Enterprise architecture is usually viewed as an arcane approach to strategy development. As posted in some of my previous articles, some of our technical discussions have often incited the response, “Oh…thats architecture… we’ll look into that later”. While my initial impressions have been that this due to lack of technical depth on part of business analysts or project management; I was surprised when it came from technical or solution architects. They should see the value of the questions we’re asking…shouldnt they?
The problem is twofold (for starters):
1. Prior experience with architecture
2. Lack of understanding on value delivered by architecture
Prior Experience:
You find the word ‘architect’ bandied about a lot. You have solution architects, security architects, technical architects, enterprise architects, business architect, etc… We also find that these architects are usually brought in when there are new technology initiatives or projects. This creates an impression that architecture is typically an IT skill and/or function. To make matters worse, there are just 1-2 architects assigned in aforementioned initiatives. These are usually solution engineers who have graduated from their former technical role to lead larger groups in a specialized solution rollout.
The challenge with the above scenarios are that; over time – the stakeholders are forced to make their own conclusions on architecture.
Lack of Understanding:
If you had any of your stakeholders (PM,s BA’s) ask you, “What’s TOGAF??”….. you know instantly what you’re in for. A close friend of mine who works in technology asked me once if it had anything to do with Tofu…Not to take anything away from his 2 decades in cranking out mind bending applications; but you clearly see where the gaps are.
You know it’s an uphill battle when you find yourselves explaining the concept of architecture in
1. The middle of an initiative that has deadlines
2. Is likely to derail and initiative that needs to deliver instant value
How can we fix this?
I have found that there is no magic bullet for this problem. The only working measure I’ve found thus far is to build strong relationships and to take the ‘Frasier approach’. If you’ve ever watched the famous sitcom, the catchprase most associated with the show was, “You’re with Dr. Frasier Crane….I’m listening”
Listening to a stakeholder’s concerns always provides nuggets of gold that can easily be missed despite weeks of discovery workshops and solution build exercises. Most participants just want to get along and refrain from expressing their concerns over and over again to avoid sounding like a nag. The fact however; is that their concerns could be their biggest productivity killer.
References:
Fenn, J., Harris, K. (2011). A Maturity Model for Innovation Management. Gartner. April.
Gliedman, C. (2012). Assess Your Innovation Capability Maturity. Forrester. November.
Finley, I., Mesaglio, M. (2011). Use Systems of Innovation to Respond Rapidly to Urgent Business Needs.
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