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Description

Application Architecture: Mapping Components, Reading Data Flows and Engaging with IT

Understand how enterprise applications fit together so you can contribute to IT decisions with confidence

  • 0.43 days — 3 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Conversations with the IT department often break down over vocabulary. People refer to packaged software, interfaces and integration layers without sharing the same understanding of those terms. A business project manager who cannot picture how applications connect to one another ends up accepting timelines they are unable to explain and discovers dependencies between systems far too late.

This short-format programme provides an overall view of an organisation's application architecture. It presents the main categories of applications, the ways they exchange data and the questions to ask before adding a new component to an existing landscape.

Learning objectives

  • Describe the main layers of an enterprise application architecture
  • Position the principal types of applications within an information systems landscape
  • Read an architecture diagram and identify the data flows between applications
  • Identify the dependencies created by adding a new application
  • Formulate a request to the IT department that specifies data exchange requirements

What makes this programme different

Everyday IT vocabulary is translated into terms the business can actually use
A real architecture diagram is read and discussed as a group
The questions to ask before purchasing an application are listed and prioritised

Programme

1The Application Landscape of an Organisation

Who does what within the information system

  • Distinguishing between application, data and infrastructure
  • Packaged management software versus custom development
  • Cross-functional applications and business applications
  • Principles of IT landscape planning and application mapping

2How Applications Communicate

Read the data flows before discussing the screens

  • Exchange methods between applications, from file transfers to programmatic interfaces
  • The role of integration layers and message buses
  • Synchronous and asynchronous exchanges and what they mean for the business
  • Data repositories and the notion of a single source of truth
  • The impact of a broken data flow on business processes

3Evolving the Landscape

Asking the right questions before adding a component

  • Selection criteria between packaged software and custom development
  • Questions to ask about data exchanges and migration of existing data
  • The impact of an isolated application on operational workload
  • Preparing a constructive discussion with the IT department

Who is it for

Business project managers and business owners as well as functional leads, analysts and newcomers to an information systems department.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.