Topic 4

Impact of Enterprise Architects and knowledge of ETA

As I listened to the recent recording from our professor, one of the comments that has resonated with me is his identification as ETA is one of the weakest areas for Enterprise Architects.  I will begin with stating that this area is unequivocally my weakest area regarding EA!  That being said, I don’t have the experience or knowledge to know how impactful this is to an overall Enterprise Architecture organization.

I can also advise that I see an all too common theme in the nearly hundred Gartner articles I have read in the past 18 months on the overall weakness of EA teams and programs in general.  I can’t begin to identify how many times we have heard about the disconnect or “risk of disconnect” between the business and enterprise architecture.  Coming from a business background, I can clearly see where there is a disconnect, but is this weakness with ETA more substantial than other areas?

I challenge anyone to help me understand where this weakness is quantifiable.  Please reply and let me know if this is an area of concern or interest to anyone else in this class.  Looking forward to any responses.

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Stop Concentrating on ETA

The concept of when and how organizations approach Enterprise Technical Architecture is important when not conducted logically within EA initiatives and programs.  The methodology used to approach ETA may not always occur in a logical manner.  More specifically, the article by Gartner identifies a very important statement:

If your only doing ETA, just STOP!  Instead, work on the rest of your EA.

Gartner identifies a few key areas in their analysis that I have outlined below to ensure success.

ETA-Centric team leadership and membership – This first key point is on target with 75% of the articles published by Gartner…. EA is often led by individuals with primary technical backgrounds…. Identifying and bringing resources with a broader set of experiences can address this topic.

Stakeholder concerns not defined – The concept of a stakeholder analysis is not to be underestimated and I personally believe is not understood or employed properly by IT or business resources across many organizations.  Most recently, I finally have a proper understanding of understanding stakeholders and managing them appropriately through taking the MANGT 540 class of project strategy.  If you don’t know what stakeholders truly want and are not prepared to deal with the complexities of how to deliver it, you will fail.

Lack of business buy-in – This final area of focus goes right along with the previous (stakeholder management).  Business buy-in is only optional if you want moderate success and it will prevent EA efforts from ever recognizing any EA function, so much one as technical as ETA as valuable.

These areas of focus are important and should not be discounted when taking on ETA initiatives!

References

Robertson, B. (2008). Findings: Stop Concentrating on ETA! Gartner, 3..

 

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Best Practices for Enterprise Technology Architecture

 

The article by Gartner provides a valuable perspective of looking beyond standards and seeking solutions that ensure a defined linkage to business process vision.  As I have found in many other areas within IT, there is often a tendency to work within a resource’s “comfort zone” and not always see the bigger picture of an organization’s goals and objectives.

Gartner states that “An ETA provides many clear benefits to an enterprise, but often this value is not recognized because EA teams have focused soley on technical issues and standards, and not enough on process- and people-related factors”.  Best practices should have resources within these initiatives at least ensure that prioritization of communication that deliver the message of ETA value would be a valuable exercise and limit the perception (or reality) that this key activity is occurring and is actually delivering value.

References

Robertson, B. (2009). Five Best Practices for Enterprise Technology Architecture. Gartner, 6.