Meetup sessions at x:pand Melbourne and x:pand Sydney, October 2015 (hosted by x:pand and Australasian Architecture Network) The Australasian Architecture Network has hosted a number of recent meet ups aimed at educating talented people across a range of new technologies and technical areas. This time we’re looking at something much more important, the people. In particular it will focus on how you can get the best from the Architects in your business and how they can deliver the best results to you. It will look at the age old debate which always exists in this field between art and science, the creative vs. the coder. What types of projects require what types of people and how do you get the best results from such a diverse range of individuals.

1. Attracting, retaining and getting
the best from your architects
Tom Graves, Tetradian Consulting
with xpand Melbourne / Sydney, October 2015

2. Hi. I’m Tom Graves.
(enterprise-architect, business-anarchist,
confusionist, nuisance, that kind of stuff…)

3. “What’s the story?”
What do architects do?

4. CC-BY Tom Graves
Where is architecture?
Building-blocks of a generic built-structure

5. Where is architecture?
Building-blocks of a generic business-structure
Contact
Customer
Manage the Business
Support the Business
Accept
Orders
Deliver
Orders
Process
Orders
Fulfil
Orders

6. Where is architecture?
The architecture is in the ‘between-spaces’
Contact
Customer
Manage the Business
Support the Business
Accept
Orders
Deliver
Orders
Process
Orders
Fulfil
Orders
analysts
(within the boxes)
architects
(between the boxes)

7. Solution architects
(connect everything together within a project)
Who are the architects?
design-solutions will be needed
wherever there’s some kind of change going on…
- project, programme, portfolio, transformation -
…and wherever a solution is being developed,
we’ll need a solution-architect

8. Domain architects
(connect everything across a discipline or domain)
Who are the architects?
these include: infrastructure-architect,
data-architect, applications-architect,
business-architect, security-architect,
financial-architect, facilities-architect,
brand-architect, organisation-architect,
process-architect, skills/training architect,
governance-architect, and many more

9. Enterprise architects
(connect everything together)
Who are the architects?
that ‘everything’ will include: IT-infrastructure, data,
applications, non-IT technologies, business-models,
security, financials, facilities, brands, organisation-
structures, processes, interactions, skills/training,
governance, quality, environment, health-and-safety…
- every distinct domain, and much, much more

10. The EA Mantra
(phrases that you’ll often hear architects say…)
“I don’t know…”
“(but I know how to find out)”
“It depends…”
“(and I know what it depends on)”
“Just enough detail…”
“(and I know the level of detail that it needs)”

11. “You don’t want your strategies
following spaghetti roads
- you want them moving
through your company
on logical, straight highways.”
(well-known large consultancy)
The expectation?

12. “The enterprise architecture transition plan
is a simple artifact.”
“It consists of a set of:
- Gantt charts
- transformative investments
- planning time-horizons (in years)
- SDLC phases
- descriptive narrative”
(well-known EA consultant)
The expectation?

13. The reality…
Yeah, it’s messy… - always…

14. Work with the uncertainty…
(Architects must connect across the whole context-space)
Ambiguous
but Actionable
Not-known,
None-of-the-above
Complicated
but Controllable
Simple
and Straightforward
(boundary of
effective-certainty)
(transition
from plan
to action)
(ORDER)
(UNORDER)
NOW!
Certain
(increasingly
uncertain)
(indefinite
future)

15. Ultimately,
architecture is
everyone’s responsibility
(Architects just help it along a bit…)

16. …it’s Not A Good Idea…
Architecture matters:
“the purpose of the system is
[expressed in] what it does”
Without architecture as anchor,
what we’d get is a random mix
of POSIWID:

17. “What’s the story?”What value do
architects deliver?

18. The aim of all architecture:
things work better
when they work together
on purpose

19. …which implies further questions:
• Things – what things? and who decides?
• Work – what work? in what sense of ‘work’?
• Better – ‘better’ for what? or who? in what
sense? who decides?
• Together – what kind of ‘together’?
how? why? where?
• On purpose – who chooses the purpose?
for what? for whom? and why?
- architecture within architecture…

20. …so, for enterprise-architecture:
what things?
short answer: everything!
-that’s the whole point!
(and yes, a whole lot broader than just IT alone…)

21. CC-BY-SA MysteryBee via Flickr
For example, digital transformation
is not just about changing
from one type of computer…

22. CC-BY Highways Agency via Flickr
to another computer…

23. ‘Going digital’ transforms the scope
Inside-in: Fixing-up within one department (TOGAF 8)

24. ‘Going digital’ transforms the scope
Inside-out: It’s all about our own organisation (TOGAF 9)

25. ‘Going digital’ transforms the scope
Outside-in: Interacting with the customer and their needs

26. ‘Going digital’ transforms the scope
Outside-out: A much broader world of stakeholders out there

27. …even more, from user-as-robot…
CC-BY justin pickard via Flickr

28. …to person
as person! CC-BY andré luís via Flickr

29. Skillsets across the whole space…
Distinct modes: Simple, Complicated, Ambiguous, Not-known
Ambiguous
but Actionable
Not-known,
None-of-the-above
Complicated
but Controllable
Simple
and Straightforward
(boundary of
effective-certainty)
(transition
from plan
to action)
reframe
rich-randomness
(principles)
NOW!
Certain
(increasingly
uncertain)
(indefinite
future)
regulation
rotation
(rules)
reciprocation
resonance
(algorithms)
recursion
reflexion
(guidelines)

30. Skillsets across the whole space…
Agent, analyst, alchemist, anarchist, in business context…
Ambiguous
but Actionable
Not-known,
None-of-the-above
Complicated
but Controllable
Simple
and Straightforward
(boundary of
effective-certainty)
(transition
from plan
to action)
NOW!
Certain
(increasingly
uncertain)
(indefinite
future)
alchemist
anarchist
analyst
agent
enterprise
architect

31. Skillsets across the whole space…
Maintaining balance: business-analyst, business-anarchist
Ambiguous
but
Actionable
Not-known,
None-of-
the-above
Complicated
but
Controllable
Simple
and
Straightforward
business
anarchist
(boundary of
effective-certainty)
NOW!
Certain
(increasingly
uncertain)
(indefinite
future)
business
analyst
enterprise
architect

32. The value of architecture…
is in how well
everything works together
with everything else
on purpose
across the whole enterprise
(yet we can often only see this happening
when viewed across the whole enterprise…)

33. “What’s the story?”How do we attract
good architects?

34. The easy way out?
- the big-consultancy pitch:
“We will do your
architecture for you!”
Don’t do this!
Almost invariably, it results in
expensively-useless shelfware…

35. Don’t outsource
your architecture!

36. Architecture is everyone’s responsibility
- hence it can only be done in-house.
In-house architects
assist in and remind everyone
of that responsibility.
Use external consultants
to help build architecture-maturity
and architecture-skills and competence
- not to ‘do the architecture’.

37. Next task…
Find, maintain and nurture
those in-house architects.
(which may not be as simple as we might expect…)

38. CC-BY GreaterGrandIsland via Flickr
How do we find our architects?

39. Architecture is a mindset
more than a job-title…
Good candidates for architecture
might be found anywhere in and
beyond the organisation…
…but current recruitment-models can
make it very hard to find them…

40. Most certification schemes
are meaningless for this…
They test ability to repeat rote-learning
– almost exactly what we don’t need.
Knowledge of shared-terminology is useful,
but trivial to acquire…

41. Skill-level of ‘TOGAF Certified’
A five-day course does not an architect make…

42. Lazy recruiters use
certification schemes as a
tick-the-box filter…
Result: a five-day course gets higher
priority than 20 years of experience?
Sheer madness – somehow we must bring
these ‘certification-scams’ to a close…

43. Key characteristics of architects:
a) could be anywhere, in any job
b) are cross-disciplinary generalists
c) skillset and experience will often
combine technical, arts, humanities,
across multiple industries

44. Most current recruitment would:
a) fail to see most of them
b) ignore them if they appear
c) actively penalise them
Not exactly helpful for anyone’s needs…

45. CC-BY-SA Kurayba via Flickr
And we need those eccentrics…
…they’re the ones who provide the
leverage to help things change

46. Look for people who:
- notice things (are interested in everything)
- are interested in how things fit together
- have diverse careers (across many industries)
- connect with people (across broader scope)
- translate between multiple domains
- explain and simplify (yet not to simplistic)
- resolve the EA mantra (via action and story)

47. The answer’s a story…
For each of the EA Mantra elements
- “I don’t know…”
- “It depends…”
- “Just enough detail…”
- the ‘wannabe’ will give the stock answer
- the natural-architect will give
a personal story or
a personal example

48. “What’s the story?”How do you retain
good architects?

49. …why would anyone
want to be an architect
in your enterprise?
Motivations…

50. CC-BY quaziefoto via Flickr
Pay-levels are important, but…

51. Research: money-alone only motivates
for ‘robotic’-type (non-skilled) work…
CC-BY justin pickard via Flickr

52. …for skilled-work, relying on
money alone as a motivator
can often make things worse. CC-BY andré luís via Flickr

53. CC-BY GreaterGrandIsland via Flickr
Find the right motivation…

54. To motivate skills-work…
What research shows will work, for individuals:
• Autonomy (decision-making at the point of action)
• Mastery (development of personal skill)
• Purpose (guidelines to assess personal achievement)
(Note: in Taylorist models, all of these are explicitly blocked or forbidden)
…and at the collective level:
• Fairness (socially-determined)
• Shared-purpose (vision/values etc ‘greater than self’)

55. …architects do have rare skillsets
that take decades to develop
and provide huge leverage for value
Fair pay does matter…
- so pay enough
to ensure that it’s not a concern
- make it not be a distraction!

56. the work needs meaning,
based on
intrinsic motivation, not extrinsic
But it’s really about the work…
- so don’t crush that motivation
with clumsy attempts at ‘control’!

57. - provide the freedom and permission
to explore everything, everywhere
Help the architects
to develop their skills…
- keep the focus on connection,
not solely on ‘production’
- learn ‘just enough language’
to connect everywhere
across all of the enterprise domains

58. - having the right tools
does make a big difference
The tools of the trade…
- but don’t rush off to buy a fancy
‘EA toolset’ right at the start!

59. Solution-architect’s toolset

60. CC-BY-SA MattHurst via Flickr
Enterprise-architect’s toolset

61. The real challenge of our toolsets
Our tools are scattered all along the Squiggle…

62. The real challenge of our toolsets
…but they don’t connect up! – we need to resolve this!

63. Building connections takes time!
In particular, building the deep social
network that’s essential for the
shared-responsibility of architecture
will probably take at least 2-3 years…
There’s no short-cut to this that works…

64. “What’s the story?”How do you get the best
from your architects?

65. - use an iterative development-method
Develop step-by-step
- use a maturity-model for overall guidance
- each iteration is for
a specific business-purpose
with specific business-value
- each iteration adds more to
the overall ‘architecture-hologram’

66. Development method
The method
must be usable
for any type
of context…
Each iteration is
for an identifiable
business-purpose
with identifiable
business-value
Context-neutral adaptation of TOGAF ADM

67. Maturity-model
The sequence is not rigid, but every out-of-sequence
work-item incurs technical-debt and technical-risk.

68. - glossary and thesaurus
(thesaurus to help cross-domain translation)
A shared repository…
- wiki-type collaboration-space
(notes on the ‘why’ behind choices and decisions)
- diagrams and models
(decision-records, aids to communication)
(That fancy ‘EA toolset’ does start to make sense as the repository
grows and becomes more shared across the enterprise.)

69. Solution Architect
diagrams, models and designs
‘Deliverables’ will vary…
Domain Architect
end-to-end connectivity
Enterprise Architect
shared sensemaking and decision-making

70. Some crucial caveats…
For an architect, talking with people
is essential work, not ‘goofing off’!
Architects do need full authority from the executive,
to connect everywhere across the enterprise…
People who are talking with an architect
are working, not ‘goofing off’!
Architects are not ‘being insurbordinate’
when they connect across silos!

71. - almost no meaningful direct metrics
for architecture performance
(because it takes place in the ‘between’ spaces’)
Architecture performance
is hard to measure…
- often visible only at whole-of-context level
(often only in terms of what doesn’t happen…)
- the better an architect’s work,
the less visible it becomes…
(a good test is that other people say, “we did it!”)

72. The real performance-metric…
build perceived-value
to build trust,
experienced via how well
everything works together
with everything else
on purpose
across the whole enterprise

73. “What’s the story?”
Wrapping up…

74. Architects connect everything together.
The one-page summary…
Architects are generalists, not specialists –
the recruitment-process will be different.
For best outcomes, keep the focus on
connection, not ‘production’.
Mainstream performance-metrics don’t make
sense for architecture – assess as whole.

75. “What’s the story?”
And finally…

76. Conference keynote / workshop
Sydney, 19-21 October 2015
http://enterprisearchitectureconference.com.au
To learn more…
Workshop and masterclass
Perth, 26-27 October 2015
Sydney, 29-30 October 2015
Melbourne, 5-6 November 2015
http://tetradian.com/events
Books and research
http://tetradian.com/publications
http://weblog.tetradian.com

77. Themes: Maturity-model
The sequence is not rigid, but every out-of-sequence
work-item incurs technical-debt and technical-risk.

78. Themes: Enterprise Service Canvas
Modelling the enterprise as services

79. Themes: Service-Cycle
Connecting project-lifecycle to whole-context cycles

80. Themes: Beyond ‘Bimodal IT’
Balancing Waterfall, Agile and everything in between

81. Themes: Strategic assessment
Use SCORE to connect capabilities to action-choices

82. “What’s the story?”
Thank you!

83. Contact: Tom Graves
Company: Tetradian Consulting
Email: tom@tetradian.com
Twitter: @tetradian ( http://twitter.com/tetradian )
Weblog: http://weblog.tetradian.com
Slidedecks: http://www.slideshare.net/tetradian
Publications: http://tetradianbooks.com
Books: • The enterprise as story: the role of narrative in enterprise-
architecture (2012)
• Mapping the enterprise: modelling the enterprise as services with
the Enterprise Canvas (2010)
• Everyday enterprise-architecture: sensemaking, strategy, structures
and solutions (2010)
• Doing enterprise-architecture: process and practice in the real
enterprise (2009)
Image-credits: Photo-images via Flickr or Wikimedia, as shown on each slide
Further information: