Today, a couple walked into a restaurant (SERVICE
PROVIDER) for
dinner,
the
door greeter (BUSINESS DEVELOPER) was
kind and polite as he walked them to their table (FACILITY). The waiter then presented the couple with
menus (SERVICE
CATALOG) so
they can buy what they want (CONSUMER). Each member of the party ordered from the
menus with an expectation that the food (PRODUCT/SERVICE)
will be on-time and delicious (SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS) and
because of the restaurants (BROKER)
reputation – the food must be great (PAST PERFORMANCE). The Agency Director ordered chicken and the
CIO said “I’ll have chicken also” to the waiter (BROKER’S REPRESENTATIVE). They both engaged in a conversation about
cloud computing and supply chain logistics.
Ten minutes later, the waiter brought out chicken for the CIO and the
Director. As they began to eat (CONSUME
THE PRODUCT/SERVICE),
the CIO said “my chicken is outstanding” and the Agency Director replied, “My
chicken taste different from what I was expecting (REQUIREMENTS) and
I’m starting to feel sick.” The waiter
commented that “he did not know why there was an issue with the way the meat
tasted” because you got exactly what you ordered (STATEMENT
OF OBJECTIVE). I can deduct the price of the meal (SERVICE
MANAGEMENT) or
I can call the poison control (INDEPENDENT AUDITOR) if
you believe you have food poising. While
they were waiting, the waiter asks if they were paying by cash or check (CONTRACT
VEHICLE) and
for them to ensure payment is made to the restaurant via the cashier (CONTRACTING
OFFICER) for
the service provided.
The fact is that the chicken came from
farms, both were cooked in the same kitchen, and both served by the same
waiter. So, how could there be such a
drastic difference in taste?
Some Possible answers:
- A problem with the ingredients (CARRIER,
FACILITY, INFRASTRUCTURE, PLATFORM, OR SOFTWARE)
- The chickens came from different farms (PROVIDERS) -
one inspected recently by the FDA and the other was not (STANDARDS)
- One was fed hormones - the other was not
(SERVICE
INTERMEDIATION)
- One had freezer burn - the other was
fresh (AUDITS)
- One was cooked by the chef (PRIME
CONTRACTOR) and
the other by the apprentice (SUB-CONTRACTOR) but
who cooked what!
Comment: For
any number of reasons, buying products or services without an Enterprise
Architecture and some level of understanding of the supply chain logistics can
be risky
