This document discusses enterprise architecture and provides strategies for its effective implementation. It begins by defining enterprise architecture and explaining its importance in linking technology investments to business goals and ensuring systems interoperate. It then discusses balancing architecture quality with project constraints and having an approach that provides superior customer service and measurable results. Finally, it covers developing a technology strategy that is aligned with and drives the business vision and goals.

1. Enterprise Architecture
Program
Making Order out of Chaos
By: Robert R. Rowntree, Jan. 14th,2018

2. Summary
The following will be discussed in this presentation:
1. What is Enterprise Architecture, its mandate, its importance
and how can it be used to deliver business value.
2. Balancing Architecture Governance between Architecture
Quality and Project dimensions – scope, time and cost.
3. Approach to providing Superior Customer Service, Quality
Deliverables and efficient/effective Operations while
demonstrating progress, value and results.
4. Create a Technology Strategy that drives the Business.
Robert R. Rowntree
2

3. #1 -Mandate
 Need to establish a Mandate for each unit within an Organization
so each units and their people know their role and responsibilities.
 Improves throughput and lowers cost by:
 Reducing duplication of effort
 Accountability through ownership
 Lowers the uncertainty in who does what in the organization.
 Reduces organizational “frictions”
 Each organization needs to establish what's right for them. The
industry’s best practice is:
 The EA Unit should mediate between the Users of Technology
(business) and all the Units comprising technology including Operations,
Solution Delivery and PMO to:
Deliver the Technology that Drives out of
the Organization’s Vision and Performance
goals.
Robert R. Rowntree
3

4. #1 -What is EA?
 Best Analogy “City Planning vs. Building Planning”- EA is
City Planning. Over time without the “City Planning” the landscape
will increasingly have difficulty integrating/interoperating, shortages
will arise.
 Cities need sufficient services – Security (Fire, Police), Hospitals, Power, Transportation.
 Cities need to “fit” together functionally and aesthetically (interoperate).
 Cities need financing and budgeting for investments/expenditures.
 So do you want a “Detroit” or a “Palm Springs” – a few good buildings (GM, Ford offices)
sprouting up over a decaying metropolis.
 Which do you have? How can you tell?
 Formally there are many definitions of EA based on
perspective:
 Business - What – Key Processes, Systems and Data (EA as Strategy)
 Business – End Game – Optimize often fragmented processes into an integrated
environment that is responsive to change and supportive of delivery of the business strategy.
(The Open Group).
 Technical  EA ≠ IT Architecture (Business, Application, Data, Technology)
EA = IT Architecture + Link Tech Investment to Bus Performance + Guiding Principles +
Standards + Research/Trends + Governance + ADM + Blueprints (Current/Target Env) +
Roadmap
Standards = Technical + Product + Architecture + Information
Robert R. Rowntree
4

5. #1 – Why is EA Important?
Accountability -> Links Technology Investment
to Business Performance
 Technology can’t exist without business
 Technology needs to be an accelerant of business initiatives
 Warning! – Don’t fall for the “alignment trap”
 Avoids Key Pain Point – Spending with no Accountability
Kaizen -> Captains the Discovery of Technology
Disruptors that can improve the Business
 External – Scanning the global technology landscape, industry
 Internal – Scanning within the organization for discoveries that
can benefit the entire enterprise – stop “reinventing the wheel”
 Think better customer service, up operational effectiveness,
reduce costs
Robert R. Rowntree
5

6. #1 – Why is EA Important?
Faster/Agile Business -> Faster/Better
Decisions by People via Governance and
Guidance.
 Governance – Getting desired behaviors to accelerate business
performance – “well-oiled” process reducing “frictions”.
 Principles – Guidelines that simplifies and aligns decision
making.
 Standards – Lowers component, labor cost. Speeds decisions
Accurate View of IT Stuff -> Uncertainty of
Asset State mitigated
 Big Pain Point of business – where is my stuff, how's it doing in
terms of age, fitness and support costs.
Robert R. Rowntree
6

7. #1- Why is EA Important?
Where are we headed? -> Technology
Roadmap clarifying how the business will win
over time.
 Roadmap – Time sequenced view of how technology will change
as business landscape changes while keeping the organization
competitive.
 ADM – Architectural Development Method that allows effective
change to happen in the right amount of time, quality and cost.
 Integrates and Interoperates – EA is “City Planning vs. Building
Planning”. Over time without the “City Planning” systems will
increasingly have difficulty integrating/interoperating.
Robert R. Rowntree
7

8. #2- Balancing Architecture
Balancing and Tradeoffs between EA Quality
and project dimensions – scope, time and cost
 Balance by Degree of Rigor (High, Medium, Low)
 Rigor scale typically based on cost – High =$$$$, Med = $$$, Low = $
 Factors – Risk (Strategic[Space Travel vs. Building Mgmt], Compliance,
Financial, Operational, Reputational), Culture, Finance Priorities, Mandate
 Rigor levels have levels of governance requirements - # of Checkpoints,
intensity of EA involvement, artifacts produced – In themselves cost $$$
 Mandate – Advocate versus Enforce – no teeth versus too much bite.
 Watch out for exploding OPEX – non-standard, limited reuse of
licenses & manpower skillset, solutions work fine individually but
lack integration capabilities – point to point vs centralized comm.
Duplicated data in each solution vs. normalized common data.
 El-Cheapo, non standard projects don’t likely translate to low
OPEX  OPEX = 4 to 8x CAPEX.
Robert R. Rowntree
8

9. #3 – Quality EA
Superior Customer Service
 Manage End to End EA Process  Higher Satisfaction
 Rapid Attention to Issue  Head off Customer Dissatisfaction
Quality Deliverables
 Only so much a “process” can drive quality – Activities that are
more an art than a science, those with many possible
exceptions, are dependent on the Artist.
 Aim for Artisans that have discipline, ability to learn, passion for
excellence.
 Provide Organizational Support – Good Technology, Physical Environment ,
Coaching, Training and Team Cohesion.
 Provide the Conditions - Autonomy, Mastery and Meaning – Meaning trumps
everything!
Robert R. Rowntree
9

10. #3 – Quality EA
Effective Operations – Unit, Team, Individuals
 High Performance Business – Targets, Incentives, Monitoring.
 High Performance Team – Vision, Priorities, Plan of Attack,
Knowledge/Capabilities Inventory, Speak Truths/Gotcha’s, Devils
Advocate.
 High Performance Individuals
 Are you making progress? - Clear Road Blocks. Highly correlated to Job
Satisfaction.
 “Check in” without “Checking up” – Vanquishes perception of micromanaging.
 Coaching – everyone has a learning plan – part personal goals, part traced to
company goals.
Demonstrate Progress, Value and Results
 Metric - Project Leaders satisfaction, # of Architectural Defects
ID’ed after Launch, % On-Time checkpoints.
Robert R. Rowntree
10

11. #4 – Technology Strategy
Strategy is not easy
 Not easy to assess – Wall street penalizes companies with game
changing strategies.
 CEO’s have tough time communicating and executing strategy -
IBM worldwide survey of CEOs.
Strategy is about – How are you going to get
there?
 Where are you? – Current State
 Where do you want to go? – Technology Vision
 How are you going to get there? - Strategy
Robert R. Rowntree
11

12. #4 – Technology Strategy
Approach
 Where are you?
 Company Analysis - Business and Technology current state,
Technology maturity assessment, SWOT analysis, Capabilities.
 Industry analysis - Current Trends, SWOT analysis
 Environmental Analysis – PEST – Political, Environmental, Social,
Technology
 Where do you want to go?
 Technology vision - Congruent with the business vision, strategy,
goals and objectives and roadmap
Robert R. Rowntree
12

13. #4 – Technology Strategy
Approach
 How are you going to get there? Strategy
 Guiding principles
 How you will make decisions. Mapped to business strategy, goals
and objectives.
 Proxy for technology having to understand all the business strategy.
 E.g., GP Lean/Agile approach because business mandate to move
towards Lean Management.
 Risks – E.g., Shadow IT, Lax DR/BC testing
 Technology Trends – Industry Analysis
 Company Today – Company Analysis – Landscape, benchmark etc
 Company Going Forward
 Vision
 Goals
 Capability Gaps.
Robert R. Rowntree
13

14. Appendix
Risks of EA
Metrics for EA
Robert R. Rowntree
14

15. Risks of EA
Over Thinking - Imbalance towards too much
thinking leaving little resources for Doing.
Lacks Integration – EA is not well integrated
with all Management centers
 Mgmt Centers – Solution Delivery, Portfolio Project Management
and Operations.
Advocate or Enforce– Have to determine
whether EA just advocates/advises, enforces or
somewhere in between.
 Post Mortem of Financial crisis showed Risk Management at
major financial institutes seen as Advocators/Recommenders of
what To Do/Not to Do. Major Fault.
Robert R. Rowntree
15

16. Metrics for EA
Metrics that can be used to communicate the
value of Enterprise Architecture
1. Time to Market/Agility - Quantitative
 Use of Standards – easier decisions, better
interoperability.
 Modern Technology – improve performance &
interoperability.
 Governance - streamlines decision making.
2. Revenue/IT Costs - Quantitative
 Financial markets track Revenue/IT Cost – research
shows that using people, process and technology can
elevate organization financial performance.
 Fewer Technologies – lower variance in product licensing
and labor – e.g.,databases all Oracle – volume discounts.
 Shorter Projects – faster decisions with slimmer set of
technologies provide deeper and narrow expertise.
Robert R. Rowntree
16

17. Metrics for EA
Metrics that can be used to communicate the
value of Enterprise Architecture
3. Reliability - Quantitative
 Standardize - Lower complexity and interoperability
gotchas.
 Focused expertise - slimmer set of technology
components.
4. Customer Satisfaction – Qualitative
 Combination of business owner and end user satisfaction
statistics.
 Business owners of IT systems satisfaction.
 End User satisfaction.
Robert R. Rowntree
17

18. WIP
Finished Beats Perfect – Avoid “Gold Plating”
Individual Time Buffers - % of Time for Thinking
Priorities, Categories, Triage.
Robert R. Rowntree
18

19. WIP
Creative/Innovating or Informing Meetings
Core Problem  CEO’s Worldwide – Lots of
Informing not enough Creative/Innovation.
EA mandate/culture – significant portion of
Creative for Organization.
Psychographics – Divergent/Creative/Unbounded
vs. Convergent/Consensus/bounded discussions
Divergent vs. Convergent Discussions
Corporation worldwide lack Divergent Thinkers.
Distribution in IT is about 80/20
Convergent/Divergent Thinkers.
Robert R. Rowntree
19

20. Risks of No EA
Locally Optimal, Enterprise Suboptimal – Organizational
units meet their performance goals, the Enterprise likely
not.
 Income vs. Balance sheet statement – short term solutions vs. long term
enterprise wealth. EA works to maximize enterprise wealth versus solutions
maximizing short term income/expenses.
Loosely following Standards, Regulations –
 Lower integration – point solutions work fine individually but not together.
Enterprise wide systems hard to build if not impossible.
 Lower interoperability – non standard means difficult and fragile integrations.
Changing anything takes more $$$, time and effort.
 Agility suffers – lower integratability and interoperability means less agility to
tackle fast moving and disruptive markets.
Denormalized, Duplicated and Dirty Data – .
 Low Integrity – hard to consistently update data in multiple spots.
 EA creating order and building solutions creating disorder.
 Complexity and disorder produces inefficiencies.
 Result  Costs go up, agility to grow and survive disruptions goes down.
Robert R. Rowntree
20