Solution Architecture Manager (SAM)
See how you can transform the way you manage your architectures. A must-have tool for delivering technology.
Close the Gap between Architecture & Delivery
The gap between strategy and execution is a well-known challenge across many organisations. SAM is a tool developed to address this gap by ensuring the strategic vision and architecture is effectively delivered in the project delivery space.
Improve The Architecture Team Collaboration
The Architecture teams (Enterprise Architects, Domain Architects, Program Architects & Solution Architects) have a tough time collaborating when working across a number of projects. This becomes even more challenging when Agile projects are involved. In most cases, the Architecture teams do not get visibility to key items such as Architecture Decisions, Risks, Issues and Deviations across the various projects and Solution Architectures. SAM will help ensure better Architecture collaboration and visibility to drive a successful outcome.
- Manage Key Architecture Design Decisions Better
- Track and Resolve Architecture Debt
- Better Manage Architecture Risks & Issues
- Manage Architecture Dependancies
Track and Measure Architecture Principles & Standards Alignment
Most architecture teams find it hard to keep track if the projects are in line with their architecture principles and standards. This becomes even more challenging when Solution Architects from external vendors and System Integrators (SI) are delivering solutions. SAM will help you easily maintain Architecture Principles & Standards across the organisation, and measure project architecture alignment to drive effective Architecture Governance.
Create a Solution Architecture Repository
SAM lets you manage all your project Solution Architecture Artefacts in one place. The architecture team can also create a knowledge base with reference architectures, patterns and best practice guides to ensure the architecture team has all the information at one central Architecture Repository to operate as an effective team.
Manage your Architecture Review Forums
SAM allows you to organise and run your Architecture Review Forums easily.
- Set up an Architecture Review Board (ARB) or a Solution Design Authority (SDA) to suit your program or architecture team needs.
- Solution Architects can present the entire architectures or selected architecture decisions to the forum for review or endorsement.
- All feedback for the reviews are recorded in one easy place for future reference.
- Track and record all architecture discussions.
Get Better Insights into your Architecture
SAM will help you get more insights across your architecture function to help you drive a better architecture practice.
- A Dashboard to all your Solution Architecture Functions
- Insights Across Tactical and Strategic Spending
- Solution Architecture Roadmap
Easily Integrate with API's
Every customer instance of SAM has a built-in API layer allowing the customer's Enterprise Architecture, Project Delivery, Portfolio Management Systems or Reporting Solutions to easily integrate with SAM. This capability allows the customer to easily interact with SAM data or automate functions effectively with the existing ecosystem of tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SAM a Cloud Solution?
Yes, SAM is a multi-instance cloud-based solution provided as a SAAS. We will create a new instance dedicated to your company. Therefore you will not be sharing your instance or data with other clients. This ensures SAM is implemented to best suit your geographic location, securely locking the access to your company and better manage product updates.
How is SAM licensed?
SAM has a named user license and a concurrency based license (floating user license). You can opt for a combination of both types to best suit your company and how your architecture team operates. The product is a SAAS product, therefore you can easily scale up or down as your demand changes. Please note, only active/admin architect roles are licensed. Read-only licenses are free.
We have chosen our Enterprise Architecture (EA) tool and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) tools, do I still need SAM
Yes. SAM does not replace your EA or PPM tools. SAM provides unique capabilities to track, manage and measure how well projects develop and deliver the solution architectures which underpin your EA vision. SAM helps you bridge the gap between the EA direction and the solutions developed in the project delivery space.
What are some of the additional insights I will get from SAM?
- How much is the business spending on strategic versus tactical initiatives (or architectures)?
- How many projects are aligned to the agreed standards and principals?
- How much architecture debt are the projects creating?
- What is the architecture risk profile across the transformation programme?
Is SAM useful for the Enterprise Architecture Team?
Yes. Even though SAM is not exactly an EA tool, it will provide Enterprise Architects excellent visibility into the Solution Architectures being developed within the project teams. Once the EA’s have endorsed a Solution Architecture, they frequently lose visibility into what is actually being developed within the project. SAM will help address these governance challenges.
We use external parties to develop our Solution Architectures, can SAM help?
Yes. SAM provides limited access levels such as ‘External SA’ which allows easy on-boarding of external architects. This enables you to manage and track the architectures developed by external parties, such as vendors or System Integrators (SI’s). SAM also enables you to communicate architecture principals and standards so that the external architects comply when developing your solutions.
Can I get SAM for free?
Yes, if you get Architecture services from us, we will credit you a percentage of any consulting spend across the calendar year towards your licensing fee. Getting our expert architects to help you with your architectures can easily offset your total license fee. Please contact us to find out more.