Architecting the IT Organization

Published:
Briefs, Case Studies, Papers, Reports
Author(s) and Contributors:
Author(s): Debbie Carraway Piet Niederhausen Beth Schaefer
Source(s) and Collection(s):
Sources(s): EDUCAUSE Publications Collection(s): EDUCAUSE Working Group
ParentTopics:
Digital Transformation (Dx) Enterprise Architecture Enterprise IT Leadership and Management IT Governance IT Organization IT Service Management IT Strategic Planning Portfolio and Project Management

Architecting the IT Organization: Clarifying the Contributions of Enterprise Architecture, IT Governance, and ITSM to the IT Value Chain

IT organizations are pursuing growth in three fundamental practice areas—enterprise architecture (EA), IT governance, and IT service management (ITSM)—to direct the development and delivery of IT services that maximize value to the institution and ensure alignment with its goals. Architecting the IT Organization: Clarifying the Contributions of Enterprise Architecture, IT Governance, and ITSM to the IT Value Chain discusses how these areas can contribute to the value chain most effectively and provides guidance to institutions on how to best do this.

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Highlights

The Value Chain Perspective on IT

EA, IT governance, and ITSM all have potential to contribute to several parts of the IT value chain. Fully fledged EA, IT governance, and ITSM all seek to help an IT organization engage stakeholders and make the best IT portfolio decisions based on strategy (Strategy to Portfolio). And they all seek to guide the design of IT products and services (Requirement to Deploy). Of the three, ITSM is the broadest, also seeking to help the IT organization manage fulfillment and operation of services (Request to Fulfill and Detect to Correct). Figure 1 summarizes where EA, IT governance, and ITSM potentially contribute to the IT value chain. Read more about EA, IT governance, and ITSM in the value chain >

Graphic summary illustrating how EA, IT governance, and ITSM all have potential to contribute to several parts of the IT value chain

 

 

Examples at Three Institutions

See how the EA at University of Washington, IT Governance at NC State University, and ITSM at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee all show how these core areas interact with the other practice areas. Read more about EA, IT governance, and ITSM at these three universities >

Examples

 

 

Clear Scope and Responsibilities

As these practice areas grow together in an organization, their scope should be discussed and aligned. Otherwise, these practices may inadvertently develop competing visions that can disrupt the IT value chain.

Without coordination, EA, IT governance, and ITSM practitioners in your organization could all reasonably believe that they hold primary responsibility for enabling key parts of the IT value chain. To support discussion in your IT organization, typical activities in each capability are shown. Read more about EA, IT governance, and ITSM coordination >

Scope and Responsibilities

 

 

Next Steps in Your Organization

To clarify the mission of EA, IT governance, and ITSM as they grow, we suggest a joint management conversation about your IT organization's future needs for the capabilities these practice areas can provide, especially where they typically intersect. This conversation can also benefit from including non-IT stakeholders. This section provides sample topics for discussion around current state, future state, and planning. Read more about moving the EA, IT governance, and ITSM mission forward >

Next Steps

 

 

Related Resources

Digital Transformation

Enterprise Architecture

IT Governance

ITSM