7 Key Enterprise Architecture Metrics
posted by John Spacey, April 24, 2011Enterprise Architecture is still an emerging field. There are not many organizations today that are effectively measuring their EA program with metrics. Here are a few metrics that might work:
1. IT Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as a Percentage of Revenue
One of EA's value propositions is reducing costs by leveraging common solutions and rationalizing processes, technology and data.This metric is key to the business value achieved by the IT stack. It has appeal to business stakeholders and allows IT costs to be compared with industry or regional averages.
Example: The total cost of ownership of IT is 4.8% of revenue.
2. Total Cost Savings (TCS)
Often EA is able to achieve cost savings by:- retiring a legacy system
- consolidating licensing
- introducing common shared services
- rationalizing infrastructure investment
etc...
If the EA team can deliver cost savings on a regular basis — Total Cost Savings is a meaningful metric for EA.
Example: EA initiatives saved the organization 5.2 million dollars this quarter.
3. Percentage Of Spend That's Strategic (PSTS)
The EA team assesses all projects and designates them as tactical or strategic. The percentage of the total IT spend that was considered strategic can then be calculated using project budget information.PSTS is a good predictor of the long term heath and efficiency of IT. However, it may be of little interest to the business.
Example: 47% of project spending went to strategic projects this quarter.
4. Common Services Compliance Rate (CSCR)
Enterprise Architecture often defines common services such as ESB, BPM, Infrastructure platforms etc... The CSCR measures the percentage of new projects that are fully compliant with the common service roadmap.Example: 67% of projects complied with EA's common service strategy this year.
5. Architectural Due Diligence Rate (ADDR)
The percentage of projects that are fully compliant with the EA governance process. A EA governance process involves steps such as updating EA blueprints, architectural reviews and macro design.ADDR is a good metric for reporting violations of the EA process. It is often helpful to report ADDR by business unit, technology silo or project manager — to highlight problem areas.
Example: 78% of operations department projects complied with EA governance but only 12% of sales department projects were in compliance.
6. Sunset Technology (ST)
Percentage of the technology stack that is considered sunset by EA. Measures IT's ability to introduce strategic technology and retire legacy systems.Example: At the end of the year 54% of production systems were deemed sunset technologies. This compares with 62% last year.
7. Business Specific
Manage EA with specific metrics aligned with your business strategy and goals. Examples include:- reducing time to market for launching new products
- reducing human error rates
- speeding up order delivery
- reducing IT costs
- reducing severity and frequency of security incidents
Example: average time to market for introducing a new product decreased from 5.8 months last year to 4.9 months this year.
Significant and measurable business goals that require EA support make good EA metrics.
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