TABLE OF CONTENTS I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.
Oliver Wendell Holmes [136.]
As You Have Seen, Process-Centric Thinking is a hallmark of modern business practices.
COBIT, CMM, and ITIL, at their base, are process frameworks. They focus on overall functional capabilities and the sequences of activities (business processes) that add value for the customer (internal or external).
The metrics-based management control of processes requires carefully and clearly structured data.
Business processes require optimization, and to optimize them they must be measured. The concept of metrics management is essential to process improvement frameworks such as Six Sigma. Processes are controlled by metrics.
But what is a metric? A metric is a measurement. It is information, not activity information that drives activity.
What is information? Information is actionable, context-relevant data. So, metrics at their base are data.
This brings us nicely to the next major architectural view: data. When architecting systems (defined as combinations of people, process, and technology) the concept of data is critical. The frameworks imply shared data, but they do not go far in discussing its implications, which are significant.
In reading the major frameworks as requirements specifications, the need for a consistent data architecture emerges; however, to date the major frameworks have been circumspect about this reality, consigning it to some unspecified other forum (which defaults to...
