Note to Myself: Study the questions and formulate my experiences as answers to the question.

Good preparation for training myself.

What kind of products does your company offer? Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree.

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dont know

My company mainly produces tangible products or software. My company mainly provides services directly to customers.

disagree disagree

agree agree

5. Please tell us if the revenues from your company come mainly from the IT industry or if the revenue comes from other products or services.

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dont know

The revenue of my company comes from products / services of computer hardware. disagree The revenue of my company comes from products / services of computer software. The revenue of my company comes fromother products / services. disagree disagree

agree agree agree

Next

6. Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree.
strongly disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree strongly dont agree know

The most important goal for my company is to be the cheapest supplieron the market. My company mainly produces products for special niche customers.

7. Please estimate the maturity of the IT processes for improving software and hardware in your business. (Initial) Processes are unpredictable, poorly controlled and reactive. (Managed) Processes are adapted projects and depend on hardware or software needs.

(Defined) Processes are aligned to the organizations needs and are proactively changing. Processes are shaped according to organizations standards. (Quantitatively Managed) Processes are especially created for the organization. They are measured and controlled. (Optimizing) Processes are especially created for the organization. They are measured and controlled with focus on continuous process improvement.

11. What is your main architecture focus? Technical architecture Solution architecture Infrastructure architecture Software architecture Information architecture Business architecture Enterprise architecture

The following questions will be about architecture strategies. In this survey architecture strategies stands for every kind of architecture work you do in your company. This question is related to your personal experiences as an architect. 14. In general, what is the main focus of your architecture strategies? Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree.
strongly disagree strongly agree
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dont know

The main focus of my architecture strategies is to save costs.

The main focus of my architecture strategies is to diversify my company from their competitors.

The main focus of my architecture strategies is to deliver technology innovations.

These questions are related to your personal experiences as an architect. 16. Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree. My architecture strategies reduce costs...
strongly disagree strongly agree dont know

... because they help to reuse products / services (support of economies of scale).

... because they improve the knowledge management within company.

... by optimizing the utilization of resources within company.

... by improving the information flow between different business units.

... by improving the sharing of resources (such as central databases) between the different business units. ... because they have a critical influence on make or buy decisions for new technology in my business. ... by enabling exactly the right moment of an action plan (eg. the use of a specific technology or resource). ... by enabling to plan carefully the correct location of action (eg. the introduction of new software).

17. Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree. My architecture strategies are used to optimize...
strongly disagree strongly agree dont know

... the purchase of products / services and therefore reduce the cost of procurement.

... the preparation of the product / service, with an important influence on the building process.

... the costs of project and process management and therefore reduce administrative costs.

... the sales of products / services, and therefore reduce the cost of distribution.

These questions are related to your personal experiences as an architect. 18. Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree. My architecture strategies...
strongly disagree strongly agree dont know

... make my company stand out from competitors. This difference will be perceived by our customers. ... connect our departments and/or sites more closely to each other than those of our competitors.

... integrate our suppliers in a more efficient way than our competitors.

... enable a specially adapted distribution to our customers, which distinguishes us from our competitors.

... create synergies between different products that provide a competitive advantage.

... allow to respond to customer needs more quickly than our competitors.

... allow to integrate new knowledge and innovations into our products in a faster way and more efficiently than our competitors. ...ensure that my company can offer a customized range of products, which sets us apart from the competition.

... allow to handle a wider range of products than our competitors. 19. Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree.

The application of my architectural strategies ensures the competitive advantage because of...
strongly disagree strongly agree dont know

...a unique purchase of resources (eg. special supplier integration). ...our unique products creation (eg. unique manufacturing) . ...efficient internal technology management. ... the implementation of unique forms of distribution.

These questions are related to your personal experiences as an architect. 20. Read each statement carefully and decide to what extent you agree or disagree. My architecture strategies...
strongly disagree strongly agree dont know

... are used to set goals and strategies for innovation. ... support the planning, management and control of innovation processes. ... are used to analyze our capability of innovation. ... promote an environment of innovation in my company.