What is True-EA?

True Enterprise Architecture (True-EA) is quite simply architecting the enterprise. “Isn’t this what Enterprise Architecture always has been?” you may be asking yourself. In actuality, the overwhelming majority of EA efforts that we have come in contact with over the last two decades have, in fact, been IT Enterprise Architecture (IT-EA) efforts.

Tim Westbrock and George Paras discuss True-EA, Enterprise Architecture, IT Architecture and Business Architecture

Show Notes:

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2 thoughts on “What is True-EA?”

  1. Agreed! The IT area is a business area in an enterprise. IT can benefit from EA as well.
    Sadly, the “IT View” of EA remains the prominent view, ownership, etc. of EA.

    I am recently on the job market. I have found that approx. 95% of the job postings for an EA are not for true EA.
    The requirements in EA job postings list everything from “needs to be hands-on in network configurations” to “proficient in Java coding”.

    • Robert, we agree very much with this. We often get asked to review job descriptions or get asked if we know if anyone would be a good candidate for “Enterprise Architecture” positions. More often than not, they are looking for solution architects. Next most common would be technical architects. We believe that a good EA has a wide and diverse set of talents. Some depth here and there is helpful as well, but the role of an EA requires a breadth of knowledge and very strong soft (interpersonal) and business skills. Even if they are an IT-focused EA, the breadth and interpersonal skills are necessary to leverage the depth of knowledge and experience among the Subject Matter experts that need to be a part of the effort. We see some movement, but as you stated, the IT View is still the predominant one. It just isn’t sustainable anymore, as the original purpose of EA (technology standardization) has been achieved by many organizations, and now the value of EA is going to come from enabling business transformation, which requires a much better partnership with and perspective of business leadership.

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