Building the bridge between business and IT: a practical case
Evolynx speaking at the BA & Beyond Conference
On 22 and 23 May 2023, Lien Deboosere, together with Philip De Bie, VP IT at Picanol Group, had the opportunity to explain how enterprise architecture was set up within Picanol.
Their presentation showed how top-down and bottom-up analysis can reinforce each other by pragmatically combining different modelling languages.
What is BA & Beyond?
The BA & Beyond Conference is an annual conference focused on business analysis and related fields. The event brings professionals together to share knowledge, gain new insights and exchange practical experience.
The conference is aimed, among others, at business analysts, product owners, process analysts and other professionals involved in the analysis and optimisation of business processes.
Architecture track
Lien and Philip were guest speakers there with the case study "Building the bridge between business and IT".
From strategy to execution
The case illustrated how business architecture has become an essential discipline for bridging the gap between strategy and execution. By connecting strategic choices with processes, applications and information, a coherent picture of the organisation emerges. This makes it easier to set priorities, structure change, and align business and IT around the same objectives.
Top-down: starting from strategy and architecture
From a top-down perspective, you look at the strategic objectives, capabilities and desired future setup of the organisation. This approach helps set direction and determine which changes are needed to realise the business strategy.
Bottom-up: starting from processes and systems
At the same time, a bottom-up analysis is needed to understand how processes actually run today and how applications, data and technical components support that operation. Combining both perspectives creates a realistic and usable architecture model that provides direction while staying sufficiently grounded in day-to-day practice.
The bridge between business and IT
Enterprise architecture makes abstract strategy concrete and connects it with processes, information, applications and technology.
Different modelling languages, one coherent story
Lien and Philip explained how they combined different modelling languages within Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect. Each language plays its own role.
ArchiMate
To model business architecture, applications, technology and how they relate to each other at a higher level.
BPMN
To map business processes in a detailed and understandable way, including roles, decisions and handovers.
UML
To further detail software structures, system behaviour and technical relationships where needed.
A pragmatic approach
The strength of the approach didn't lie in strictly following a single modelling language, but in choosing the right language for the right question. This made it possible to connect strategic insights, process analyses and technical models without creating unnecessary complexity.
Evolynx supported Picanol Group in working out that structure, setting up the models, and translating business questions into a usable architecture approach.
The essence
Don't use a single modelling language for everything. Choose the right level of detail for each question and connect the models into one coherent whole.