Every discussion group focused on Enterprise Architecture has a discussion about the length of time it takes to implement an EA program.  It is the extended period of time between initiation and the first tangible benefit that turns many Business Leaders off.  Successful EA programs demand participation from these Business Leaders.  They on the other hand only dedicate time and resources to initiatives that meet their goals which are often short-term in nature.

Why do EA programs take so long to bear fruit?  I think the major reason is because most EA programs focus on the future rather than the present.  It is much more interesting to chart the course for a glorious new future operation than it is to fix the problems with the current.  A great future state is often thought to be the panacea for the enterprise allowing it to abandon all of its current problems.  It takes time to figure out what this future nirvana looks like and the process steals resources, often the smartest ones, needed to run the business now.  Meanwhile nothing meaningful happens to the current or the future state until the analysis, design, implementation, and conversion work for the future state is completed.  These are very high risk programs because the long timeframe makes the final state a moving target.

Business Leaders are risk managers first and foremost.  High risk projects do not capture and hold their interest.  The strategy for any EA implementation should be to provide immediate value through incremental verses wholesale change.  Incremental change suggests that EA implementation ought to be a process rather than an event. The process however, must produce real, attainable benefits along the way.  This begs the question: What is the process for implementing an EA program?

We’ll discuss that as we go along.

Enterprise Architects are management consultants.  They must be able to work with senior-level Business Leaders and focus on business issues.

All business problems originate from a lack of focus or attention to detail.  As businesses mature and expand, the amount of information bombarding Leaders increases to the point of overload.  Leaders cope by moving from details to summaries as input to their decision-making processes.  Much valuable information becomes lost in the abstraction.

The Enterprise Architect must help these Leaders manage their access to the data that really matters.  They must also maintain a model of the current state of the enterprise and a view to where the enterprise wants to go.

Business-driven Enterprise Architecture = Requirements Satisfaction + (Risk Management + Transition Management)

Business Leaders care about making sure their businesses operate successfully and profitably.  That means they care about making sure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, that they manage the risk when they are not quite on target, and that they can easily transition from event to event through their business’ life cycle.

Business-driven Enterprise Architecture focuses on producing information that helps Business Leadership to do the things they’re supposed to do: run the business, manage risk, and manage transition, by determining all of the requirements and understanding all of the business’ assets.

This is a strategic business planning and oversight function.