In the ”Stable area” we aim for: (”future proofing the situation”)

1. Stable architecture building blocks so we ease change management by the use of target architectures that span years and multiple initiatives. This enables us to be in control of an agile future.
2. Stable solutions building blocks so we can assure that the solutions build upon the SBB we have decided. This enables us to run many solution projects concurrently and still be able to have complete control over the outcome.

In the ”Dynamic area” we aim for: (”adaptability to any situation”)

1. Dynamic behaviour in our architecture buildingblocks so that we easily can reconcider the use and re-use of our ABBs to match the needs of the business.
2. Dynamic behaviour in our solution buildningblocks so that we easily can bundle SBBs in innovative ways that maximize the potentials within our Enterprise architecture and Business situation

In the ”Agile area” we aim for: (”simple to work with”)

1. Agility in the selection, configuration and lifecycle of ABBs such that the design of composite ABBs can be done as fast as possible
2. Agility in the SBBs such that the design of SBBs from the specification of ABBs can be done as fast as possible

No one could blame The Great Master Lea for his use of the fat fingers technique, nor could any one consider his art to be of the most delicate sort. However his work still instilled some kind of peace in the mind of many. Earlier today his was a splendid morning at the foot of his mountain top. Much to his surprise more than one person attended the lecture on the whole of everything and nothing where one of the students in a moment of terror forgotten found the courage to address the Great Master with a question. This is what he had asked: “Oh great master Lea, How do we know when the architecture building blocks are of the right size?” The great master Lea looked at the student then turned his head towards the sky and said: “When each part in itself provide no value”

Ever wondered what it takes to be an enterprise architect? I’ve been working in the field for some time now. I don’t just do enterprise architectures, I train and mentor other people who are or aspire to be enterprise architects. From time to time I see this question arise on blogs, social networks and among peers and customers, it’s always the same – What is an Enterprise Architect, what skills do they need, what’s the field of expertise and so on… To get past this confusion and not to try to define it by myself I thought I’d use the market forces to define it for us all. I copied the job descriptions of 87 of the enterprise architecture jobs available at monster.com and pasted it into the fantastic tool  http://www.wordle.net/. The result you see below could perhaps be the mother of all enterprise architect job descriptions.

The Mother of all EA job descriptions - Display 3

There is three different images although they all contain the same text, they are just variations on the presentation formats available.

Sometimes great thinking in one field is easily translated into another field as an illustration of what is or could be. In this post I’ve transferred Paul’s [1] original text into the context of Enterprise Architecture and positioned it in a historical setting where Paul’s reference to war becomes a reference to the current economic crisis (2007-2009).

Enterprise architecture, on the other hand, is not at all as difficult and as perfect as propaganda wants us to believe. A subject such as business architecture, information systems architecture, technology architecture appears difficult only because it is taught badly, because the standard instructions are full of redundant material and because they put to little effort into it.

During the economic crisis, when the businesses of the world needed architects within a very short time, it was suddenly possible to reduce enterprise architecture instruction to half a year (the corresponding instruction manuals have disappeared long ago, however. Best practice may be simplified during the crisis. In good times the prestige of business and science demands greater complication.) And how often does it not happen that the proud and conceited judgement of an expert is put in its proper place by a layman!

Numerous innovators build “impossible” frameworks and methods. Laymen in discussion groups and other social media show again and again that so called “experts” does not know what he is talking about. Business people, especially architects, frequently come to different results so that it is up to the managers of the organization (or the users of a certain domain) to decide by vote or gut feeling about the design to be adopted.

How often is so called standard methods and frameworks improved, and turned into new directions by practitioners influences! it is up to us, it is up to the citizens of an open practitioners society to either accept the chauvinism of the current frameworks, methods and practitioners without contradiction or to overcome it by the counterforce of public action.

Let us free the practice of enterprise architecture from the strangling hold of an ideologically petrified past!

[1]: Paul Feyerabend (1975), Against Method, Outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge @ http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/feyerabe.htm

The part I’ve used as inspiration and pattern is the part that starts with “Modern science, on the other hand, is not at all as difficult and as perfect as scientific propaganda wants us to believe.” and ends with “just as our ancestors freed us from the strangling hold of the One True Religion!”

Thanks to http://twitter.com/tetradian for pointing out Paul’s original text.

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 managers view without Enterprise Architecture

The managers view with a little Enterprise Architecture

The managers view with a little more Enterprise Architecture

The managers view with even more Enterprise Architecture

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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“