As I was researching the Energy & Utilities sector, an article titled “AI Is Transforming How Utilities Plan for Adverse Weather Events” caught my eye. I was trying to understand the underlying Architecture so that we can get a handle on the complexity and help manage changes effectively.
When we apply the Zachman Framework and understand the Anatomy of Enterprise Strategies, the Business Process Anatomy that enable them, Anatomy of the Systems that support the processes, Anatomy of the Technical component specifications, Anatomy of the Implementation and the Operational Instance it improves our understanding of the Architecture tremendously.
Anatomy of the Enterprise Strategy What are the Strategies for the Enterprise here? Elements of the Strategy will consist of Goals, Business Services, Data, Location, Timing and Role. Let us understand the Organisational Goals:
· Goals for Internal Operations: Faster re-connection of Supply
· Inventory /Data: Weather Patterns, Outage
Business Process Anatomy How are the Business Management and Departmental Functions structured to realise the above Strategies here? Elements of the Business Management will consist of Departmental Goals, Business / Departmental Functions, Business Data, Business Locations, Business event triggers, cycles, and Departmental / External Roles.
· Let us first understand the Business Management Goals: Manage Catastropic Weather Events, Field Crew Readiness, Minimise Deployment Times
· Business Processes / dept. Functions: Outage Management, Asset Maintenance, Crew Deployment
· These Business Processes are carried out at the Locations: Crew Location, High Priority Outage Location
Anatomy of the Systems How are the Systems structured to support the above Business Processes / Departments? Elements of the Systems are System Goals, System Functions, Logical System Data, System Locations, System Times and System Use cases / Roles.
· System Goals:
o Event Scenario Cognisance,
o Real Time Grid Monitoring,
o Crew Effectiveness
· The above Business Processes are enabled by the Systems Functions:
o Network Management System,
o Field Service System
Anatomy of the Technology Components and their Specifications: How are the Technical Components specified to support the above Systems? Elements of the Technology Specifications are Technology Rules, Technology component Functions, Physical System Data, Network Component Processing Cycles and User Interfaces.
· Technology Goals:
o Actionable and accurate Insights
· The above Systems are enabled by the Technology Component Specifications:
o Ingest, Normalise and Transform Massive Data,
o Smart Sensors,
o Device,
o identify and visualize asset and infrastructure weaknesses
· Timing: Asset Life Cycle
Anatomy of the Implementation How are the Technical Components configured to implement the above Technical Specifications? Elements of the Implementation are Configuration Rules, Tool / Software Functions, Database Tool configurations, Network Software / Hardware Configurations, Event Processing Tool Configurations and User Interface Tool Set ups.
· The above Technical Components are configured using the Component Funcions:
o Machine Learning,
o AI
o Data Visualisatio
We can now look for completeness of the Transformation from Executive Strategy to Implementation. Efforts should also be made to Link, Map and establish connectivity between like elements across the Transformation stages i.e Dependency between Business Services, Business Processes, System Functions, Technical Component Specs, Software / Hardware/Network Configurations. This will help us uncover all inconsistencies and ensure success of the Initiative.
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Disclaimer:
The Aim of this Blog is to highlight the use of Architecture Deconstruction techniques. It is not the intention of the Blogger to rate or otherwise evaluate the Architecture of the System presented herein. The ideas and views presented in this Blog Post are the result of Architecture Deconstruction by the Blogger and as such may not be found directly or indirectly in the original Article. Architecture Deconstruction lets us understand and highlight architecture elements and architecture perspectives that may be available in various formats like model, text, image etc., The companies involved in the article are neither a customer nor have they engaged ICMG.