One of my art teachers regularly commented that making the first brush mark on an empty canvas should not be rushed and that it requires consideration as it will form the foundational reference for any subsequent brush marks. Analogous to this is where to place the first process symbol on the empty ‘process canvas’. Some start with all the stakeholders in a room and after a number of iterations (and some heated arguments), believe they have found the common ground and proceed from there with the process development effort. After a lot of effort and stakeholder time spent on its development it is found that these processes are incomplete, do not fully address the particular business area and cross multiple capability boundaries.
Architects are Made, Not Born
As a talent management consultant for an architecture consulting firm I am often asked what I look for in an up and coming architect and my first answer is usually: at least a few years’ experience in the discipline as well as formal training. However, after an 18 year career in talent management and psychometric interpretation, with 8 of those in architecture, it has become glaringly obvious to me (call it intuition or experience) that there are a few fundamental skills that have been evident in those I have noticed early on in their careers and which I now hold up as a comparison when interviewing junior architects.
Cloud? – Just Let the Business Decide!
The other day I was discussing matters of cloud strategy and adoption with a major client. Quite proudly the chief architect tabled a recently produced cloud policy document. Authored by a reputable global consultancy it well exceeded the thud test and gave all the impression of a bespoke policy.
EA Effectiveness – ONE Measure that Matters
Today I saw on one of the Linked-In Architecture Forums a variation on the classic question of measuring Enterprise Architecture value and effectiveness. The member wrote: “……..So what are the most useful ways in which you have measured the effectiveness of architecture efforts/outcomes in organisations you have worked for”?. Of course this elicited a stream of predictable responses and suggestions relating to levels of compliance, investment alignment, productivity improvement, sourcing effectiveness, blah, blah, blah.
Top 5 Security Concerns Facing Enterprises
Costs of data loss and theft can be in the millions, covering direct business losses, loss of intellectual property and business intelligence, audit and regulatory fines, compliance remediation costs and significantly — the loss of customer trust, reputation and brand equity.
Craig Martin’s Open Group Conference Plenary
Craig Martin’s Open Group Conference Plenary slide pack and on demand live stream video here. The presentation focusses on using business motivation models, strategic scenario planning and capability based planning techniques to provide input into the strategic planning process. It will also highlight some of the output examples from engagements.
Getting Started with Business Interoperability – A Common Language
For years I have seen organisations struggle to achieve Business Interoperability and waste resources time and time again arguing semantics. In my opinion the root source of this struggle is not having a common language.
6 Essential Questions to ask when Designing Products and Services
How to identify which customer needs, if serviced, will provide value to your customer AND to your business
Organisations striving to be customer centric, at some point in time, will be faced with the task of identifying customer needs that must be serviced in order for the business to grow and out do their competitors. If you have a long customer needs ‘wish list’, the biggest challenge is justifying which feature is worth implementing and will provide the highest value to your customer and your business.
Optimising Business Capabilities and Performance
Later this month, The Open Group’s first conference in Australia will focus on “How Does Enterprise Architecture Transform an Enterprise?”
As a prelude to the event, Briefings Direct recently interviewed CEO Hugh Evans and Craig Martin, Chief Operations Officer and Chief Architect at Enterprise Architects. The interview was conducted by Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions.Listen to the podcast here: