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IT solution life cycle model with complementing activities of project managers and solution architects
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If IT projects are to be successful, they must meet business requirements, and they must be efficiently managed. IT projects need methodological skills to manage resources as well as technical capabilities for architectural planning and solution design. Project managers and solution architects represent two highly qualified leadership roles in IT p...
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... • Cluster 1: Architecture Board Member, Architecture Sponsor The results were mostly in line with our initial analysis, except for Cluster 3. Cluster 3 included the two roles Solution Architect and IT Designer, which have a slight overlap as shown in Figure 2. This cluster might contradict the commonly accepted state of the literature regarding the Solution Architect role, a view supported by [20,21]. [20] argues that there are "important differences" between the Solution Architect and the IT Designer. ...
Due to its holistic nature, different units and roles typically co-exist in Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) teams. Such roles are defined by the organizational leaders based on uncoordinated and vague requirements, which might lead to problems. A solution proposal is focusing on the required competencies of the roles, rather than their naming and definition. When studying the roles, EAM literature rarely revolves around the skills. Albeit its considerable complexity, TOGAF's Architecture Skills Framework aims to close this gap. We argue that it is an intricate undertaking to analyse 790 different values per position when acquiring an EAM team member. Hence, this study presents a quantitative approach that aims to reduce the complexity of Architecture Skills Framework in designing Enterprise Architecture Management teams. The approach consists of i) clustering the EAM roles from TOGAF using ANOVA, ii) reducing the number of skills, and iii) creating a well-defined set of competencies for each group using a survey. Against this background, the initial contributions of this work are the four role clusters that can be used when designing EAM teams, a representative set of skills that the roles require and recommendations for EAM practitioners.
... Software Inc., 2020). Another study also mentioned that Scrum is the best known for agile development (Gellweiler, 2019). ...
The Product Owner and Scrum Master are members of the Scrum Team, which play an essential role in Global Software Development. They must have some competencies that can overcome challenges in the global environment. This study aims to develop the competencies of these two roles and explore issues of global competencies. Researchers conducted a literature study to produce a list of competencies and in-depth interviews to explore the issues. Data processing uses content analysis and descriptive statistics. The author compiled questionnaires and generated three issues, then held a Focus Group Discussion for validation. Without reducing the nature of scrum, the consensus of experts had approved 31 competencies for the product owner while 34 for the scrum master. This research enriches scrum.org and has a global impact on improving Scrum and Global Software Development human capital and IT professionals.
... Interestingly, even the enterprise architects themselves were not clear about their roles. The role of IT architects in e-commerce projects is particularly blurred, since e-commerce architecture subject is being researched across diverse IT areas [3] p. 28. ...
... Pragmatist ontology, epistemology, and axiology focus on improving practice and on supporting action [72] p. 152. In this study, pragmatist methods and techniques were applied as they fit the purpose [17] p. 28. In addition, data collection and numerical evaluations sought objectivism, whereas interpretivist philosophy was adopted when the meanings were discussed and the context was extended. ...
... Development approaches differ by layer. The building of IT infrastructures on the technology layer typically uses the traditional predictive approach [28], whereas software developments on the application layer use agile methodologies such as scrum (Site 1). Tailoring of scrum methodology for e-commerce software development may even improve quality and shorten project duration [37]. ...
Information technology (IT) architecture is an essential element of an enterprise's strategy and impacts competitive advantage. The management of IT architectures is unexplored in theory and confused in practice. In particular, the roles of IT architects are interpreted in various ways. The purpose of this study is to examine the roles of IT architects by investigating the required activities and skills demanded in the human resources market. In-depth content analysis was applied on job advertisements. Categories were inductively developed by allocating meaning units until saturation: 2438 meaning units were assigned to 37 task categories and 49 skill categories. As a result, three types of architects with distinctive profiles were identified. In addition to technological expertise, all architects must provide outstanding social and methodological skills. Knowledge of particular frameworks is rarely required. Skills and architect types from The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) were disproved in parts. Attributes specific to e-commerce architects and digital architects were elaborated. The found task and skill categories may be used as catalogs for recruiting purposes in practice.
... On the tactical level, solution architects support projects (Gellweiler, 2019) to implement the strategies and act from previously made strategic decisions and policies (Robson, 1997, p. 17). Enterprise architects control the efficiency and adequacy of the IT architecture (Helfert et al., 2013) and guide solution architects throughout projects. ...
... Governance embraces all the solutions from project selection to the phase-out of solutions. Thus, portfolio managers and enterprise architects are permanent roles within an organization and control requirement fulfillment in projects, and here, subordinate tactical roles also closely cooperate in view of requirements analysis and solution design (Gellweiler, 2019). On demand, intermediate organizational levels can be incorporated in both vertical paths. ...
Enterprise architecture (EA) and project portfolio management (PPM) are key areas when it comes to connecting enterprise strategy and information technology (IT) projects. Both management disciplines enhance business capabilities, integrate skilled resources, and govern affiliated processes and functions. A skillful comprehension of the links between these managerial areas is essential for effective IT planning. This article elaborates on the common grounds and structural attachment of EA and PPM, showing the substantiated relations between them and demonstrating their cohesiveness. From strategic planning to solution delivery, a conceptual model for IT project alignment integrates these IT management disciplines over two levels. EA ascertains the technical goals and constraints, whereas PPM determines the organizational goals and constraints. The results from both sides are combined to jointly propose, select, prioritize, and schedule IT projects. Roadmapping is a suitable approach to bring EA and PPM together.
