Talking to Business Executives about EA

Simply telling a business audience all the wonderful things that EA will do for you is not enough. Light bulbs go on only when you have a chance to show them what it means to them. So, don’t try to “sell” an audience on the academic virtues of EA. Show them. Use relationships among component parts and expose mappings that they always thought existed, but never quite had a chance to see before.

Take the Initiative

I was recently asked to reflect on the strengths of some of the EA practitioners I have worked with over the years. They have been an inspiring group who collectively and individually were drawn to EA because they aspired to make a difference in their companies. Fulfilling that aspiration isn’t always an easy path.

EA Profession: What’s Changing and What’s Not

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an immature discipline and possibly getting even more immature.   As the scope of EA extends beyond the areas that IT-centric efforts are prepared for (data, app, infrastructure), the competency, credibility and effectiveness of an EA team may decrease.  However, there are a variety of ways to increase these characteristics for EA … Read more

Critical Success Factors for EA Effectiveness

There are some common critical success factors that EAdirections has recognized in highly effective EA programs.  Not all of these critical success factors are seen in every effective EA program; so each organization must determine which factors are hindering and which are enabling EA effectiveness.   Download Now: Critical Success Factors for EA Effectiveness Right-click … Read more

Communication Planning for Enterprise Architecture

Communication is a key to transforming an enterprise through strategic planning, enterprise architecture (EA) and enterprise portfolio management (EPfM). Critical to the success and effectiveness of communication is planning why, how, when, and with whom communication will take place. The answers to those questions are determined through communication planning. Download Now: Communication Planning for EA.pdf … Read more

EA Tips – Style AND Substance

For an EA practice to be effective EA leaders must pay attention to both the “style” of how their team operates and the “substance” of the work they produce. While that guidance isn’t new, in practice I often find that many leaders don’t have the balance quite right. It is worth revisiting as a general … Read more

Organizational Change Management for EA? Of Course!

One of the topics, although not new, that seems to be a regular topic of discussion among clients, peers, prospects and vendors is organization change management.  More specifically, how can EA be successful without an accompanying Organizational Change Management program?  Once you get into these discussions; however, the answer to the aforementioned question is “Yes!” … Read more

EA Tips – Substance OVER Structure

If you read my post on “Style AND Substance” I stated that an EA team shouldn’t spend disproportionate energy on content creation without also paying attention to the many softer, stylistic elements associated with leadership and influence. One without the other and the team will fail. In this “EA Tips” post on “substance vs. structure” … Read more