If in doubt leave it out – 10 Golden Rules of Enterprise Architecture

Distilled from many Enterprise Architecture Consulting engagements, finally published for the EA Practitioners out there to guide their modeling efforts:

  1. If in doubt, leave it out: if you are uncertain that you need data – leave it out, it simplifies your initiative in the long run;
  2. Model to the highest level of abstraction, that still gives you value;
  3. Model to the lowest level of detail, that is still sustainable;
  4. Figure out over time what the above two levels are for each area and adapt as your maturity and needs change
  5. Capture stable data, not volatile – your are supporting strategic decisions, not operational needs
  6. Remember that there is no black or white, right or wrong, but purely better for your organization’s needs;
  7. If you cannot put it in a visualization or filter of a spreadsheet, the value is questionable;
  8. Aim first for the overall roadmap and the strategic plan, don’t get bogged down in the details;
  9. Don’t forget to define standards and principles, because that is what you can easily track (unfortunately the roadmaps are harder to track/audit);
  10. Start small and lean, evolve over time and don’t boil the ocean and try to build an IT wide data model covering all aspects possible providing all the data needs you could imagine. (Simplify – if in doubt, leave it out)

It is just another list that sparks thoughts, similar to my earlier post:

What your EA Stakeholders do not care about

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Startups are great – less mean – less gaming

Great insights from Paul Graham:

  • “Startups don’t win by attacking. They win by transcending” from Mean People Fail
  • “Starting a startup is where gaming the system stops working” from Before the Startup

As always the articles from Paul Graham are worth every time to read.

Happy weekend reading 🙂

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BankOfAmerica – Stacktrace

This is a nice stacktrace from the online banking at BoA, revealing the use of SAML2, http://openam.forgerock.org/ and JBoss Web/2.1.11.GA.

Most puzzling part: Why a big bank cannot configure the servers to display a proper ErrorPage instead of a stacktrace.

HTTP Status 500 –


type Exception report

message

description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.

exception

javax.servlet.ServletException: AMSetupFilter.doFilter
	com.sun.identity.setup.AMSetupFilter.doFilter(AMSetupFilter.java:121)
	org.jboss.web.tomcat.filters.ReplyHeaderFilter.doFilter(ReplyHeaderFilter.java:96)

root cause

org.apache.jasper.JasperException: javax.servlet.ServletException: com.sun.identity.saml2.common.SAML2Exception: The SAMLArt is missing from the HttpRequest.
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.handleJspException(JspServletWrapper.java:515)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:393)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:322)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:249)
	javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
	org.forgerock.openam.validation.ResponseValidationFilter.doFilter(ResponseValidationFilter.java:44)
	com.sun.identity.setup.AMSetupFilter.doFilter(AMSetupFilter.java:95)
	org.jboss.web.tomcat.filters.ReplyHeaderFilter.doFilter(ReplyHeaderFilter.java:96)

root cause

javax.servlet.ServletException: com.sun.identity.saml2.common.SAML2Exception: The SAMLArt is missing from the HttpRequest.
	org.apache.jasper.runtime.PageContextImpl.doHandlePageException(PageContextImpl.java:852)
	org.apache.jasper.runtime.PageContextImpl.handlePageException(PageContextImpl.java:781)
	org.apache.jsp.saml2.jsp.spAssertionConsumer_jsp._jspService(spAssertionConsumer_jsp.java:360)
	org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:70)
	javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:369)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:322)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:249)
	javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
	org.forgerock.openam.validation.ResponseValidationFilter.doFilter(ResponseValidationFilter.java:44)
	com.sun.identity.setup.AMSetupFilter.doFilter(AMSetupFilter.java:95)
	org.jboss.web.tomcat.filters.ReplyHeaderFilter.doFilter(ReplyHeaderFilter.java:96)

root cause

com.sun.identity.saml2.common.SAML2Exception: The SAMLArt is missing from the HttpRequest.
	com.sun.identity.saml2.profile.SPACSUtils.getResponseFromGet(SPACSUtils.java:278)
	com.sun.identity.saml2.profile.SPACSUtils.getResponse(SPACSUtils.java:174)
	org.apache.jsp.saml2.jsp.spAssertionConsumer_jsp._jspService(spAssertionConsumer_jsp.java:183)
	org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:70)
	javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:369)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:322)
	org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:249)
	javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
	org.forgerock.openam.validation.ResponseValidationFilter.doFilter(ResponseValidationFilter.java:44)
	com.sun.identity.setup.AMSetupFilter.doFilter(AMSetupFilter.java:95)
	org.jboss.web.tomcat.filters.ReplyHeaderFilter.doFilter(ReplyHeaderFilter.java:96)

note The full stack trace of the root cause is available in the JBoss Web/2.1.11.GA logs.


JBoss Web/2.1.11.GA

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How to build your corporate EA Function inspired by Google’s Design function

How Google built their central design function (known as UXA – User Experience Alliance) can be a lesson and guidance on how to built a central EnterpriseArchitects function.

This dawned on my reading the great Fast Company article about how design finally made its way into Google, not only within each product, but also as a function within the company with a central team. So here is the take away for Enterprise Architects and Governance teams:

How to build your corporate Enterprise Architecture Function:

  • Start and spend a month with all participating stakeholders to see what is out there as BusinessArchitecture, Projects, IT, Infrastructure, BusinessModel, …
  • Try to deliver as much value in that month, so that all the different projects and stakeholders come back to get guidance
  • Never name things Standards or Governance
  • Accomplishes your unifying goal in a subtle way: Use conversations and collaboration.
  • Don’t try to be measurable as a corporate function, but try to lean in with local problems and build a way that good decisions emerges an bubble up. Value the ideas of local EA/IT and let it grow
  • Name it Project Kennedy, because in most organisations Enterprise Architecture is like a moonshot worthy of JFK

The mentioned article is also part of the October 2013 Issue of Fast Company, which I read over the weekend to prepare for a call with Google 🙂

Also posted on  the SMART360°Biz-Blog!

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Old MacBook Pro now Rocket fast with hardwrk SSD Kit

Just a week ago I installed into our old MacBook Pro (2010) an SSD instead of the DVD Drive and since then it is rocket fast – using Aperture with thousand of photos is now starting in seconds, vs. 10 minutes or more before.

So if you have an old HDD based MacBook Pro – go and get an SSD (we bought the Samsung 250 GB 840 Evo series $177) plus the Hardwrk adapter kit (€80) and enjoy your hardware getting incredible faster.

If you live in Boston and are interested in a free Hardwrk adapter, let me know – have a spare one 🙂

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WorldSeries Scoring Analysis

Combining the current great performance of the Boston Red Sox in the World Series with some visualization analysis for SMART 360° – WorldSeries Analysis 🙂

Overall WorldSeries 2013 Scoring per Inning

Overall WorldSeries 2013 Scoring per Inning

So with no understanding of baseball, there is a clear pattern here: 6th and 7th inning scores are combined nearly as much as the rest:

World Series Scoring mainly in 6th and 7th Inning

World Series Scoring mainly in 6th and 7th Inning

So my totally uninformed guess is, that even some players fall asleep in that boring game called baseball and that happens around inning 6 and inning 7 😀

And of course Bostonians are better at staying awake:

Scoring Distribution by Team in Innings

Scoring Distribution by Team in Innings

Anyone got data from MLB, to see if this pattern is broader? Any other explanation than fatigue?

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More connections on LinkedIn than XING

As I was connecting to some further participants and mentors of the LeanStartupChallenge on LinkedIn I made another observation. It is not only visible that my profile itself is more American, but today is the first time I have more connections on LinkedIn than on XING. For all Americans: XING is the much better version of LinkedIn started in Germany long time ago, yet it is mainly a DACH/European focussed business network.

Today: 527 on LinkedIn vs. 526 on XING

Just a year ago the numbers where: ~480 on XING vs. ~200 on LinkedIn.

Amazing how 12 months working in the US makes such a great difference 🙂

So if you want to do business in the US – move over here! Go to events, network, engage with clients, be extrovert, go to Meetups and build your network.

 

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My LinkedIn Network

My LinkedIn Network

As we are working on the Enterprise Social Graph I discovered this nice visualizaton of my LinkedIn Network.

LinkedInNetwork

 

Would you be interested in overlaying this with your Email communication or Calendar data to help you build stronger relationships?

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Enterprise Social Graph

Enterprise Social Graph

Are you interested in knowing how your organization really works and how departments are connected?
CrossCountryCommunication
Identify bottlenecks and pain points in your employees networks and in the relationships with partners and vendors. Stay tuned here:

http://www.smart360biz.com/enterprise-social-graph/

Department Communication

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My Startup Adventure History 2013

As we are currently validating a lot of our learning through Lean Startup Challenge, I want to capture some of my learnings, try-outs of pre-LSC time.

In April I applied at Masschallenge with the following idea/pitch in short:

A better EA Tool, SAAS offered with recommendation engine for IT Management improvements.

But this did not get the best ratings from Mentors, as not a lot of people understand EA and the problem/customer segment is a small & complicated market.

In August I founded SMART360°Biz with two things in mind:

  1. Being the North-American Branch of iteraplan – EA consulting and iteraplan implementations
  2. Getting a new product out

As the new product I bounced the following ideas off a couple people at Venture Café:

  • Enterprise Architecture for Small to Medium Businesses (EA 4 SMB)
  • Enterprise Architecture SAAS Tool with ongoing learning and SAAS integrations
  • ÜberTool – Corporate Management Suite enabling EA, PPM, GRC, …
  • CIO Dashboard
  • Corporate Social Graph
  • Green IT Manager

I got the feedback to focus and rather do something small, as we are bootstrapped. So an addon to one or more existing solutions or otherwise a smaller feature scope.

So we looked at EA 4 SMB (and did some prototyping through XWiki Applications) and CIO Dashboard:

CIODashboard

But looking at market and effort both did not look too promising. So I thought with Lean Startup Challenge I’ll do another pivot and try the Enterprise Social Graph for this program. Maybe we got into the program, as the idea is out of the IT Silo and the mere cost cutting aspect of IT, but can also be seen as an enabler for revenue generation.

Let’s see if we pivot again in the near future 🙂

As always, feedback and help is appreciated!

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