Case Study
IT Architecture Assessment
Strategy Technology
Client
Fortune 500 U.S. Bank & Retail Brokerage
Services
Architecture, Application Portfolio Rationalization, Digital Transformation Strategy
Project Overview
The Client was experiencing major productivity challenges due to complex inter-dependencies in its middle office driven by highly coupled micro-services forming into a monolithic architecture over years of product expansions and integrations. The Client sought expertise from Reference Point (RP) to assess the current state IT architecture and develop a framework to prioritize the technology book of work based on derived business value as well as the impact on advancing Enterprise Architecture, with a specific focus on legacy middle office architecture that impeded the speed of product delivery. Reference Point documented business and technology architecture issues and created a multi-factor framework as an alternative prioritization mechanism for each initiative. Reference Point also developed an underlying data model linking previously disparate data sets to provide insights and track the ongoing efficacy of the framework.
Solution
- Reference Point deployed a team of subject matter experts and experienced consultants with targeted expertise in data and technical architecture, to develop a multi-factor framework to prioritize book of work initiatives based on the extent to which they align to strategic business objectives and modernize middle office architecture.
- The team assessed individual initiative influence on the ability to achieve key strategic objectives against key dimensions impacting middle office architecture, including architectural debt, technical debt, API Patterns, Enterprise Data, Operational Risk, Economics and People.
- Reference Point also created a heatmap diagram documenting the architectural components that should constitute the target state architecture along with providing detailed findings and recommendations regarding approaches to modernize middle office architecture.
Impact
- Developed using RP’s expertise and leadership, the multi-factor framework provides a mechanism for data-driven prioritization of current and future initiatives based on both their impact against top business issues and their net contributions to modernizing core components of Enterprise Architecture.
- The underlying data model backing the Middle Office Refactoring Framework provided new insights into areas of contention and a better overall understanding of architectural complexities, while simultaneously providing a mechanism to track the ongoing efficacy of the framework as book of work initiatives move from planning through to completion.
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