Can you describe your architecture in a standard way?

Are you an architect in a small business and do not have time to get bogged down with creating new models for each architecture view that you require?

The following reference models can be reused to describe the various architecture views of your business.

Having a templated approach to your architecture views will allow you to focus on the planning, communication and implementation of your architectures.

Take 2 minutes to learn what are reference models in architecture?

Posted by George Pang 

Enterprise Architecture, ArchiMate

In a previous blog by Marc Lankhorst, the value of reference architectures was highlighted, including the why and how. In this blog, I want to dive a little deeper, focusing on the ‘product’ that we (or some of us) are familiar with – the reference model, using ArchiMate as the language.

What are reference models?

First we take a step back and refer back to reference architectures, which are described as“standardized architectures that provide a frame of reference for a particular domain, sector or field of interest”.

What a reference model brings to the table is a very clear view (usually on-a-page) of the domain of interest – something that is reusable, and of course can be tweaked to suit the organization.

Examples of reference model types:

• Business Reference Model (or BRM)
• Technology Reference Model (or TRM)
• Information Reference Model (or IRM)

There are plenty of industry reference models out there for anyone to use, but the true power is taking these and transforming them into organization specific reference models – models that can prompt discussion, promote reuse, and provide traceability to other areas of architecture.

How do I represent this using ArchiMate?

Reference models often start their life as just a PowerPoint slide, a Visio diagram, or even just some filled cells in an Excel spreadsheet. This is great for communication, and gets the message across on a one-off basis.

When we are talking about Enterprise Architecture, very rarely are reference models used in isolation – we need to ‘link’ them up to other areas, so therefore need to use a standard to tie the reference model elements to – for example ArchiMate.

A question that comes up again and again is – “what concept should I use to represent the ‘blocks’ on this particular reference model?”

This is a topic area that can often take up days or even weeks of discussion – and arguing about it really just defeats the objective of using reference models as, well, reference – we need to agree on the representation, and then just use it consistently! To advise or answer that question, we really need to zoom in on the reference model in question. I will refer back to the three examples mentioned above.

The Business Reference Model

Essentially describing the “Business on-a-page”, we break down parent ‘areas’ into children, and then grandchildren, etc. It should describe “what the organization does”, and that usually provides a big clue.

For those who have at least a working knowledge of ArchiMate, some kind of ‘behavior’ is being described, and it should be ‘business-y’ in nature. This sounds like a Business Function!

 

Microsoft Industry Reference Architecture for Banking

The Technology Reference Model

Similar to the Business Reference Model, the TRM typically describes “Infrastructure on-a-page”, but again in a more functional perspective – it should not be about the fine-level of detail of server x, y and z, processors and that type of technical information.

Taking these points in mind, we are again looking at Infrastructure Services and Infrastructure Functions (i.e. behavior).

 

The Cloud Ecosystem Reference Model

The Information Reference Model

So far in the two examples above, we notice that ‘behavior’ concepts appear to be used – this is usually the case for a range of reference models. ‘Structural’ concepts usually tie closer to implementation after all. 

The IRM is a description of the common ‘information’ available within the organization (something like the TM Forum SID is good inspiration). Putting it into perspective, the use of behavioral concepts does not really fit – thus we logically look at the ‘passive structure’ column (which describes ‘objects’ of some sort). 

As the ArchiMate stalwarts are aware, there could be a decision to make on whether we use Business Objects or Data Objects to represent the elements of the IRM. This again is subject to interpretation, but generally something as high-level as ‘information’ may best sit as a Business Object.

 The Information Framework (SID) 

Conclusions

So there we have it. A few suggestions for working with Reference Models using ArchiMate.

You could potentially use a variety of ArchiMate concepts to represent elements in the models; but the most important points are to agree on a standard (and stick to it), be consistent in the use, and share the results!

One last conclusion focuses on presenting to “non-technical” stakeholders – remember, although the Architect may create reference models in a standardised ArchiMate notation (to create valid relationships to perform impact analysis etc), there is no reason why the output can’t be different (it could be an “inform” type viewpoint).

An Architecture Software can help greatly in documenting such models and tweaking to suit the audience visually, so check out BiZZdesign Enterprise Studio. 

Ancient Philosophy Reader - free MOOC

Ancient Philosophy Reader

Provider: African Virtual University

Description:

This History of Ancient Philosophy Reader was developed as an Open Textbook (OER, Open Educational Resource) for use in a lower-level Philosophy course at Golden West College (a California Community College). It contains all of the important works with some background biographical information from Thales, through Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, to some of the Hellenistic thinkers (see below for the full content). All of the works contain licenses that allow this work to be used and distributed freely and openly and may be printed (even for commercial purposes). Please contact the editor for comments, feedback, or suggestions. This work is effectively an anthology of free translations of the most important works of Ancient Western Philosophy. The Table of Contents is listed below:

UNIT ONE: THE START OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY AND THE PRE-SOCRATICS    
1. Introduction to Philosophy and the Ship of Theseus    
2. Greek Language, Religion, and Thales (the start of it all!)    
3. Anaxagoras (Fragments)    
4. Heraclitus (Fragments)    
5. Parmenides and Zeno’s Paradoxes    
6. Pythagoras    
UNIT TWO: SOCRATES AND PLATO    
7. Introduction to Plato and Socrates (Gorgias)    
8. The Socratic Method and the Role of Philosophy (Apology and Allegory of the Cave)   
9. The Nature of Things (Euthyphro)    
10. Philosophy and Relativism (Theaetetus)    
11. Methods of Analysis (Meno)    
12. The Forms (Phaedo and Parmenides)    
13. Metaphysics and Epistemology (The Republic, Book VII)    
14. The Forms (The Republic, Book VI)    
UNIT THREE: ARISTOTLE    
15. The Role of Philosophy (Categories)    
16. Aristotle’s Naturalism (Physics)    
17. Aristotle’s Essentialism (Topics; Categories)    
18. The Four Causes (Physics; Parts of Animals)    
19. Aristotle’s Categories (Categories; De Interpretatione)    
20. Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Metaphysics)    
21. Aristotle's Ethics (Nicomachean Ethics)    
UNIT FOUR: POST-SOCRATICS AND HELLENISTIC THOUGHT    
22. Pyrrhonism    
23. Epicurus    
24. Epictetus    
25. Philo of Alexandria    
26. Clement of Alexandria    
UNIT FIVE: OTHER PARTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD AND PARALLELS TO THE WEST    
27. Laozi (Tao Te Ching)    
28. Confucius (Analects)    
29. Hinduism (Bhagavad-Gita)    
30. Buddhism (Lankavatara Sutra)   

Author: Noah Levin

Date Published: 2016-12-22T02:15:11.025633

Categories:
All/Humanities/Comparative Literature and Classics
All/Humanities/Philosophy

Languages: English



http://bsccart.appspot.com/MOOC/Enhance/Course.html?crsId=de5558c29fc93e42a952c446413883fa

Cloud Computing Spins Out Of Control (But Maybe That's Not Such A Bad Thing)

Organizations continue their headlong rush into the cloud – but the people they depend on to manage this adventure are in a scramble to keep up, and, indeed, may be losing control of the situation. That’s the gist of a recent survey of more than 1,071 IT managers and professionals conducted by ScienceLogic, which finds that fewer than one-third have the visibility and control they need to keep things in check. At the same time, cloud adoption is occurring at a faster pace than anyone could have predicted.

Photo: Joe McKendrick

Is this a bad thing, that cloud adoption is running away faster than organizations can control it? To enterprise administrators, yes -- it means potential unnecessary and duplicated costs, and security exposures. These are matters that require their full attention and resources.

There's also something bigger going on. The ubiquitous access to technology resources and services provided through cloud is providing almost unlimited opportunities for innovation at every level of organizations. The best innovation comes from a little bit of chaos, and every business concerned about its future wants a sprinkling of the magic dust.

The cloud explosion is exactly that, and it shows no signs of abating. The most recently available industry stats bear this out -- Gartner, for one,estimated that the worldwide public cloud services market was to grow by 17% to total $208.6 billion, up from $178 billion in 2015. Amazon Web Services saw estimated revenues of approximately $12 billion in 2016, a number expected to triple over the next three years. Microsoft says its "Intelligent Cloud" revenue increased $1.3 billion or six percent in the most recent quarter, and that Azure revenues were up by 113%. IBM justannounced it had cloud revenue of $11.6 billion over the last 12 months. The company said it has a cloud as-a-service annual run rate of $6.7 billion in the quarter, up 50% year to year.

There is also insatiable demand for private clouds as well. A few months back, IDC projected that IT infrastructure spending for private cloud would increase by 15.5% in 2016 to reach $37.1 billion. Spending on private cloud IT infrastructure will grow by 10.3% year over year to $13.8 billion with more than 60% of this amount contributed by on-premises private cloud environments.

The volume of megabucks flowing toward cloud means enterprises are making enormous investments in the cloud paradigm. A sizable segment of respondents in the ScienceLogic survey, 42%, said they have 25% or more of their infrastructure in cloud environments today – up from 33% a year ago. Notably, the percentage with a majority of their infrastructure in the cloud, 23%, report having the majority of their IT assets in the cloud today – up from only 13% a year ago. Hybrid cloud is gaining traction as well. A majority of respondents, 51%, expect to be running applications within a hybrid cloud infrastructure two years from now. 14% expect to be operating a private cloud exclusively, and nine percent intend to be all public cloud.

Are these cloud investments being made wisely, and are achieving real business gains? Or are companies gobbling up cloud services and simply adding them to unwieldy and unnecessarily complicated technology infrastructures? The impact on business, real or simply hoped-for, is one concern. The other is whether the people needed to sort through and run these implementations can stay on top of this mass movement.

In one sense, cloud seems to be helping to reduce internal IT sprawl. A sizable segment, 40%, report their company’s data center footprint is shrinking compared to three years ago. However, one type of sprawl is being replaced by another. There is a growing blob of unused and underused service subscriptions that corporate funds are flowing into, with no ways to check or coordinate usage. Only 28% have a process to control public cloud sprawl. Only 37% have visibility into the historical performance of their public cloud services, and fewer than half, 44%, are able to verify the scope of their public cloud consumption.

But, again, while this is not a good situation for many, it is symptomatic of larger forces at work. The cloud revolution is freeing up technology for innovative and entrepreneurial opportunities, enabling people at all levels in organizations to pursue new ways of thinking and doing business. The chaos of multiple, unfettered cloud access may be the best route to disruptive innovation, versus attempts to control and confine it. A while back, I heard Michael Dortch, a highly regarded IT thinker, advocate for "MDM" in enterprises, as in "My Device Matters." Let me add MCM, as in "My Cloud Matters." Users know best what technology services they need, and IT departments need to adapt to that MDM/MCM thinking. Cloud provides avenues for teams of employees and partners to explore new vistas. Innovation springs from hundreds or thousands of minds collectively working on new ideas. Empowered teams seeking to design new products, new processes, or resolutions to problems have an abundance of cloud-based resources.

The key to success in this new climate isn't about technology, it's about management vision. The organization -- and its leaders -- need a forward-thinking, entrepreneurial culture that capitalizes on this computing power. Organizations that are restrictive, risk-averse and hierarchical are likely to find themselves overwhelmed and flying blind, forever fighting an endless battle to gain control over fast-changing technology forces.

This is the thinking behind the innovation labs many companies are supporting, in the hopes of capturing and bottling the energy seen with startups. Witness the way many companies in the staid and conservative insurance industry are buying or launching "insurtech" companies with the intentions of prodding their business lines with jolts of new electricity. These are efforts that can't be contained or controlled within restrictive hierarchies or infrastructures.

Technology changes so much from year to year that whatever enterprises attempt to tamp down and regulate this year will be surpassed by new developments the next. Witness the rise of mobile computing. Employees want to be part of the innovation story -- and technology paves the way.

Again, we see organized chaos as the new rule for business in the 2010s. The rise of cloud resources available to all is driving a new approach to delivering value -- open up technology to boost innovation, even if it is somewhat messy and hard to contain. To reiterate, innovation is very messy anyway.

source:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2017/01/22/cloud-computing-spins-out-of-control-but-maybe-thats-not-such-a-bad-thing/2/#36ada37ca952

Why 2017 Is Going to Be the Best Job Market in Years

Your paycheck is poised for a bump.

It’s a job seeker’s market.

Openings hit an all-time high in 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—and the 2017 outlook is particularly rosy for mid- to senior-level workers. “We expect robust demand for experienced workers,” says Steven Lindner, executive partner of recruiting firm the WorkPlace Group.

Meanwhile, the wage premium for switching jobs is near its highest point in years. “People are leaving because there are better alternatives,” says Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor. “And generally, when people leave a job for a pay raise, it can be significant—10% to 20%.”

While an employment boost sets you up for a big raise, it’s up to you to make it happen. Here’s what you need to do.

Test-drive new tools

Try new apps like Jobscan, which lets you tailor your résumé to postings by identifying key words, or Switch, which works like swipe-right dating app Tinder to pair you with hiring managers. And use LinkedIn’s new Open Candidates setting to tell everyone but your employer that you’re on the market.

Flaunt your skills

Even if you’re not in IT, know which tech skills you’ll need to get a new job in 2017, says Katie Bardaro, lead economist at job site PayScale. Update your résumé to highlight tools you already use—Workday software in HR, for instance. And if the ads in your field seek a skill you don’t have, find classes nearby or online, via sites like Lynda.com and Coursera.

Use your leverage if you stay put

Don’t want to leave your gig? Pay is forecast to rise only 3% next year for workers who don’t change jobs—though high performers can expect a 4.9% bump, Mercer finds. Talk to your manager, says career coach Roy Cohen— and don’t be afraid to brag. “You’ll advance by highlighting areas of particular distinction,” he says.

Best job categories for a new career in 2017

THINKING ABOUT A CHANGING JOBS NEXT YEAR? CAREERBUILDER AND EMSI REVEAL THE BEST PLACES TO LOOK.

Sometimes you just need a break from your day-to-day, or a change of scenery or you simply want to try something new. We all consider changing careers from time to time. If you feel that 2017 is right to gain new experience in a different industry, then this is a good place to start.

CareerBuilder and Emsi, a labor market data provider, have compiled a new study of job categories and occupations that will provide the best opportunity for job seekers in the New Year. Three distinct factors were taken into account such as: jobs must pay around $20 or more per hour, occupations must have grown faster than the market over the last 4 years and the job categories must have a large number of workers already employed across the nation.

Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and co-author of The Talent Equation, says, "Our research shows that employers are very invested in expanding headcount in areas such as analytics and data science, product development and sales as they strive to stay competitive in B2B and B2C markets. Skilled laborers will also see high employment demand in the year ahead as will workers in clinical roles."

While the average earnings listed below are for the job category as a whole, the occupations listed to the right can earn significantly higher than the average.

Occupation Category	2012 Jobs	2016 Jobs	2012-2016 Increase in Jobs	Average Hourly Earnings	Examples of In Demand Job Titles
Business and Financial Operations	7,358,038	7,938,303	585,265 8%	$35.09	*Operations Manager *Business Process Analyst *Product Development Specialist *Financial Analyst *Office Manager
Information Technology	3,926,758	4,398,862	472,104 12%	$40.82	*Data Scientist *User Interface / Front End Developer *Product Manager *Mobile Software Engineer *Information Security Manager
Health Care	8,035,052	8,641,939	606,887 8%	$37.77	*Family Practitioner *Medical Director *ICU Nurse *Cardiologist *Physical Therapist *Rehabilitation Nurse
Sales	15,143,749	16,057,815	914,066 6%	$19.06	*Account Executive *Account Manager *Business Development Manager *Client Services Coordinator
Skill Trades	12,049,958	13,067,497	1,017,539 8%	$21.38	*Electrician *Plumber *HVAC Technician

Start your job search now.

© 2016 CareerBuilder, LLC. Original publish date: 12.02.2016

9 career mistakes to avoid in 2017

If you're ready to ring in a more successful career in 2017, take a minute to make sure you're not about to make a mistake, or continue a pattern, that could hold you back.

Here's a list of some of the best advice from CEOs, self-made millionaires and career strategists on how to make sure you're set for a strong new year, workwise.

1. Staying put because you're afraid of change

According to a former Google career coach who's helped more than 1,000 people, the biggest career mistake people make is "taking action based on fear or 'shoulds.'"

When people are guided by fear or what they think they should do, it keeps them on an unfulfilling path, says Jenny Blake, career strategist and author of the book "Pivot."

2. Focusing too much on finding your "passion"

The pressure to identify your one true calling in life can be crushing. Blake suggests that workers lift that weight off of their shoulders.

"For some, the pressure to define a purpose or mission statement is stifling and causes much unnecessary angst," she writes in "Pivot."

Ditch the "passion" mind-set, and instead start smaller projects to figure out what you enjoy doing, Blake says.

3. Writing bad emails

The CEO of a $16 billion business says that the way you write emails could make or break your career. Employees who write a concise email are highly valued, says Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture's North America business.

"Develop excellent communication skills," Sweet says. 

She suggests professionals brush up on their email writing skills. To get you started, here are some experts' best tips.

4. Only asking for more money

Whether you're negotiating a new job offer or asking for a raise, don't just ask for money, strategist Keld Jensen tells CNBC.

"Most people are negotiating on too few variables," Jensen says.

Instead, consider asking for something else you want, like more vacation time or flexible hours. Give the person you're negotiating with a way to say yes.

5. Letting other people define you

Before Carla Harris became a Harvard graduate, the vice chairman at Morgan Stanley and one of Wall Street's most influential women, the people around her doubted her.

They told her not to apply to Ivy League schools, and, later on, to avoid a career in mergers and acquisitions. But she didn't listen.

"Don't be distracted by anything anybody else tells you," says Carla Harris. Stay focused.

6. Dwelling on mistakes

Comedian and former host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" Jay Leno says that mistakes, including ones in your career, are actually very valuable.

"You learn a tremendous amount from the mistakes," Leno tells CNBC.

Other entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson agree that mistakes are great learning opportunities.

7. Not compartmentalizing your issues

25-year-old CEO Brian Wong says that many people don't realize the importance of keeping your personal problems out of the office.

If you're dealing with personal problems or stresses, leave it at home, Wong says.

"If your boyfriend dumps you, somebody steals your credit cards, and your best friend is the reason your boyfriend dumped you, show up [for work] like it never happened," Wong writes in his book "The Cheat Code."

8. Lying on your resume

This one seems obvious, but some people still do it. Even putting a "white lie" or slight exaggeration on a job application could come back to hurt you, career experts tell CNBC.

For some other important resume tips, check out the findings of a survey of hundreds of HR professionals.

9. Thinking you've already missed your chance to succeed

Not every successful company was founded by a guy in his twenties. In fact, individuals turn to entrepreneurship throughout their lives. If you think your only opportunity to build something great is behind you, think again.

Many people believe "that if they haven't dropped out of college and started something when they're 19, they're over the hill," Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein says.