2009 Summit Event Master Keynote Sowell

Please WelcomeKathie Sowell
SowellEAC

What is a Professional Enterprise Architect? Or...How Can We Help PeopleUnderstand What We Do?
2009 CAEAP SummitFour Seasons Resort & Club DallasLas Colinas, TexasJune 20, 2009
Kathie Sowell
President, Custom Enterprise Solutions, LLC
Copyright 2009, P.K. Sowell

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost
3
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Literal Interpretation*:
Be a rugged individual!
Don’t follow the crowd!
(But also, you’d better
be right, because every-
thing you do goes on
your permanent record.)
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Ironic Interpretation*:
Nah, the poem is just
trying to justify the
poet’s choice by
getting all dramatic.
His choice of road
really didn’t make any
difference at all.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
* Thank you, Wikipedia!

What does this have to do with Enterprise Architects?
4
There are two divergent roads I have seen that lead to getting EA understood and incorporated into an organization.
EA
Stealthy Approach
Direct
Approach

What would lead us to choose the “Direct Approach?”
5
“Nobody understands us!”

Enterprise Architects: Are you suffering an identity crisis?
Has your own mother ever said this to you: “Honey, I’m proud of what you do, whatever it is”?
6
Do you feel that no one understands what you do for a living?

Has this ever happened to you?
7
Well... I’m an
Enterprise Architect.
Hi there! Name’s Bob!
Sales is my game!
What do you do?
No, no... It’s not like
that. You see...I
Great! Great!
I’ve got this little
plumbing problem...
Great! Great!
Whatever...So long!
#$%@*! “Bob!”

Is your mailbox stuffed with these?
8
Dear Enterprise Architect:
Cheep Charlie has a deal for you!
Gen-u-wine South American
Zebra Bamboo Flooring
Blowout Prices!!
Deep Discounts!!
Hurry!! Hurry!!
Subscribe to Construction Monthly!
Learn the latest techniques
for making your construction business
profitable in all seasons and all
economic conditions!
Only $999.00/year

How can we use the “direct approach” to help people understand what we do?
We can define our profession
9
We can spread understanding of our profession
We can build acceptance of and respect for our profession
We can promote our profession to the extent that we become integral to decisionsregarding Enterprise direction
This is what the CAEAP can help us to do.

Okay, then, what should we tell people that a Professional Enterprise Architect does?
We pinpoint problems in our organizations
10
We make models of the business processes
We make models of the technology used in our organizations
We analyze the models
We diagnose the causes of the problems
We “align the technology with the business”
We recommend problem solutions and transition paths
We partner with Enterprise leaders in determining strategic direction and in assessing progress over time

Can we be more succinct?
11
Short Answer:
A Professional Enterprise Architect makes sure that internal Enterprise operations are aligned with the Enterprise’s client needs and the Enterprise’s own goals and values
Outside
Client
Operations
Internal
Enterprise
Operations
Professional
Enterprise
Architect

What constitutes an effective Enterprise Architecture Team?
Professional Enterprise Architect:Certified and experienced in EA development, modeling, integration, and presentation
Domain Experts:Intimately familiar with business and mission operations addressed in the architecture
Architecture Analyst:
Knowledgeable in the types of processes and systems pertinent to the architecture
Technically astute and experienced in ability to conduct process/system assessments, trade-offs, and linkages to the operations supported
Bridge between the Enterprise Architect and the Process and/or Systems Engineer
Process and/or Systems Engineers
In-depth understanding of the processes and/or technologies pertinent to the As-Is and To-Be EA
Honest broker between the Enterprise Architect and the Domain Expert (e.g., Can the user practically employ the recommended technologies? Are the suggested solutions mature? cost-effective?
12

The EA Team and Beyond
13
ENTERPRISE STAKEHOLDERS
Auxiliary Team Support
Domain
Expert
Business Process Engineer
Professional
EA Architect
Systems Engineer
Tools
Analysts
Graphics
Investors
Leadership
EA Framework
Clients
EA Team

Now, let’s focus on the Enterprise Architect
Think logically
Think holistically (grasp the big picture)
Communicate with human beings
Clients
Techie ones
“Suits”
Non-techies
Anti-techies
Communicate in complete sentences
Think, function, and communicate even when the Internet is down !
Visualize
14
An Enterprise Architect should be able to:

A good Enterprise Architect will be able to think visually and express thoughts visually
15
Why? Because people think in pictures.

16
Who Dunnit?
What’s Killing Her?
Where do Enterprise Architects come from?
Traditionally:
Systems engineers
Software engineers
Business and systems analysts
Out-of-the-box
Musicians
Visual Artists
Writers
Detectives and Medical Diagnosticians*
* Ever watch “House?” or “Law and Order?” They always draw a Business Node Connection Diagram to figure out who/what did or influenced what.

17
Good Enterprise
Architects come
from this region
Discipline
Grasp/Visualization
But, more important than one’s background, is the potential one has to be an effective Enterprise Architect
Totally Anal
Obsessive Rule Follower
Follows Rules, but Creative
Loose Cannon
Incorrigible
Enterprises
Microbots
Subsystems
Systems
Enterprise of Enterprises

Where does the role of the Professional Enterprise Architect fit within an enterprise?
18
Align
Professional
Enterprise Architect
E
N
T
E
Blueprint for improving the enterprise
C
R
L
P
R
Leadership
I
I
E
S
N
E
T
O
Strategic Direction to “follow the Blueprint”
O
P
P
E
E
Department
Managers
R
R
A
A
T
T
I
I
O
O
Management of Blueprint implementation
Coordination
N
N
S
S
Staff
Implementation of Blueprint

The Enterprise Architect role is not so different from some other familiar roles
19
We may be able to increase
understanding of and respect for
our profession by comparing it to
other professions that already
enjoy respect from the general
public.

For example, building construction
20
Customer Requirements
Architect
Blueprint for constructing the building
Foreman or
General Contractor
Direction to “follow the Blueprint”
HVAC
Electrician
Carpenter
Specialty Contractors
“Uh-oh, this won’t work!”
Plumber
Tilesetter
Mason
Coordination
Management of selective Blueprint specifications
Laborers

21
#$%@*! “Bob!”
But wait, comparing ourselves
to construction architects already got us into trouble !
Let’s try
a different analogy...
(Remember these?)

Classical music has an “EnterpriseArchitect” too; it’s the composer
22
Audience
Requirements
Composer
(The “Architect”)
Blueprint for performing a composition
Conductor
“Uh-oh, this won’t work!”
Direction to “follow the Blueprint – MY WAY”
Concert
Master
Section Heads
Principal
Oboe
Principal
Cello
Principal
Flute
Management of selective Blueprint specifications
“ Bow this way; Breathe here; ...”
Section Musicians

So, what do we need to do to ensure that the Enterprise Architect achieves the requisite level of prominence?
This is a challenge confronting the CAEAP!
Some food for thought .....
We need to make sure we are selecting the right people to become Enterprise Architects
23
We need to have a poster child (or more) to convince Enterprise leadership of EA’s ROI
We need to engage the leaders of the Enterprise “top-down”
We need to have a clear-cut strategy for establishing and evolving the EA role within the Enterprise
We need to convince leaders that they need to take ownership of the Enterprise Architecture and use it as their primary source of self-assessment and direction
We need to acquire leadership’s understanding that to do so requires the Professional Enterprise Architect to be their partner

But, what about that other road, the “Stealth” road? Does it matter which road you take?
24

Yes, because sometimes, the Stealth Road is your only option
Sometimes, resistance to the “EA” word is such that the Direct Approach just will not work
25
Go EA!
Sometimes, even “executive buy-in” is not enough, e.g., when that executive retires and takes his buy-in with him

If you have to, just keep working underground and let your work blossom without a name!
26
“The Name”

27
Thank you! Enjoy the Summit!
Contact Information:
Kathie Sowell: kathie.sowell@gmail.com
703 620-0639
for SowellEAC Enterprise Architect Certification Programsunder auspices of National-Louis University, use contact
info above or www.SowellEAC.com
Next class planned for September

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2009 Summit Event Master Keynote Sowell

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