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How to use Avancier Methods?

As an AM licence holder you can use AM as a quality management system for your enterprise and solution architects.

You are free to choose how much of AM you want to use, how to make it accessible to employees of the licence holder organisation and how to maintain it.

Please note however that different options have different implications for maintenance.

Basic option: Link from an intranet web page directly to the Avancier Methods page on Avancier web site.

This means your users have access to all the latest documents on the Avancier web site, with no maintenance at your end.

You can supplement this resource by making additional documents available on the same in-house intranet page.

Other options are available to organisations who wish to maintain their own in-house methods.

Since these options require considerable in-house resources, they are not recommended.

Option 2: Copy Avancier Methods entry pages and link from them to documents stored on your in-house web site.

You can edit the AM entry pages so they work on your intranet as you want.

You may adapt the pages to your company style to a degree, while still making it clear that the page is licensed from Avancier.

You can add links to documents you choose, and remove links you don't want.

Option 3: Copy Avancier Methods entry pages, and link from them to documents on the public Avancier web site.

You can edit the AM entry pages so they work on your intranet as you want.

You may adapt the pages to your company style to a degree, while still making it clear that the page is licensed from Avancier.

You can add links to documents you choose, and remove links you don't want.

Whichever option you choose, and however you modify AM, the standard licence fee is still due: see Price and other FAQs.

Q) What “business use” rights does an AM licence fee payer have?

Below “employees” are employees and full-time contractors of a company or business that pays the AM licence fee.

Your employees have the right to use the pages on the public Avancier web site in the course of doing business.

You can (as well or instead) make AM documents available to your employees via a private AM page that is similar to the public AM page.

You have the right to use some AM documents not accessible before payment of an AM licence fee – including a Solution Outline template.

You can add your own documents and guidance to your private AM page.

You can obtain a modest amount of free consulting via email and/or Skype.

You can request changes to AM documents.

You can use AM documents to run occasional short tutorials for your own employees.

Q) How can we evaluate the content of the Avancier website?

You are free to read and evaluate all Avancier web site pages.

You may notice a few documents listed there are not accessible before payment of an AM licence fee.

Why use Avancier Methods?

Because Avancier Methods are cohesive, coherent, comprehensive, and supported by training and independent certification

And/or they are wider and/or better than what you can afford to maintain in-house.

The Avancier web site is the most coherent collection of architecture resources we know of.

AM is designed to save an organization from the large cost and time needed to develop, publish and maintain in-house methods.

AM can be published and extended in-house.

AM is cohesive, coherent, comprehensive, and supported by training and certification.

AM is compatible with EA frameworks like TOGAF, yet also stand alone and give architects the more concrete guidance they need.

AM is especially suitable for architects, analyst and designers who find EA frameworks too abstract.

You can help architects and assure quality

IT-related projects are notoriously expensive, risky and prone to quality issues.

You need capable architects to minimise costs and risks; but how do you know they are capable?

Because they follow processes and produce architecture documentation you can govern.

Avancier methods include guidance on processes, documentation and organisation/roles.

They are comprehensive and cohesive.

They are supported by training to professional certificates.

They are valued because they help architects to:

· Manage risks: spot and strive to resolve any risk or issue that threatens the cost or delivery of solutions to be developed.

· Assure quality: shape and govern solutions so that business roles and processes are enabled or supported by

o systemisation and digitisation

o more and/or better information

o reduced data entry effort

o useful, long-life applications,

o confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.

· Use EA management frameworks like TOGAF

· Help managers in

o meeting IT management goals

o rationalising an enterprise’s technology and application portfolios

o developing, maintaining and facilitating the implementation of a sound and integrated IT architecture.

You can obtain related training

Find details at avancier.co.uk on the “Training calendar, prices and dates” page.

Most people find training to BCS Enterprise & Solution Architecture certificates is enough

Some buy private courses on AM, which are tailored to local needs.

Currently, there is no on-line training, though an associate in USA is considering offering that.

You can comply with the IT Management Reform Act (Clinger Cohen Act)

The Clinger-Cohen Act is designed to improve the way the US federal government acquires, uses and disposes information technology.

It establishes an approach for executive agencies to improve the acquisition and management of their information resources by:

· Focusing information resource planning to support their strategic missions

· Implementing a capital planning and investment control process that links to budget formulation and execution; and

· Rethinking and restructuring the way they do their work before investing in information systems.

It establishes in law that the CIO of a federal agency is responsible for developing, maintaining and facilitating the implementation of a sound and integrated IT architecture.

It captures goals relevant to IT management in all countries and in the private sector. In short:

· Follow business imperatives: The business goals come first. IT work must map to the business mission. IT projects must start with user requirements and end with measurable business process improvement. Improve business processes by providing quality information to actors and reducing data entry effort.

· Plan with due care: Make a business case for IT work to be done. Plan for incremental development of IT. Offer modular contracts. Share data processing projects and resources to accomplish shared missions. Identify and manage IT risks.

· Manage the IT budget responsibly: Ensure money for acquiring and managing IT work is spent wisely. Justify money spent with reference to business cases.

· Manage the technology and application portfolios: Keep data secure. Assure interoperability through following standards. Maintain a comprehensive IT architecture repository.

· Follow a methodology based on best practices: Study best practices for information resources management. Train people in them. Maintain the required skills and capabilities.

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