Recently I have seen the discussion heating back up regarding the role of the Enterprise Architect. As most of us know at this point there is not right or wrong answer to the question. It is a matter of interpretation of the individual organization. There in itself is the challenge…
If you look at some of the fundamentals that started the EA focus such as the Zachman framework you will notice less of a technical focus in the beginning and more focus around the business aspects (processes, departmental interaction, financial forecasting and budgeting). As you know the ideals of the framework were to remove the unpredictability of IT systems and increase the integration at a business level so that organizations can derive the global impact of changes not only to the organization but to systems. It is this fundamental that allows IT to remain fluid and in alignment with the business.
Somewhere along the way it has evolved into using the title as a catch all to include systems architects, software architects, etc. From what I have experienced serving as an EA in the Federal and Commercial sectors it is still unclear for most what the position really does.
From my experiences I have had some degree of success with the following model:
The Enterprise Architect works with the CIO, CFO, and CEO to link the business strategy to the IT strategy and the current IT portfolio. From there he/she determines the roadmap to bridge the gaps and set the path for innovation if required. Typically this person will run a team of solution or application architects and business process architects (also referred to as analysts or engineers).
In this model the solution or application architects have the platform specific skills but the EA is versed well enough to make critical design decisions regarding the bigger picture to ensure technical integration as well as integration with the business.
Most people perceive Enterprise Architecture and the role of Enterprise Architects as a financially driven one rather than productivity based one. For this to truly be resolved in my mind it will take people like us to drive a consistent standard for the industry to adopt and follow. My two cents…
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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