Advanced, Practical Skills
As an architect, strategist, or analyst, are you faced with challenging situations where stakeholders have conflicting concerns? Or, as a business transformation leader, would you like to train your team members to independently guide more challenging initiatives?
In this three-day, hands-on course for intact teams or individuals with knowledge of the TOGAF Architecture Development Method or comparable enterprise architecture methods, ArchiMate modeling, and at least one programming or scripting language, participants learn both technical and interpersonal skills that prepare them to guide complex initiatives.
Through prework and on the first day, participants learn to use the free and open source Archi tool and four of its plugins to import and export model data, collaborate on models, and accelerate modeling and analysis with Excel and JavaScript. On the second and third days, participants alternatively role-play as stakeholders and architects, model a current state with conflicting stakeholder concerns, develop a solution that balances stakeholder interests, and receive stakeholder feedback every step of the way
This live, instructor-led (post-COVID), or remotely presented course prepares Business Strategists, Enterprise and Solution Architects, and Business Analysts to harness collaboration and analysis capabilities that, until recently, were available only through expensive, proprietary tools. It can be scheduled by itself or as an extension of an EA Principals TOGAF or ArchiMate training course. Advanced Enterprise Modeling and Analysis with the Archi Open Source Tool can also be scheduled in preparation for an EA Principals Jumpstart Workshop, in which intact teams work with an EA expert to tackle a well-defined problem of their choice.
EA Principals courses have always enabled participants to rapidly demonstrate the value of systematic architecture based on best practices. Advanced Enterprise Modeling and Analysis with the Archi Open Source Tool continues this tradition by teaching practical architecture methods using the latest in free and open source collaborative software.
Course Outline
In Advance
Prework includes the following, with instructor and peer help available:
- Joining the course online forum
- Installation and verification of Archi and its plugins
- Creation of a Github account (if necessary) and two Github repositories
- Populating the Github repositories with the course model and example scripts
- Basic familiarization (as necessary) with Archi and Github
Day One
Participants get familiar with the course’s teaching scenario, which they will model, and learn to make full use of Archi and its plug-ins:
- Morning
- Introduction to the simulation business domain and scenario created for this course, which requires all layers and aspects of the ArchiMate language, including the more recent Strategy and Physical layers
- An in-depth tour of Archi
- Getting data in and out of Archi
- Collaborating with Archi and Github (applicable to any git-based repository, including internal services, Gitlab, Bitbucket, etc.
- Afternoon
- Scripting with Archi
- Analyzing and visualizing data with Archi and Excel
- Open discussion on participants’ questions and challenges
Day Two
The course shifts from presentation and discussion to structured simulation.
- Morning
- Introduction to the simulation process
- Organization of the class into pairs that share a model repository, and alternatively play the roles of stakeholder and modeler.
- Modelers interview stakeholders, who base their answers on notes that only they are provided.
- Modelers elaborate skeletal architectural views and analysis scripts based on the interviews
- Then modelers present elaborated views and scripts to stakeholders, using their feedback to refine their work.
- The simulation is divided into Simulation Chapters (SCs), each 30 minutes or longer depending on their complexity. After each SC, participants switch between stakeholder and modeler roles.
- SC 1: Modeling Stakeholders and Their Concerns
- Afternoon
- SC 2: Capability Modeling
- SC 3: Baseline Business Architecture
- SC 4: Baseline Application Architecture
- SC 5: Baseline Technology and Physical Architecture
Day Three
The simulation accelerates and ultimately completes. Participants reflect on their experience.
- Morning
- SC 6: Identification and Comparison of Potential Courses of Action
- This is the most complicated chapter
- SC 7: Target Business Architecture
- SC 6: Identification and Comparison of Potential Courses of Action
- Afternoon
- SC 8: Target Application Architecture
- SC 9: Target Technology and Physical Architecture
- SC 10: Implementation and Migration Plan
- Reflection and Closing
Intended Audience
Business Analysts
Business Architects
Enterprise Architects
Solution Architects
Cancellation Policy
A 100% refund, minus a 5% processing fee, will be given to students who drop or withdraw from the EA Principals, Inc. class no later than the 21st day prior to the announced scheduled start date. No refund will be given within 21 days of the published start date. Students missing a portion of a class, due to emergencies or unforeseen circumstances, will be able to attend the next class on the same topic for the days missed, without additional fee. Students need not re-register; however, they must notify EA Principals, Inc. (by email or telephone), so the registration fee for the makeup class can be waived and class logistics provided.
Note: This refund policy does not apply if using special discount codes that have “no refund” specified in the usage instructions.