The Art of Enterprise Architecture – Section Nine – On the march

We come now to the question of establishing the architecture function within the organization as a whole, and observing signs of change to the architecture from the incoming demands. For this I have 28 insights to share among the five thousand insights you posses.

1. Seek sponsorship from high places, facing the customers. Do not try to convince the CEO what architecture is, the CEO knows already.
2. After completing a project, you should stay far away from it.
3. When a project violates a principle in its realization, do not rush to decision in haste. It will be best to first assess the project, and then deliver your advice.
4. If you are anxious to engage, you should not go to meet the projects near a sprint which they have to complete.
5. Stay closer to the promise than the projects, and face the stakeholders. Do not move past stakeholder to meet the projects.
6. In adapting a framework, your sole concern should be to get the work done quickly, without any delay.
7. If forced to defend a framework, you should have standards and principles ready to defend your cause, and secure your back to a strong stakeholder.
8. In dry, level companies, take up an easily accessible position with supportive stakeholder to your sides and on your rear, so that the danger may be in front, and safety lie behind.
9. These are the four useful branches of team knowledge which enabled the Master Architect to save four troubled organizations.
10. All architects prefer CEO support to CIO/CTO.
11. If you are careful of your team, and build on solid knowledge, the team will be free from questioning of every kind, and this will spell victory.
12. When you come to a sponsor or a CxO, utilize the business speak, with the architecture lingo left on your rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit of your team and utilize the natural advantages of the environment.
13. When, in consequence of heavy influences from the environment, an architecture which you wish to change is violated and flecked with bad solutions, you must wait until the power of the stakeholder subsides.
14. Business units in which there are precipitous strategic cliffs with ingrained cultures running between, deep rooted ownerships, confined areas, tangled policies, should be left with all possible speed or approached most carefully.
15. While we keep away from such places, we should get the competition to approach them; while we face them, we should let the competition have them on his rear.
16. If in the environment of your architecture there should be any clouds, sourcing contracts surrounded by myths, business units filled with bad culture, or teams with low performers, they must be carefully routed out and searched; for these are places where trouble grows and the details you need to know are likely to be lurking.
17. When the stakeholder is close at hand and remains quiet, he is relying on the natural strength of his position.
18. When the stakeholder keeps aloof and tries to provoke, he is anxious for the other side to advance their positions over his own.
19. When the team lie leaning on their laptops, they are faint from want of intellectual beverage.
20. If those who are sent to consult begin to join the client, the leader is suffering from lack of insight.
21. If the architects sees an advantage to be gained and makes no effort to secure it, the team is exhausted.
22. The sight of men whispering together in small knots or speaking in subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the team and stakeholders.
23. To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the problems complexity, shows a supreme lack of insight.
24. If the stakeholders march up angrily and remain facing us for a long time without either directly engaging us or taking themselves off again, the situation is one that demands great vigilance and circumspection.
25. If our team are no more in number than the mission require, that is amply sufficient.
26. He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his mission is sure to be overwhelmed by it.
27. If in training architects procedures are habitually enforced, the team will be well-disciplined; if not, its discipline will be bad.
28. If an architect shows confidence in his team but always insists on his missions being fulfilled, the gain will be mutual.

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You can read Section One here: section-one-strategy

You can read Section Two here: section-two-doing-architecture

You can read Section Three here: section-three-planning-the-architecture

You can read Section Four here: section-four-tactical-dispositions

You can read Section Five here: section-five-directing-energy

You can read Section Six here: section-six-strengths-and-weaknesses

You can read Section Seven here: section-seven-maneuvering

You can read Section Eight here: section-eight-variations-in-tactics

The text above is based upon the writings of Sun Tzu in the Art of War. Several translations has been read prior to writing the text above, but the most prominently used translation is the one retrieved from “http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War_(Sun)”. I consider the text above a work in progress…