TiAC Charter
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The Information Architect's Cooperative

TiAC Charter

Why TiAC?

In 1993 the first version of this charter started:

IT Management is facing a rapid change in technology that is redefining the acceptable level of performance for I/S and corporations. The promise of the technology is to deliver a cornucopia of services, through an environment that is simpler to manage, control, and change. Much of the technology of the seventies and eighties will be swept away, together with the orthodoxy about how to organize, build, and maintain systems. Some even hope that costs will fall or be contained.

Yet, unless management develops a strategy and is willing to undertake far reaching changes, a more likely scenario is rising costs, failed hopes, and bitter recriminations. Indeed, the traditional I/S organization is poorly positioned to deliver on the vision; it is master of the wrong tools and the wrong skills. Most businesses units are no better positioned, as the new technologies promise to reshape work and organizations in a far more radical sense than repeated rounds of downsizing have done so far.

Information Architecture attempts to capture the interactions between these changes, to create a series of target `architectures' that build on each other to create a path forward, preserving as much of the enterprise's investment in information as possible while migrating to a more viable and cost effective technology portfolio. Information Architects are individuals who are charged with identifying and describing these steps. TiAC is an organization for information architects to meet, share experiences, and learn.

Much of that vision proved true and IT organizations have changed dramatically. One change is that the recognised name for Information Architecture became Enterprise Architecture but we never changed the name of TiAC. Our mission remains to help Enterprise Architects be effective in supporting their organization by sharing knowledge and increasing professionalism within the discipline.

Focus and Concerns

TiAC is interested in all issues related to the introduction of new business processes and technologies within a framework that promotes integration and evolution and maximizes the overall benefit to the organization.

These interests include:

	Identification of the framework—the architecture
	Understanding critical technologies and standards needed to implement the architecture
	Transitioning I/S to support delivery of the architecture
	Identifying technical and organizational barriers to implementation and techniques to overcome them
	Communication of the architecture, its concepts, designs, and implications to critical audiences within the enterprise and its business partners
	Measurement systems to identify the costs and benefits of architecture to the enterprise and to measure progress in achieving organizational goals

The Deliverables

TiAC identifies programs and activities to improve members' understanding of these issues and to enable them to better serve their organizations. Specific identified deliverables are:

	Examples of a process and a set of deliverables for Enterprise Architecture that can be used in a wide range of organizations to organize EA work
	Approaches to communicating the purpose and content of architecture to get effective buy-in from I/S management, I/S staff, executive management, and business partners
	Education of vendors and standards organizations on the needs of organizations seeking to create effective enterprise infrastructures
	Techniques for integrating Enterprise Architecture with the retooling of IT
	Approaches to planning and managing the migration from the existing technology and organization to the new infrastructure Priorities of items in this list and amendments to it will be decided by TiAC members.

TiAC Structure

Membership of TiAC is open to major companies from the United States and Canada. Companies outside this region may join, but the meeting program is focused on North American companies. Companies in the computer industry may be members, but must be represented by their internal I/S groups. No marketing or solicitation is allowed.

TiAC meetings are held twice a year, in the spring and fall. The members define the annual program and research priorities. Info|Ed provides administrative support for the group and manages the research programs.

Meetings are organized to promote exchange and sharing within the group. Two conditions for this are continuity and relevancy. Members should be the information architect or have direct responsibility for a major component of the architecture. Members, not substitutes, are expected to attend meetings when possible.

TiAC is funded by an annual membership fee which covers the cost of meetings and continuing activity between them. The fee is set yearly to reflect the level of activity desired by the members. Members are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses.

Up to three individuals from each company may attend meetings. To ensure continuity, one person is designated as the company representative and is asked to attend whenever possible. Other attendees may vary, according to the needs and interests of the company.

Confidentiality

Membership allows the free copying and distributing of all TiAC reports and working papers for internal use in the sponsoring organization, so long as acknowledgment of copyright and source is included in any derivative document.

Information presented by companies is confidential to the group. Permission has to be obtained from the individual providing the material before sharing it with peers