Techniques and Deliverables of Application Architecture and Portfolio Management

Applications are Vital

In modern business, data, applications and interfaces to them (APIs and UIs) are often the lifeblood of delivering customer service and value for stakeholders. The application portfolio represents a massive investment which must be used strategically. At the same time, we are challenged by legacy systems, technologies and technical debt. Application Architects and Portfolio Managers are essential in assisting organisations to succeed and to do it sustainably.

The course is designed for application architects, portfolio architects, application portfolio managers, senior systems analysts, enterprise architects and integration architects who are, or who will become, actively involved in specifying, modelling, analysing and integrating application systems used in businesses.

Typical candidates also include senior business analysts and security and privacy specialists responsible for application related aspects. Those concerned with public applications (e.g. the websites, portals, web services, mobile apps and applications) exposed outside your traditional user base will also benefit.

The course takes an enterprise/portfolio view. It is a skills course rather than a methodology course, designed to expose participants to leading techniques and ways of analysing applications, landscapes and the portfolio and making decisions based upon current reality and future goals, while taking advantage of emerging technologies.

Moving from the conceptual level, through logical applications and down to physical applications and components, the course covers the levels of application modelling and management required to fully understand applications at an enterprise level. It also discusses existing and emerging technologies to help the organisation leverage application investment to strategic advantage, from high volume transaction processing, to decision support, from secure private data to distributed mobile applications. It covers SaaS, cloud and hybrid applications.

There are many courses addressing Enterprise Architecture from a methodology point of view (e.g. Open Group TOGAF® or Zachman Framework). There are also courses that address specific vendor applications such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, etc.

The former lack detail on how to model applications architectures, how to analyse the resulting models and strategies to achieve better solutions, integration and quality.

The latter are too specific and do not address the broader issues of interfaces, interoperation and integration. 

Neither address the financial perspective of applications as assets, capital and operational budgets (CAPEX, OPEX).

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Delegates will benefit from the expertise of the course leader and his team at Inspired. The course will be led by Graham McLeod, Owner and Chief Architect of Inspired.org. Graham has worked in industry for 40 years and academia for 12 (in parallel). He has experienced first hand the difficulties of really doing thorough analysis under pressure in many industries globally, including banking, assurance, healthcare, telecoms, education, administration, retail, services and others. He has taught strategy, business and enterprise architecture and other techniques at leading universities and international conferences. He has led the development of unique techniques, models and tools at Inspired for over two decades. He is uniquely qualified to share experience and techniques that you can rapidly apply. He is passionate about his subject and a great teacher. We may also have expert guest lecturers on selected topics. These are carefully chosen to ensure high levels of expertise and stimulating delivery.

Unique content shared will include:

• Application Architecture and Portfolio Management meta model

• Composite applications using components, APIs, services and multiple technologies

• New technology impact: Internet of Things (IOT), Mobile and Wearables, Cloud and Virtual, Big Data, Semantic Technologies, AI and Machine Learning

• Digital Disruption and the role of applications

• Maturity and Industry Reference Models

• Requirements definition

• Use of patterns

• Interface and integration options

• Technology choice criteria

Marc Cordiglia

Solution Architect

The Techniques and Deliverables of Application and Solution Architecture course offered by Inspired is well put together.

Graham covers a broad range of concepts that one needs to consider when designing a solution.  He covers the topics with ease drawing from his wealth of experience.   

It is a very practical course in terms of having to work in a team working on a case study to generate different artefacts that helps solidify the knowledge gained.

I found the course good value for money and recommend it to those aspiring to become an application or solution architect.

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Examples and selected short videos stimulate delegates to think beyond the norm and out of the box. We also connect delegates to sources of information for ongoing enrichment. Case study work in small teams allows delegates to perform analysis and devise architectures and strategies. Teams compete and learn from each other before experiencing another facet of the challenge.

The course stresses holistic consideration and the interplay of many factors that affect the outcome of architecture, modelling and design decisions.

Course content includes (subject to change) detailed coverage of application architecture, including:

• Changing Context & Expectations

• Technology Capabilities

• User Expectations

• Extended Value Chains

• Multi-sourcing & Services

• Internet of Things

• Mobile and Wearables

• Cloud & Virtual

• Big Data

• Web 3, Semantic

• Digital Disruption

• Analytics & Visualisation

• Application Architecture

  • Baseline

  • Meta Model

  • Collection

  • Analysis

  • Reference Models

  • Gaps, Redundancies, Opportunities

  • Health, Maturity

  • Target

  • Goals

  • Principles

  • Building Blocks

• Project Related

  • Work Packages

  • Roadmap

  • Governance

  • Guidance

• Portfolio Management

  • Portfolio Thinking

  • Apps as Assets

  • Lifecycle

  • Technical Debt

  • Application Renewal

  • Application Selection

  • In and Outsourcing

  • Interfaces and APIs

  • Migration and Evolution

Provided Materials

Delegates will be provided with high quality notes and links to media and references to pursue further investigation.

Platform

To support learning, we use the Ruzuku course delivery platform. This allows us to provide course overviews, online enrolment and payment, online course structure and progress tracking, forums for student collaboration, recorded session videos and support materials such as white papers, readings, example models and video clips. 

We make use of Zoom for live lectures with rich student interaction via video, audio, screen sharing, break-away rooms and chat facilities. Students will need a PC / Mac / high end tablet and a reliable Internet connection to participate. 

We will share examples in our enterprise level enterprise modelling and knowledge management platform: Enterprise Value Architect (EVA) to demonstrate what an integrated tooling environment can achieve. Of course, techniques can also be supported by other competent toolsets. 

Being based in a developing economy region (South Africa) we are acutely aware of the difficulty of paying for world class tuition in devalued currency. Accordingly we have two tier pricing for the course:

If you are unsure of your current economy’s status, please refer to the full country lists.

Both of these provide exceptional value when you consider the career development and improved strategic decisions that result.

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There are no instances of this course scheduled at the moment. If you are interested, please let us know with the form below and we will notify you when the next instance is scheduled!

Please contact us if you want to arrange an in-person or in-house course and we will review the request.

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