Discussing a Technology Lifecycle Taxonomy
Tomorrow, I will be asking my peers in the Internet2 ITANA – IT Architects in Academia to do a peer review of a Technology Lifecycle taxonomy that we use at BCIT. As we developed our Enterprise Architecture, we needed a way to communicate not only the lifecycle of initiatives and technology but also their viability.
Here is what we use:
Here are the definitions that we use:
Watching:
- includes initiatives and technologies that are being watched for maturity in industry
Researching:
- includes initiatives and technologies that are currently under consideration, investigation or evaluation for future implementation
Investing:
- includes initiatives and technologies that are the target of resources including financial investments and/or investments in human resources
Sustaining:
- includes initiatives and technologies that deliver services identified in the Core Services Catalogue or in Service Level Agreements
Containing:
- includes initiatives that have been completed and technologies that are in the process of being phased out
End of Life:
- includes initiatives and technologies that are being retired from service
While this is a life cycle, it is not mandatory that an initiative of technology follows through every step.
Comments?
Related posts:
We use the word “Leverage” rather than Sustain. We like the implication that this is technology that we want to take advantage of and use to its fullest value. It is a semantic subtlety that seems to work with our leadership.