Do you like your Enterprise Architecture?

Have you ever considered the possibility that you might like your Enterprise Architecture. Do you go to work with a smile on your face every day? Could it be that it means that your happy with the way things are going. Or are you dissatisfied with the current situation? Maybe it’s just an itch that you can’t really scratch. Then what is the problem, what is it that stands in your way?

Have you asked your self the right questions?

• Do we really want the EA we’ve got?
• What illustrious vision is it that could change our EA from where it is to be the key differentiator?
• How can we move our EA vision from idea to reality?

Make a list of all the positive things

Have you ever made a list of all the positive things that the EA work and the architecture has brought with it? Try to be realistic and at the same time dare to care for the results implied.

• What is good with our EA today?
• What is positively bad with our EA today? (you know it’s bad but it’s good, like principles and the way people react to them).
• Make your selves and others see the value in our EA by asking people to express the value they perceive.
• Make a top ten list of all the things people disliked before we had our EA.

Change happens, dare to evolve

Every day change happens, the scope changes, the environment changes and time races on. You have to become part of the flow so set your goals high, but not higher than could be realistically reached.

• Make your selves and others see the value in our EA by asking people to express the value they would like to see.
• Re-prioritize your efforts to match those strengths and capabilities your really possess.
• Move out of your own box and spend some time working with the non-EA folks on non-EA issues in the enterprise.

Enough is when your proud of your results

You have to know what you know and you have to know what you don’t know and you have to know what you cannot possibly know. If you know all that, then its possible to be proud in success as well as in the face of apparent failure.

• Consider the pieces that you are really pleased with and communicate those to other people.
• Don’t try to do more than can be done.
• Remember that if the stakeholders are happy with the outcome then you have done a great job no matter what.

The Great Master Lea had a great day on his mountain top. His offspring had taken up stick fighting with small hollow spheres and the master liked it. Like the deaf old goat he is he did not hear when a senior consultant manager approached him from below. Trembling with anxiety the manager had come before him to ask a question. This is what he asked: “Oh great master Lea, How do I sell Enterprise Architecture?” The great master Lea looked at the manager then turned his head towards the sky and said: “Don’t focus on selling the method, framework, process or tool of EA, focus on selling a solution to the customers problem with the help of EA.”

The Great Master Lea was standing on his mountain top pondering the early years of Enterprise Architecture.  Then a CEO parachuted in and asked a question. This is what he asked: “Oh great master Lea, the COO, CIO, CTO and CEA all have been at this Enterprise Architecture for at least five years now and all I can see that we get out of it is better IT. What about all the rest of the enterprise?” The great master Lea gazed at the CEO then turned his head towards the sky and said: “Enterprise Architecture in its essence is a holistic approach to understand and configure systems dynamics. You must make sure they understand that strategic, structural, cultural, and operational changes are typically made together, and they influence one another“

Less is more

Sometimes less can actually be more, it’s not that you simply get away with not doing the important things, rather it’s doing the important stuff, the stuff that really makes a difference and letting the other stuff be the fluff it was supposed to be. Is it so then that you can take something like TOGAF or Modaf and configure it in a really lean and practical way and hope to succeed in all matters of Enterprise architecture? I don’t think so, and hopefully neither do you.

How much is enough?

Enough is when you have done as little as possible but satisfied all stakeholders and feel proud of what you have achieved.

Securing your enoughness

How then can we make sure that we hit the “enough” target? First, you have to realize that there is no single way to carry you forward to all possible goals. Second, you can base your effort in any single framework you like. Third, you are dealing in change and as such things will have to adopt to change. Simply said, every engagement needs to be tailored and it  is easier to tailor some generica(Togaf, Modaf, Dodaf) you have tailored many times before.

Simple rules to guide you

1. The bigger the effort, the greater extent of the generica needed
2. The faster from idea-to-solution, the more specific the extent of the generica need to be
3. The more regulated, the greater the extent of the generica needed

You have decided and have the determination to accept the challenge to pursue an Enterprise architecture either as a consultant or as an employee, it does not matter. What matters is what you and the target organisation stand to gain for doing it? I suggest you settle down for a moment and reflect on this, then write down some answers before you continue to read.

The benefits you can hope to achieve depends on who you are, the target organisation, the collective capabilities you posses, the time and resources you are all willing to spend. Except from that it is your will to never surrender that decides whether this Enterprise architecture will be brought to fruition or left to rot in the pit of good intentions.

Aim for success

The first five steps to success are:

1. Have a clear and concise goal
2. Know what knowledge and which skills are needed to reach the goal
3. Train hard individually and as a team
4. Make it a common effort
5. Deliver on promises made

Set your ambitions high

The ultimate ambition to strive for is the answer you wrote to the question above. “What is it you stand to gain from an Enterprise Architecture?”. A part from that you can set almost any goal as long as they are achievable within reasonable time. You may choose to divide your initial goals on other dimensions like time, costs, benefits and efforts. Anyway you choose to do it is a small step towards actually achieving the goal itself.

Make sure the goals are:

1. S.M.A.R.T.E.R
2. Documented and published
3. Understood and agreed upon

Perform an effective execution

There is always many obstacles to surmount on the way to a goal worth achieving. It is not without a doubt that an effort of such a grandeur as an Enterprise architecture requires one to focus dearly on the end goal.

Since time and resources most likely will be scarce you will have to be verry effective in your execution. Planning the execution is of utmost importance and focusing each single work item on an outcome that leads you to the target is essential. Some would say that you should go Lean and Agile. I say stay focused and persist whatever may come your way. If that spells out as Lean and Agile to you then so be it.

1. Plan to succeed, revisit the plan to respond to change (have a look at the OODA loop)
2. Consistently stay focused, do not deviate lightly from the plan, the goal or the task at hand
3. Make sure each work item takes you one step closer to the goal by focusing on creating excellent architecture artifacts

The Great Master Lea was walking on his mountain top basking in the sun. Early morning a group of people had come before him to ask a question. This is what they asked: “Oh great master Lea, What is Architecture?” The great master Lea looked at the group of people then turned his head towards the sky and said: “One of many”

The Great Master Lea was standing on his mountain top pondering the earlier years of his great grandfathers wanderings.  He remembered especially one story about three men and a task. As Master Lea focused all his brain power on this story a rather odd looking CEO led by a savvy CIO appeared from out of nowhere. The CIO with some kind of fire in his eyes asked a question. This is what he asked: “Oh great master Lea, we have been doing Enterprise Architecture for x years now and no good has come out of it. What should we do?” The great master Lea looked at the CIO and then at the CEO then turned his head towards the sky and said: “You should stop Enterprising your Architects and start Architecting your Enterprise”

I’ve come across four essential problems with architects in the enterprise field. These are not special to Enterprise Architects, I’ve seen them in all types of architects in the enterprise field as well as in the development field

1. It appears that in general architects and architect teams in the enterprise field go way beyond the scope of what would be considered the responsibility of architects and architecture in any other field of architecture.
2. It appears that architects use more of their time trying to define their own importance to the business and IT domains in various ways than actually producing architecture that could be used in the growth of business and IT.
3. It appears that architects don’t have the tools (e.g. languages, methods, experiences, networks) to actually do the work they are hired to do.
4. It appears that architects have a hard time appreciating the fact that there are many different types of architects and that these other architects are probably better in performing these specialisation architecture works than they themselves.

I view these as symptoms of a profession in birth. It was probably a lot like this in the early years (late 1800) of building architects. They however managed to get pass the issues separating them and build one of the strongest professions on earth.