Business Architecture is a hierarchical model that explains the relationship among various elements of the business to achieve business objectives. An organization is a complex system where multiple elements work at the same time but in different directions.
These elements are business vision, purpose, and mission, business strategies, business goals, business processes, people technologies, products, and services. None of these is sufficient in itself to deliver the value. They all need to connect together to ensure that the work moves as a choreography.
To run these systems, organization leads by the various subject matter experts who take care of a specific element like people, process, technology etc. They look at the organization with their own experience, knowledge, skills, and behavioral skills. Indeed, they all are different and hence to have a choreography, the organization requires someone who can connect all of them together, ensures they all work in rhythm.
Business Process Architecture is an integrated model that links all of these elements together and provides different magnifiers to each stakeholder to view, analyse and evaluate organization as per their requirements.
A Business Process Architecture explains the inter-relationship among business processes and integrates with business objectives, strategies, IT and People with capabilities. Business Process architecture clarifies how an organization creates, accumulate and deliver values to its customers. In addition, it is such a powerful tool that if it can unhide all challenges, constraints, risks in the organization. It is a management tool for a strategy to execution.
Business Process Architecture is a top-down approach that provides a birds-eye view of an organization. But it does not limit itself only to the macro pictures. As explained, it is an integrated hierarchical model that can be expended till the last activity in the organization.
It is also known as “Process Landscape”. There are many industry-specific frameworks are available that can provide a quick reference model to the management to start business process architecture for their organization. For ex: eTOM is a reference model for the Telecom industry, CMMI reference model for Software and System industry, SCOR for Supply Chain Management, APQC Frameworks for Automotive, Airlines etc.
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