Teoría General De Sistemas

Microsoft Solutions Framework

White Paper

Published: December 10, 1999

Microsoft Solutions Framework

Overview White Paper

Contents

Microsoft Solutions Framework 4

The “Plan & Build” Phase 4

Enterprise Services Framework 4

Evolution of MSF 5

The Origins of MSF 5

MSF Today 6

MSF Models Overview—Risk Management, Team, and Process 8

The Three Core MSF Models 8

The MSF Risk Management Model 8

Introduction to the MSF Risk Management Model 8

Characteristics of Risk 8

Principles of Successful Risk Management 8

MSF Proactive Risk Management 9

Risk Management Strategies 10

Steps of the MSF Risk Management Process 10

Risk Assessment Document 11

The MSF Team Model 12

Introduction to the MSF Team Model 12

MSF Team Model Principles 12

MSF Team of Peers 13

The Six Team Goals for Success 14

Team Roles 15

Scaling the MSF Team Model 19

Applying the MSF Team Model 19

The MSF Process Model 21

Introduction to Process Models 21

Applying the MSF Process Model 22

Applying the MSF Process Model to an Enterprise Architecture Project 22

Applying the MSF Process Model to an Application Development Project 23

Applying the MSF Process Model to an Infrastructure Deployment Project 25

Principles of the MSF Process Model 26

MSF Models for Enterprise Architecture and Component Design 29

Overview 29

BAIT Model for Enterprise Architecture 30

Introduction 30

Four Perspectives, One Architecture—The BAIT Model 30

Business Perspective 31

Application Perspective 31

Information Perspective 32

Technology Perspective 32

The MSF Component Design Model 33

The MSF Design Process Continuum 33

Conceptual Design 33

Logical Design 33

Physical Design 34

Relationship with the MSF Process Model 34

Conceptual Design in the Process Model 34

Logical Design in the Process Model 35

Physical Design in the Process Model 35

The MSF Application Model 35

Three-Tiered Model 35

User Services 36

Business Services 36

Data Services 37

Benefits of Service-based Applications 37

MSF at the Speed of Internet Time 38

Versioned Releases at the Speed of the Web 38

The MSF Team Model and the Web 38

The MSF Process Model and the Web 39

Other MSF Models and the Web 41

MSF and Application Hosting 41

Application Hosting vs. Outsourcing 41

MRF, MSF, MOF: How the Frameworks Work Together 42

Overview 42

MSF and MRF 43

MSF and MOF 43

Next Steps 45

Where to Find More Information 45

Appendix 46

Additional Information 46

Courses 46

Web Sites 46

Glossary 47

Microsoft Solutions Framework

The “Plan & Build” Phase

This paper provides an overview of Microsoft® Solutions Framework (MSF), which is the “plan & build” phase within Microsoft’s Enterprise Services Framework (ESF). This paper outlines the purpose of MSF and introduces the key models that underpin MSF. It is intended to assist information technology (IT) managers, developers, and engineers to assess the appropriateness of MSF for their organization and indicate how they may gain a deeper understanding of MSF if they decide to take their interest further.

Enterprise Services Framework

ESF is made up of three “sub-frameworks,” each targeted at different, but integral, phases in the life cycle of providing world-class information technology to the enterprise. This specialization allows each framework to provide useful and detailed information on the people, processes, and technologies required to succeed in these areas. In addition to MSF, the other two sub-frameworks that complete Microsoft’s Enterprise Services Framework are the Microsoft Readiness Framework (MRF) and the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF). The Enterprise Services Framework is depicted in the following diagram (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Enterprise Services Framework

Microsoft Readiness Framework, the “prepare” phase of ESF, offers a structured approach to reliably and efficiently assess individual and organizational technical requirements to plan, build, and manage IT solutions on the Microsoft platform. It helps an organization meet those requirements with capability planning; organizational competency identification; individual and organizational assessments and the subsequent recommendations through learning plans; and specific, appropriate, and available readiness and training material to expand and retain the organization’s IT capability.

Microsoft Solutions Framework provides guidance in the planning, building, and deploying phases of the project life cycle. This guidance includes white papers, case studies, and courseware in the areas of enterprise architecture, application development, component design, and infrastructure deployment. In addition, MSF will shortly offer prescriptive guidance for certain IT projects in the form of deployment planning guides, solution kits, and accelerated solutions. Please note that the “manage” phase of MSF is no longer part of that model and has a more robust instantiation in the form of Microsoft Operations Framework.

Microsoft Operations Framework, the “manage” phase of ESF, provides technical guidance for achieving mission-critical production system reliability, availability, and manageability on Microsoft products and technologies. This framework is being developed to include comprehensive operational guidance in the form of white papers, operations guides, assessment tools, best practices, case studies, and support tools for effective data center management within today’s complex distributed IT environment.

The remaining sections of this white paper will focus on providing an overview of MSF. In addition, the appendix to this paper provides Web sites you may want to visit for more information on ESF and the sub-frameworks, including information on training.

Evolution of MSF

The Origins of MSF

Originally based on best practices within Microsoft product development and IT organizations, Microsoft Solutions Framework was created in 1994 for Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) to promote success in solving business problems with technological solutions. Developing and expanding on this original mission, Microsoft now collects best practices from its product developers, IT groups, consultants, customers, and partners worldwide, analyzes them for repeatable success factors, and integrates these success factors into Microsoft Solutions Framework concepts, models, principles, and practices for use by MCS, partners, and customers.

MSF recognizes that technology is not the only piece of a successful solution. People, process, and managing risk play key roles in a successful IT project. Getting to a point where a team can proactively and continuously manage risk, work and communicate effectively, and align technology solutions with business requirements is critical for IT success and often the most difficult aspect to achieve. These very areas, however, are often the root causes of IT project failure. MSF has developed risk management, team, and process models to provide guidance in these crucial areas.

By using MSF models, concepts, principles, and practices, organizations can:

 Create solutions that better match the business and user requirements.

 Speed up development and deployment cycles.

 Lower the cost of owning technology.

 Improve success on planned events.

 Improve resilience to unplanned events.

 Create scalable and reliable technology solutions.

 Improve core IT competencies.

 Achieve short-term results while maintaining a long-term planning strategy.

 Manage project risks.

MSF was created as a framework instead of a methodology to offer guidance, rigor, and measurability in the constantly changing world of IT while still remaining flexible. MSF models, concepts, principles, and practices have been established through training programs in specific areas such as enterprise architecture, application development, component design, and infrastructure deployment. While continuing to offer this flexible guidance, MSF is expanding to provide prescriptive guidance as well.

MSF Today

Microsoft offers courses on MSF in enterprise architecture, infrastructure deployment, application development, and component design projects. In addition, to increase the success of IT projects for MCS, partners, and customers, MSF is creating prescriptive guidance to illustrate how to extend the key principles of the framework to specific business solutions. Please note that there is a meaningful distinction between the framework (guiding principles, models, and practices) and prescriptive guidance (detailed, technology specific, real world, and solution-based).

Framework Instruction

Microsoft offers four courses that teach how MSF models and concepts can be applied to specific types of projects and an MSF overview course:

Principles of Enterprise Architecture, Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) course 1515

Principles of Application Development, MOC course 1516

Principles of Infrastructure Deployment, MOC course 1517

Principles of Component Design, MOC course 1518

Overview of Microsoft Solutions

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