and how well are they supported?

• Capability Map Build
• Capability Heat Map for Importance and Performance
• Value Stream Walkthrough
• Process to Capability Mapping
• Capability Ownership Register

Day 4: Diagnosing Application and Technology Baselines

What does the estate contain today, and how does it connect?

• Application Portfolio Inventory
• ArchiMate Layered Baseline View
• Integration and Data Flow Map
• Technology Standards Register
• Lifecycle and Support Status Review

Day 5: Diagnosing Gaps, Debt and Architecture Risk

Where does the baseline fall short of the strategy?

• Gap Analysis Matrix
• Technical Debt Ledger
• Single Point of Failure Review
• Vendor Concentration Analysis
• Architecture Risk Register

Day 6: Designing the Target State

What should the estate look like, and which options are credible?

• Target Capability Model
• Target Application Landscape Options
• Reference Architecture Patterns
• Build, Buy or Reuse Decision Grid
• Option Trade-Off Scorecard

Day 7: Designing the Roadmap and Investment Case

In what order should change happen, and what does it cost?

• Initiative Dependency Network
• Roadmap Sequencing Canvas
• Investment Case Template
• Cost and Benefit Phasing Table
• Retirement Plan for Legacy Components

Day 8: Designing Architecture Governance

Who decides, and how are exceptions handled?

• Architecture Board Charter
• Compliance Review Checklist
• Standards Waiver Procedure
• Decision Log Format
• Governance Metrics Dashboard

Day 9: Designing Transition and Change Plans

How does the organisation move safely from baseline to target?

• Transition Architecture Stages
• Migration Risk and Rollback Plan
• Skills and Role Transition Map
• Programme Interface Agreement
• Benefit Tracking Plan

Day 10: Applying Enterprise Architecture to One Business Domain

Is the roadmap pack ready for the executive committee?

• Applying the Day 3 Capability Heat Map to the Chosen Domain
• Testing the Day 6 Target Options against Day 5 Gaps
• Checking the Day 7 Investment Case for Dependencies
• Rehearsing the Executive Committee Presentation
• Completing the IT Strategy and Architecture Roadmap Pack

Methodology

The programme uses case analysis and structured exercises built on anonymised capability maps, application inventories and investment papers. Participants work in small groups on one domain throughout, build each artefact before the next session depends on it, and defend choices in peer review with feedback from the facilitator.

• Suggested activity: Rating capabilities for importance and performance and challenging the ratings in a group.
• Suggested activity: Comparing three target state options on a trade-off scorecard.
• Suggested activity: Acting as an architecture board to rule on a waiver request.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes an IT strategy and architecture roadmap pack for one business domain. It holds a strategy summary, capability and application baselines, a gap list, a chosen target state, a sequenced roadmap with costs, a governance model and a transition plan. The pack is used to brief sponsors and to start the first funded initiatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is enterprise architecture suitable for senior leaders who are not architects?

Yes. Enterprise architecture is taught from first principles for leaders who own technology strategy, budgets or plans, and assumes no prior modelling or architecture qualification.

Which references does enterprise architecture rest on?

Enterprise architecture rests on the TOGAF Standard, the ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010 concepts for architecture description and the ArchiMate modelling specification.

How is the pack from enterprise architecture used at work?

You use the roadmap pack to brief sponsors, secure funding for the first initiatives and set the rules an architecture board applies to change.

How does enterprise architecture differ from a programme on IT project management?

Enterprise architecture decides the target state, sequence and rules for technology change, while IT project management delivers each approved change.