Purpose

The organization and setup of a review or analysis of an IT architecture is important to get right ... to get off on the right foot. The steps in preparing for the review are:

• Book venue;
• Define objectives and issues, if necessary;
• Select stakeholders and required expert involvement;
• Gather documentation required;
• Notify participants.

Venue

Ensure that the venue is large enough, that there are appropriate facilities such as whiteboards, projectors, tables, etc.

Objectives and Issues

A general review may not need any objectives or issues defined, but sometime a focus is required to keep the meetings effective and productive.

Stakeholders

The review or analysis looks at one of the levels of the IT architecture, which in turn dictates the set of stakeholders involved:

• Business level - mainly business stakeholders involved, with some technical stakeholders;
• Logical / Technical level - mainly technical stakeholders, with some business stakeholders (business experts);
• Operations (and optionally maintenance) - a combination of appropriate business and technical stakeholders, depending upon the focus.

Each of these levels of review will naturally have a different focus. Typically the focus for each level are:

• Business level - education and feedback on business processes, etc.
• Logical / Technical level - provide education and solicit feedback on logical / technical solutions, etc.
• Operations - discuss and agree operational requirements and constraints and practicalities of proposed solutions, and education and feedback on processes, solutions, etc.

Gather Information

 Based upon the level and focus of the review, appropriate materials are gathered and an agenda and overview of the meeting defined. Expectations of stakeholder participation is outlined along with any focus or objectives.

Inform Participants

The participants in the review are notified of the meeting, and are also provided all of the documentation in advance so that they are aware of expectations and may prepare for the review.