We speak to literally hundreds of enterprise architects every year, as well as many CIOs, so we hear lots of different perspectives, from architects who are successfully driving strategic value to those who are struggling to get any traction. Enterprise Architecture seems to go through cycles of disillusionment, and we seem to be in (or close to) another trough at the moment. Previously, you would hear complaints about EA being an ivory tower, being too far removed from the reality of what was really going on. Nowadays, we seem to be hearing that it’s overly IT-centric, the architects are not delivering any strategic value, etc.
From the Enterprise Architects we hear:
- ‘We’re too busy to do the strategic work’
- ‘We have to focus on supporting the projects’
- ‘My boss doesn’t get EA’, etc.
From the CXOs we are hearing:
- ‘They are not telling me how enterprise architecture can support the business better’,
- ‘They are telling me what I already know’,
- ‘They are down in the weeds’, and so on.
We saw a post recently where one CXO described their EA function as ‘traditional approach, little speed to value’.
So, what is the problem?
There are many different perspectives here, and there’s probably some blame for the disillusionment in every corner. In a lot of the cases, you can probably ask the question, ‘Have you ever thought the problem is you?’.
There are several reasons why the EAs are receiving a negative response. Some of the reasons we’re seeing are:
EAs as Project Resource
The enterprise architects are acting as project resource not advisors – if you are an enterprise architect continually doing detailed project work, and too busy to look at the strategic requirements, then you are not performing a true EA role. Your role should be about:
- Helping the projects understand the business needs
- Defining the guidelines the projects should work within
- Helping the projects achieve their end state, which may include working with them on acceptable deviations from standards
The problem here is that strategic thinking is neglected. This results in no-one knowing what the strategic objectives are, and IT becomes a series of unrelated projects with little overall direction to guide it. The strategy is just a vague concept in someone’s mind.
Lack of value focus
The EAs are not business value focused, they are drifting along, doing ‘stuff’ but can’t really explain why. We’ve seen cases where the EAs spent, in one case, 3 years creating a model of the business that was out of date by the time they presented it back, and another where two architects spent 10 years creating diagrams that no-one used!
We hear complaints such as:
- ‘It’s hard to engage the change teams’
- ‘The CIO never explains what they want’.
If you ask ‘What does good look like’, the enterprise architects either can’t really say or they paint a picture that is ‘moon on a stick’ level Enterprise Architecture, i.e. a perfect EA. The architects need to break the EA down into achievable ‘points of value’, a topic we’ve previously discussed along with storytelling to communicate it. Basically, they need to be able to say we will deliver A, which will benefit B because of C and will mean D (e.g. we can reduce cost, do things quicker, etc) and do it in X weeks (where X < 12), for example:
Good: We will, in the next 4 -6 weeks, establish a clear and structured view of the strategic finance business capabilities, aligning them with current application usage and associated costs. This will provide a solid foundation for informed decision-making as part of the planned finance rationalisation initiative
Vs
Bad: We will establish a clear and structured view of the organisation’s business capabilities
If a CXO can’t explain what they want for Enterprise Architecture, then the architects need to pick something that delivers business value, explain it, and actually do it: ‘We will…’. The CXO may be looking for other teams to tell them what value the EA team are bringing, so in such cases the architects should work with advocates to determine what value can be delivered in, say, 4-8 weeks. Delivery will reinforce credibility.
There is one important thing to remember: if the CXO can’t say what they want and the enterprise architects are doing ‘stuff’ with no perceived value, then the EA function is likely at risk.
Dilution of the Enterprise Architect role
The role of the enterprise architect has become confused in some organisations. We see people who are technical architects or solution architects who now have the Enterprise Architect title but are still performing their old roles. Here rhere seems to have been a push to just call everyone an enterprise architect. This ambiguity of the job roles has meant that the EA output has become less business aligned and strategic, and much more IT and implementation focused. This leaves a void where business strategy alignment is not really considered, and these organisations are back in the old-style IT focused Enterprise Architecture.
We suggest you keep your roles very clear, with the EA role defined as crossing the business and IT to understand strategic needs. Project implementation support should be more advisory than doing: the enterprise architect should be the Change/Project Managers’ trusted advisor and a mentor to the project team members
CXO Needs
The CXO has a responsibility to explain what they want from the architecture team, they may complain about EA not delivering value, but we’ve seen cases where the CXO wasn’t sure when quizzed as to what they wanted or they hadn’t communicated it clearly. The CXO should be pressed to define what good would look like.
It can be frustrating for the EA team if the CXO can’t explain what they want, but in such cases the EA team needs to take a lead and just deliver some things of value for the business, as explained previously. If advocates start to promote the benefits the EA team have brought to the CXO, then the EA team has a better chance of delivering a successful architecture.
If the CXO believes their EA function has a ‘traditional approach’ with low speed to value, then they probably haven’t realised what value a proper EA function can deliver. It is likely that they never explained to their architects what good looked like for them.
Conclusion
If your Enterprise Architecture function isn’t delivering, have you considered that the problem might be you?
If you’re an EA:
- Make subtle but impactful changes in how you engage with the organisation
- If necessary, reset architecture efforts and align with CXO expectations – tell your CXO you are doing this
If you’re a CXO frustrated with EA:
- Ensure your expectations are clearly communicated
- Be clear on the broader responsibility of the EA role – don’t allow it to be diluted
- Give your EA team value-driven targets so they can demonstrate value
If your EA approach feels ‘traditional’ with little speed to value, chances are you haven’t implemented EA properly—or communicated what you need in the first place.
If you want a successful Enterprise Architecture, then it is going to require engagement, leadership and clarity from both architects and CXOs.