What are the Steps to Modernization?

The ultimate Enterprise Architecture, in conjunction with enterprise life cycle processes and enterprise engineering methods, should allow an organization to evolve and achieve near-term and long-term strategic business goals—while continuing to function efficiently day to day.

There are several elements to any substantial modernization program. The challenges are both technical and organizational.

Developing an Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise architectures act as a kind of roadmap for the design, development, and acquisition of complex, mission-oriented information systems. The goals of the planned capability might be general, such as achieving system-wide interoperability for daily operations, or specific, such as launching a new capability to connect Customs to the trade community. The key concept now is the mission, whereas in the past the focus was on technologies, in general, or specific systems, often within a single business unit in the overall organization.

An EA should describe all aspects of an organization—its mission, organizational structure, business processes, information exchanges, software applications, and underlying technical infrastructure—as well as the overarching need for information security. A change in one of these dimensions may affect the other enterprise dimensions. The ultimate EA, in conjunction with enterprise life cycle processes and enterprise engineering methods, should allow an organization to evolve and achieve near-term and long-term strategic business goals—while continuing to function efficiently day to day.

Each EA is different, reflecting the unique characteristics of the organization and its goals. But according to Office of Management and Budget's definition, all EAs should have three major components:

• an "As-Is," or baseline, architecture, which captures the organization's current architecture
• a "To-Be," or target, architecture, which describes the organization's desired architecture as designed to achieve strategic goals; and
• a transition plan, which uses a phased approach to get from "As-Is" to "To-Be."

An organization must also have a structured process for managing change to its EA, which needs to change as the organization changes—in a continuous process. To a large extent, modernization never ends. As technology improves and organizations evolve, a well-defined architecture handles those changes efficiently.

Most EAs are documented in the form of "work products," such as models, graphics, and other descriptions of the enterprise's environment and design. To enforce some level of consistency among architecture description content and format, EAs are based on templates called "frameworks," which specify models for describing and documenting the individual architectures.

Managing Organizational Change

Developing the right EA, however, isn't the only step toward modernization; agencies must also manage organizational change. If a program's success depended solely on installing the right hardware and software, many more modernization programs would be successful. The people who are going to use the new technologies add an unpredictable, complex dimension.

There are several key components to managing organizational change. Perhaps most important is the establishment of a well-thought-out governance structure that represents the enterprise's unique mission and organizational components. Success is more likely if the governance structure includes the head of the agency and leaders of its business units. Working-level managers and employee representatives must also be involved, since of course they will be in charge of carrying out most of the changes.

Close collaboration must be established and maintained among those managing and executing the program, the business units seeking modernized capabilities, and the business customers. This cannot be accomplished through executive-level governance alone. By including all levels of management in collaboration processes, an organization is more likely to ensure that these managers take ownership of the modernization program, through participation and accountability.

Maintaining Communications throughout the Organization

Another important step on the road to a successful modernization effort is the creation of an effective communications program. This provides a mechanism for employees to ask questions and receive answers from the leadership. Employees are better able to tolerate change if they understand why the change is important and if they feel the changes are being handled with fairness and transparency. Good communication throughout the enterprise builds trust and understanding and allows employees to see how the changes will affect their organization, their customers, and themselves.

While CEM's information technology methods and tools are essential to effective modernization, we also embrace all dimensions of human behavior through cultural understanding, communications, and effective collaborative governance—all necessary elements of a successful modernization program.

Related Information

• What is Enterprise Modernization?
• How is CEM Uniquely Qualified in EM?

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