EA is not only about the future of architecture, but also about the future of business.
The enterprise
architecture is used to make strategic decisions to drive the future of the
company. The data provided in the architecture provides guidance/direction
on what steps need to be taken by the board and senior executives to reach
their strategic goals for the company.
The architecture also
helps to communicate what needs to be done down the line to the various
functional domain managers responsible for implementing those steps coming from
the board. While the 'C' level may act on recommendations coming from an
architecture initiative, they don't really use the architecture itself. The
recommendations could just have easily come from some other process.
EA is a just in time
business. It is incremental such that each step delivers value without
having to wait until the whole enterprise is covered before any value can be
derived. Were it otherwise, then reticence to invest by CXO would be very
understandable.
Maybe one of the
underlying values of architecture is just having the holistic view available...
and then be able to shape any options. Identifying options for possible
future state architectures is actually an important use for the architecture
... especially when it’s more than just the business changing. (or when not to
change something).
Be clear about the
CXO decisions that EAs are seeking to inform - if pricing and billing
rely on particular capabilities, and the manager wants to know which
capabilities need strengthening, and are there any capabilities she/he is
missing, then EA can help. If the decisions are about changing the currently
set prices, this is not something EA is seeking to inform. .CXOs are not the primary
actor in creating/maintaining EA assets, but definitely as a secondary actor to
use EA asset. An EA could not produce EA assets without interaction with executives
who provide input.
Make it easy to use.
Bottom line is if you create an artifact that enables CXOs to make a more an informed decision, they will probably use it - as long as they understand how
to use it and there isn't a simpler tool (actionable artifact) that could be
used. There are similarities between spreadsheets and EA.
* both are flexible tools
* both deliver nothing without an intelligent driver
* both can produce garbage and waste time
* both are flexible tools
* both deliver nothing without an intelligent driver
* both can produce garbage and waste time
Include an executive
summary going over the major points and findings. This will allow C-Level
execs to overview it and capture the insight. For example, summarize the
business plan for the expansion into the new geography: ‘we will increase
revenue by xxx six months following the launch of the new services... Our capability
map on page 3 has been updated to show 2 additional capabilities located
remotely and an increased capacity of 3 of our current capabilities. No changes to
our process model. The cost of implementing these new and updated capabilities
is yyy.yy.’., etc.
Where are the gaps that EA is filling? People do activities to create these assets/artifacts / work products. People do activities to create strategies ... or activities to make changes (transformation), or activities to deliver products and services. How should EA fill the gaps in a number of levels
1) Revenue target, the investment required
2) Org chart change
3) Process change
4) Capability change
The EA Assets should
engage the rest of the organization to get involved to help with the
implementation of the architecture. So, when does a process owner take the
EA Assets and start managing a process and associated tools. This extended involvement
needs CXO support such as appoint a process owner, fund the process work and
associated tools, etc. So there is a lot of USE as the EA Assets are
implemented and brought to life in the organization.
EA is not only about the future of architecture, but also
about the future of business. As every business leader needs to care about the future state of business, and how to
get there, can EA really play such a crucial role as management compass, to
navigate the business journey through the rocky road ahead?
Read More about EA Role:
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