CEA EA Transition Planning and Roadmap Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which criteria should be MOST important when prioritizing projects in an EA roadmap?
- The personal preferences of the CIO
- Business value delivered and dependency relationships between initiatives (Correct answer)
- The total number of IT resources required for each project
- Alphabetical order of project names for organizational clarity
Correct answer: Business value delivered and dependency relationships between initiatives
Projects in an EA roadmap should be prioritized based on business value delivered and their dependencies on other initiatives, ensuring foundational work is completed before dependent projects begin.
Question 2: What is the purpose of a Business Transformation Readiness Assessment in EA transition planning?
- To evaluate the capabilities of technology vendors
- To assess the organization's ability to successfully execute the planned transformation (Correct answer)
- To measure the total cost of achieving the target architecture
- To identify requirements for architecture modeling tools
Correct answer: To assess the organization's ability to successfully execute the planned transformation
A Business Transformation Readiness Assessment evaluates factors that affect the organization's ability to successfully execute the transformation, identifying risks and readiness gaps before transition begins.
Question 3: Which technique is most effective for identifying dependencies between transition projects in an EA roadmap?
- SWOT analysis
- Dependency matrix or dependency mapping (Correct answer)
- Value chain analysis
- Balanced scorecard
Correct answer: Dependency matrix or dependency mapping
A dependency matrix or dependency map explicitly shows relationships between transition projects, identifying which projects must be completed before others can begin, enabling proper sequencing.
Question 4: What is the concept of 'capability-based planning' in enterprise architecture transition?
- Planning IT infrastructure changes based on server capacity limits
- Organizing transition initiatives around business capabilities needed for the future state (Correct answer)
- Assessing individual employee skill levels before project staffing
- Measuring software development team velocity for scheduling
Correct answer: Organizing transition initiatives around business capabilities needed for the future state
Capability-based planning organizes transition initiatives around the specific business capabilities the enterprise needs to develop or improve to achieve its strategic goals, keeping the focus on outcomes over technology.
Question 5: In an EA roadmap, what does an 'Architecture Increment' represent?
- A cost increase approved in the architecture program budget
- A discrete step that moves the enterprise from one architecture state to the next (Correct answer)
- An addition to the enterprise architecture team headcount
- A new vendor contract for technology services delivery
Correct answer: A discrete step that moves the enterprise from one architecture state to the next
An Architecture Increment represents a discrete and manageable step that moves the enterprise from one defined architecture state to the next, enabling controlled and staged transformation.
Question 6: When conflicting priorities arise between business units during EA roadmap planning, what should the enterprise architect do?
- Always defer to the most senior executive's stated preference
- Prioritize based on which business unit has the highest budget allocation
- Facilitate resolution through defined governance processes and architecture principles (Correct answer)
- Delay all conflicting initiatives indefinitely until consensus emerges
Correct answer: Facilitate resolution through defined governance processes and architecture principles
Enterprise architects should use established governance processes and architecture principles to facilitate resolution of conflicting priorities, ensuring decisions align with enterprise strategy rather than individual preferences.
Question 7: What is the role of the Architecture Vision in EA transition planning?
- To specify the exact technology products to be implemented in each phase
- To provide a high-level aspirational view that guides all detailed transition planning (Correct answer)
- To document all current system configurations and data flows
- To list all project managers and their responsibilities for implementation
Correct answer: To provide a high-level aspirational view that guides all detailed transition planning
The Architecture Vision provides a high-level, aspirational description of the desired future state, serving as the guiding framework that ensures all transition planning activities remain aligned to strategic objectives.
CEA EA Transition Planning and Roadmap Development 2
Which criteria should be MOST important when prioritizing projects in an EA roadmap?