From Open Sustainability
FISDEV employs a concept called eXtreme Blueprinting and Roadmapping to define the strategic Blueprint and implementable Roadmap. This approach is particularly important in a transformation initiative to define alignment across worksteams and ensure the proper amount of focus is being given to Information Development. In the XBR approach, the Enterprise Views of
Sustainable Development that can be introduced into existing worksteams of delivery around areas such as Application Development, Infrastructure Development and Information Development.
The XBR Blueprint
An XBR Blueprint is as a relatively high-level vision of an organisations’ envisaged future-state and a model which defines the prioritised process / system transitions to get there. The XBR Blueprint is inclusive of Strategy, Organisation, People, Process, and Technology and the Solution Definition is driven by the established Guiding Principles and Business Priorities. Much of the focus of this phase of work is on the Business Strategy and Technology Architecture. It is initiated by building an inventory of applications that are mapped to the Business Architecture thus enabling the rationalisation of the existing environment whilst delivering new capabilities.
Once completed, the Blueprint is thought of as a relatively static representation of the current-state and future-state with identified intermediate states. At this stage, the future-state is a “vision” that is not strictly defined in detail, but consists of a generally agreed-to approach which all participants will adhere to.
The XBR Roadmap
In XBR, the Roadmap is derived from the Blueprint. It is a translation of the Blueprint into a dynamic representation of ‘what it takes’ to actually do the implementation. To that extent it will contain content that is not represented directly in the Blueprint in detail – i.e. it is a plan and set of requirements that can be directly implemented. The data and infrastructure enablers are introduced along with all aspects required for implementation. Whereas a Blueprint is generally done once, a Roadmap is done for each implementation increment.
How XBR Applies for Sustainable Development
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Conclusion
Therefore, although there is not a “template” for the XBR process, there is an approach that is generally followed for defining the strategy and its implementation. Across each worksteam, it is critical that the approach encompass Strategy, Organisation, People, Process, and Technology. Too often IT Blueprints/Roadmaps focus only on the Technology aspects of the solution, which inevitably leads to issues for the long-term programme. Beside have an encompassing scope, levelling of this approach is also important. The Blueprint must focus on the “high-level” vision of the whole programme (often taking 3 – 5 years) and detail is only required at the onset of each increment. At the onset of each increment, Foundation Activities are then conducted as a first step in the process. Focusing on “the next right thing” is a key part of the XBR approach.
