Greetings and welcome to the future. What future, you ask? 2008 doesn’t feel much different than 2007, right? Well, that’s the problem with linear thinking. We humans are hard-wired to draw perspective off the passage of time. We quickly recognize and categorize things that we have seen before and can accurately predict their behaviors in the moments ahead. That capability comes in quite handy if you are trying to spear an approaching saber-tooth tiger, or even hit a receiver on a post route down field.

A $200 million contract to implement a new system for handling welfare payments for the state of Colorado improperly cuts off some recipients, denies food stamps to deserving families, and overpays others by as much as $10 million. Implementation of a national online system for recording births, deaths, and marriages in the United Kingdom was halted after, among other faults, the system failed to adequately check teachers’ criminal records, thus allowing convicted molesters to work in classrooms.

Corporate culture, or the “way of life” of an organization, is a critical success factor for the development of enterprise architecture. Having the “right” shared beliefs, values, and norms is the difference between an EA that lives, breathes, and informs the organization’s decision making and an EA that sits around as useless shelf-ware. As an executive at steel manufacturer Nucor once said (quoted in Jim Collins’ Good to Great) “Twenty percent of our success is the new technology that we embrace . .

Surviving—and Thriving—as the CIO for an IT Company

With today’s accelerated business pace, increasing compliance requirements, and ever-changing technologies, the role of the chief information officer has never been more interesting or challenging. That’s especially true if—like me—you’re the CIO of a company that provides IT products or services.

Making the Mix Work

Ensuring that IT is aligned with business remains a top concern among the nation’s leading CIOs, according to an annual survey conducted by the Society for Information Management (SIM).

However, with the help of enterprise architects, this critical issue can be alleviated, allowing CIOs to focus on other issues such as retaining and attracting IT professionals, another top concern on this year’s list.

Finding Balance and Adding Value to Projects with Enterprise Architecture

We are often asked what an architecture plan is and why it is important. As with most things, there isn’t a simple answer to what an architecture plan is. There is no standard template for an architecture plan. Every organization is different, and the nature of the architecture plan changes depending on an organization’s specific needs.

Nobody enters the EA profession thinking it is easy. Management expectations set a high bar, while cultural and historical obstacles create a constant challenge. The work includes building new and improved processes, navigating changing politics, engaging brand new stakeholder communities, creating EA content, supporting projects, and demonstrating multiple value propositions. It is easy to see that EA is not for the faint of heart. Contrary to conventional wisdom, success doesn’t necessarily mean doing everything at once to perfection.