The next BriefingsDirect business trends discussion explores the reinforcing nature of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and agile methods.
We’ll now learn how Enterprise
Architects can embrace agile approaches to build competitive advantages for
their companies.
Listen
to the podcast. Find it on iTunes. Read a full transcript or download a copy.
To learn more about retraining and rethinking for EA in the Digital Transformation (DT) era, we are joined by Ryan Schmierer, Director of Operations at Sparx Services North America, and Chris Armstrong, President at Sparx Services North America. The discussion is moderated by Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions.
Here are some excerpts:
Gardner: Ryan, what's happening in business now that’s forcing a new emphasis for Enterprise Architects? Why should Enterprise Architects do things any differently than they have in the past?
Schmierer: The biggest thing happening in the industry right now is around DT. We been hearing about DT for the last couple of years and most companies have embarked on some sort of a DT initiative, modernizing their business processes.
 |
| Schmierer |
But now companies are looking
beyond the initial transformation and asking, “What’s next?” We are seeing them
focus on real-time,
data-driven decision-making, with the ultimate goal of enterprise business
agility -- the capability for the enterprise to be aware of its environments,
respond to changes, and adapt quickly.
For Enterprise Architects,
that means learning how to be agile both in the work they do as individuals and
how they approach architecture for their organizations. It’s not about making architectures
that will last forever, but architectures that are nimble, agile, and adapt to
change.
Gardner: Ryan,
we have heard the word, agile, used in a structured way when it comes to software
development -- Agile
methodologies, for example. Are we talking about the same thing? How are
they related?
Agile, adaptive enterprise advances
Schmierer: It’s the
same concept. The idea is that you want to deliver results quickly, learn from
what works, adapt, change, and evolve. It’s the same approach used in software
development over the last few years. Look at how you develop software that delivers
value quickly. We are now applying those same concepts in other contexts.
First is at the enterprise
level. We look at how the business evolves quickly, learn from mistakes, and
adapt the changes back into the environment.
Second, in the architecture
domain, instead of waiting months or quarters to develop an architecture, vision,
and roadmap, how do we start small, iterate, deliver quickly, accelerate time-to-value,
and refine it as we go?
Gardner: Many businesses
want DT, but far fewer of them seem to know how to get there. How does the role
of the Enterprise Architect fit into helping companies attain DT?
The
core job responsibility for Enterprise Architects is to be an extension
of the company leadership and its executives. They need to look at
where a company is trying to go ... and develop a roadmap on how to get
there.
Schmierer: The core
job responsibility for Enterprise Architects is to be an extension of company
leadership and its executives. They need to look at where a company is trying
to go, all the different pieces that need to be addressed to get there, establish
a future-state vision, and then develop a roadmap on how to get there.
This is what company
leadership is trying to do. The EA is there to help them figure out how to do
that. As the executives look outward and forward, the Enterprise Architect figures
out how to deliver on the vision.
Gardner: Chris,
tools and frameworks are only part of the solution. It’s also about the people and
the process. There's the need for training and best practices. How should
people attain this emphasis for EA in that holistic definition?
Change is good
Armstrong: We
want to take a step back and look at how Ryan was describing the elevation of
value propositions and best practices that seem to be working for agile solution
delivery. How might that work for delivering continual, regular value? One of
the major attributes, in our experience, of the goodness of any architecture,
is based on how well it responds to change.
In some ways, agile and EA are
synonyms. If you’re doing good Enterprise Architecture, you must be agile
because responding to change is one of those quality attributes. That’s a part
of the traditional approach of architecture – to be concerned with the
interoperability and integration.
As it relates to the
techniques, tools, and frameworks we want to exploit -- the experiences that we
have had in the past – we try to push those forward into more of an operating
model for Enterprise Architects and how they engage with the rest of the
organization.
Starting with things like the TOGAF® Framework, particularly its Architecture
Development Method (ADM) and reference models -- those are there for
individuals or vertical industries to accelerate the adding of value.
The challenge I've seen for a
lot of architecture teams is they get sucked into the methodology and the
framework, the semantics and concepts, and spend a lot of time trying to figure
out how to do things with the tools. What we want to think about is how to
enable the architecture profession in the same way we enable other people do
their jobs -- with instant-on service offerings, using modern common platforms,
and the industry frameworks that are already out there.
Partnering with organizations
that have had that kind of experience helps close that gap and accelerates the
use in a valuable fashion. It’s pretty important.
Gardner: It’s
ironic that I've heard of recent instances where Enterprise Architects are
being laid off. But it sounds increasingly like the role is a keystone to DT. What's
the mismatch there, Chris? Why do we see in some cases the EA position being
undervalued, even though it seems critical?
EA here to stay
Armstrong: You
have identified something that has happened multiple times. Pendulum swings
happen in our industry, particularly when there is a lot of change going on. People
are getting a little conservative. We’ve seen this before in the context of
fiscal downturns in economic climates.
But to me, it really points to
the irony of what we perceive in the architecture profession based on successes
that we have had. Enterprise Architecture is an essential part of running your
business. But if executives don't believe that and have not experienced that
then it’s not surprising when there's an opportunity to make changes in
investment priorities that Enterprise Architecture might not be at the top of
the list.
We need to be mindful of where
we are in time with the architecture profession. A lot of organizations
struggle with the glass ceiling of Enterprise Architecture. It’s something we
have encountered pretty regularly, where executives are, “I really don’t get
what this EA thing is, and what's in it for me? Why should I give you my
support and resources?”
We’re very hopeful that that trend
is going to be moving in a different direction, particularly as relates to new
master’s programs and doctorate programs, for example, in the Enterprise Architecture
field. Those elevate and legitimize Enterprise Architecture as a profession. When
people are going through an MBA
program, they will have heard of enterprise architecture as an essential part
of delivering upon strategy.
Gardner: Ryan,
looking at what prevents companies from attaining DT, what are the major
challenges? What’s holding up enterprises from getting used to real-time data, gaining
agility, and using intelligence about how they do things?
Schmierer: There
are a couple of things going on. One of them ties back to what Chris was just
talking about -- the role of Enterprise Architects, and the role of architects
in general. DT requires a shift in the relationship between business and IT.
With DT, business functions and IT functions become entirely and holistically integrated
and inseparable.
When there are no separate IT
processes and no businesses process -- there are just processes because the two
are intertwined. As we use more real-time data and as we leverage Enterprise Architecture,
how do we move beyond the traditional relationship between business and IT? How
do we look at such functions as data management and data architecture? How do we
bring them into an integrated conversation with the folks who were part of the
business and IT teams of the past?
A good example of how
companies can do this comes in a recent release from The Open Group, the Digital
Practitioner Body of Knowledge™ (DPBoK™). It
says that there's a core skill set that is general and describes what it means
to be such a practitioner in the digital era, regardless of your job role or
focus. It says we need to classify job roles more holistically and that everyone
needs to have both a business mindset and a set of technical skills. We need to
bring those together, and that's really important.
As
we look at what's holding up DT we need to take functions that were
once considered centralized assets like EA and data management and bring
them into the forefront. ... Enterprise Architects need to be living in
the present.
As we look at what's holding
up DT -- taking the next step to real-time data, broadening the scope of DT – we
need to take functions that were once considered centralized assets, like EA and data
management, and bring them into the forefront, and say, “You know what? You’re
part of the digital transmission story as well. You’re key to bringing us along
to the next stage of this journey, which is looking at how to optimize, bring in
the data, and use it more effectively. How do we leverage technology in new
ways?”
The second thing we need to
improve is the mindset. It’s particularly an issue with Enterprise Architects
right now. And it is that Enterprise Architects -- and everyone in digital
professions -- need to be living in the present.
You asked why some EAs are getting
laid off. Why is that? Think about how they approach their job in terms of the
questions that would be asked in a performance review.
Those might be, “What have you
done for me over the years?” If your answer focuses on what you did in the past,
you are probably going to get laid off. What you did in the past is great, but
the company is operating in the present.
What’s your grand idea for the
future? Some ideal situation? Well, that’s probably going to get you shoved in
a corner some place and probably eventually laid off because companies don't
know what the future is going to bring. They may have some idea of where they
want to get to, but they can’t articulate a 5- to 10-year vision because the
environment changes so quickly.
What have you done for me lately? That’s a favorite thing to ask in performance-review discussions. You got your paycheck because you did your job over the last six months. That’s what companies care about, and yet that’s not what Enterprise Architects should be supporting.
Instead, the EA emphasis should
be what can you do for the business over the next few months? Focus on the present
and the near-term future.
That’s what gets Enterprise Architects
a seat at the table. That’s what gets the entire organization, and all the job
functions, contributing to DT. It helps them become aligned to delivering
near-term value. If you are entirely focused on delivering near-term value,
you’ve achieved business agility.
Gardner:
Chris, because nothing stays the same for very long, we are seeing a lot more
use of cloud services. We’re seeing composability and automation. It seems like
we are shifting from building to assembly.
Doesn’t that fit in well with what
EAs do, focusing on the assembly and the structure around automation? That’s an
abstraction above putting in IT systems and configuring them.
Reuse to remain competitive
Armstrong: It’s
ironic that the profession that’s often been coming up with the concepts and
thought-leadership around reuse struggles a with how to internalize that within
their organizations. EAs have been pretty successful at the implementation of reuse
on an operating level, with code libraries, open-source, cloud, and SaaS.
There is no reason to invent a
new method or framework. There are plenty of them out there. Better to figure
out how to exploit those to competitive advantage and focus on understanding the
business organization, strategy, culture, and vision -- and deliver value in
the context of those.
For example, one of the common
best practices in Enterprise Architecture is to create things called reference
architectures, basically patterns that represent best practices, many of
which can be created from existing content. If you are doing cloud or microservices,
elevate that up to different types of business models. There’s a lot of good
content out there from standards organizations that give organizations a good
place to start.
We have a great opportunity to
connect the dots among different communities that are often not working together.
We can provide that architectural leadership to pull it together and deliver
great results and positive behaviors.
Gardner:
Chris, tell us about Sparx Services North America. What do you all do, and how
you are related to and work in conjunction with The Open Group?
Armstrong: Sparx Services is focused on helping end-user organizations be successful with Enterprise Architecture and related professions such as solution architecture and solution delivery, and systems engineering. We do that by taking advantage of the frameworks and best practices that standards organizations like The Open Group create, helping make those standards real, practical, and pragmatic for end-user organizations. We provide guidance on how to adapt and tailor them and provide support while they use those frameworks for doing real work.
And we provide a feedback loop
to The Open Group to help understand what kinds of questions end-user
organizations are asking. We look for opportunities for improving existing
standards, areas where we might want to invest in new standards, and to accelerate
the use of Enterprise Architecture best practices.
Gardner:
Ryan, moving onto what's working and what's helping foster better DT, tell us
what's working. In a practical sense, how is EA making those shorter-term
business benefits happen?
One day at a time
Schmierer: That’s
a great question. We have talked about some of the challenges. It’s important to
focus on the right path as well. So, what's working that an enterprise
architect can do today in order to foster DT?
Number one, embrace agile
approaches and an agile mindset in both architecture development (how you do
your job) and the solutions you develop for your organizations. A good way to
test whether you are approaching architecture in an agile way is the first
iteration in the architecture. Can you go through the entire process of the Architecture
Development Method (ADM) on a cocktail napkin in the time it takes you to have
a drink with your boss? If so, great. It means you are focused on that first
simple iteration and then able to build from there.
Number two, solve problems
today with the components you have today. Don’t just look to the future. Look
at what you have now and how you can create the most value possible out of
those. Tomorrow the environment is going to change, and you can focus on
tomorrow's problems and tomorrow’s challenges tomorrow. So today’s problems
today.
Third, look beyond your
current DT initiative and what’s going on today, and talk to your leaders. Talk
to your business clients about where they need to go in the future. That goal
is enterprise business agility, which is helping the company become more
nimble. DT is the first step, then start looking at steps two and three.
Architects
need to understand technology better, such things as new cloud
services, IoT, edge computing, ML, and AI. These are going to have
disruptive effects on your businesses. You need to understand them to be
a trusted advisor to your organization.
Fourth, Architects need to
understand technology better, such things as fast-moving, emerging technology
like new cloud services, Internet of Things (IoT),
edge computing, machine learning (ML),
and artificial intelligence
(AI) -- these are more than just buzz words and initiatives. They are real
technology advancements. They are going to have disruptive effects on your
businesses and the solutions to support those businesses. You need to
understand the technologies; you need to start playing with them so you can
truly be a trusted advisor to your organization about how to apply those
technologies in business context.
Gardner:
Chris, we hear a lot about AI and ML these days. How do you expect Enterprise Architects
to help organizations leverage AI and ML to get to that DT? It seems really
essential to me to become more data driven and analytics driven and then to
re-purpose to reuse those analytics over and over again to attain an ongoing
journey of efficiency and automation.
Better business outcomes
Armstrong: We are
now working with our partners to figure out how to best use AI and ML to help
run the business, to do better product development, to gain a 360-degree view
of the customer, and so forth.
It’s one of those weird things
where we see the shoemaker’s children not having any shoes because they are so
busy making shoes for everybody else. There is a real opportunity, when we look
at some of the infrastructure that’s required to support the agile enterprise, to
exploit those same technologies to help us do our jobs in enterprise
architecture.
It is an emerging part of the
profession. We and others are beginning to do some research on that, but when I
think of how much time we and our clients have spent on the nuts and bolts
collection of data and normalization of data, it sure seems like there is a
real opportunity to leverage these emerging technologies for the benefit of the
architecture practice. Then, again, the architects can be more focused on
building relationships with people, understanding the strategy in less time, and
figuring out where the data is and what the data means.
Obviously humans still need to
be involved, but I think there is a great opportunity to eat your own dog food,
as it were, and see if we can exploit those learning tools for the benefit of
the architecture community and its consumers.
Gardner: Chris,
do we have concrete examples of this at work, where EAs have elevated
themselves and exposed their value for business outcomes? What’s possible when
you do this right?
Armstrong: A lot
of organizations are working things from the bottoms up, and that often starts
in IT operations and then moves to solution delivery. That’s where there has
been a lot of good progress, in improved methods and techniques such as scaled agile
and DevOps.
We need an umbrella over
different release trains, for example, to make sure the organization as a whole
is marching forward. We have been working with a number of Fortune 100
companies that have made good progress at the operational implementation levels.
They nonetheless now are finding that particularly trying, to connect to business
architecture.
There have been some great
advancements from the Business
Architecture Guild and that’s been influencing the TOGAF framework, to
connect the dots across those agile communities so that the learnings of a
particular release train or the strategy of the enterprise is clearly
understood and delivered to all of those different communities.
Gardner: Ryan,
looking to the future, what should organizations be doing with the Enterprise Architect
role and function?
EA evolution across environments
Schmierer: The
next steps don’t just apply to Enterprise Architects but really to all types of
architects. So look at the job role and how your job role needs to evolve over
the next few years. How do you need to approach it differently than you have in
the past?
For example, we are seeing Enterprise
Architects increasingly focus on issues like security, risk, reuse, and integration
with partner ecosystems. How do you integrate with other companies and work in
the broader environments?
We are seeing Business Architects
who have been deeply engaged in DT discussions over the last couple of years
start looking forward and shifting the role to focus on how we light up real-time
decision-making capabilities. Solution Architects
are shifting from building and designing components to designing assembly and
designing the end systems that are often built out of third-party components
instead of things that were built in-house.
Look at the job role and understand that the core need hasn’t changed. Companies need Enterprise Architects and Business Architects and Solution Architects more than ever right now to get them where they need to be. But the people serving those roles need to do that in a new way -- and that’s focused on the future, what the business needs are over the next 6 to 18 months, and that’s different than what they have done in past.
Gardner: Where
can organizations and individuals go to learn more about Agile Architecture as
well as what The Open Group and Sparx Services are offering?
Schmierer: The Open
Group has some great resources
available. We have a July
event in Denver focused on Agile
Architecture, where they will discuss some of the latest thoughts coming
out of The Open Group Architecture
Forum, Digital
Practitioners Work Group, and more. It’s a great opportunity to learn about
those things, network with others, and discuss how other companies are
approaching these problems. I definitely point them there.
And then Sparx Services North
America, we are here to help architects be more effective and add value to
their organizations, be it through tools, training, consulting, best practices,
and standards. We are here to help, so feel free to reach out at our website. We are happy to talk with you
and see how we might be able to help.
Listen
to the podcast. Find it on iTunes. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: The Open Group.
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