EA and the Internet of Things – 10 Thoughts

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the Internet of Things, from both a personal perspective and as it applies to EA.  In fact, I wrote about it in my “From the Editor” column in the most recent Architecture and Governance magazine (v12n2): I once thought consumer-oriented “Internet of Things” (IoT) device were novelties.  The … Read more

Characteristics of Effective EA (Revisited)

Effective and Proactive EA

Below you will see the content of a previous post, reposted for a couple of reasons.  One, I had a recent conversation with a client about this topic which brought it to front of mind.  Second, I have been having a lot of conversations with clients, prospects, George, and some of our peers regarding the … Read more

Lack of Enterprise View a Hindrance? Good Solution Architecture is Not Enough

We are consistently being exposed to ENTERPRISE architecture teams without an enterprise perspective in the deliverables and activities in which they are engaged.  Sometimes this is due to a cyclical shift in the priorities between defining enterprise architecture and applying enterprise architecture via solution architecture.  This is a normal, healthy shift that we see happening in maturing EA … Read more

A Question for Practicing EAs

Why are you doing enterprise architecture? If you don’t know the answer to this, how can you expect others to understand EA? This is a simple question, but we are looking for comments from your readers to help others (without their answer) come up with the answer that meets their situation.  While everyone probably has … 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

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

Location, Location, Location – Where Should an EA Team Report?

At the recent Troux Worldwide Conference in Austin I moderated two panels, one on Top Performing EA Teams and the other on EA Leadership. We had many questions submitted by audience members and were unable to answer them all. In the next few weeks Tim and I will be offering our perspectives on some of … Read more

IASA Chicago Chapter Inaugural Event April 7- George Paras Featured Speaker

Thursday evening, April 7, marks the inaugural event for the new IASA Chicago Chapter.  The meeting will be from 6:00pm-7:30pm at Illinois Technology Association (ITA), 200 S. Wacker, 15th Floor, Chicago.  The new chapter provides a networking and educational forum for IT and Enterprise Architects from across the Chicago area.  I will be leading a session on “Changing … Read more