Embracing the Language of the Decision Maker

Decisions are becoming more intricate and outcomes more uncertain. Corporations are increasingly finding themselves competing within global markets for sophisticated consumers with high expectations. Time-to-market pressures have increased, but the recent economic downturn has significantly reduced available market liquidity and created a “zombie” economy. Banks have trillions of dollars of toxic assets on their books, corporations have more debt than they can service comfortably, debt-to-GDP rates are at a historic high, and a decline in consumer spending is having a major stifling effect on the economy. Unless an entire business has been reinvented since September 2008, it is no longer well-positioned for the new world.

The Four Domains Of Enterprise Architecture Can Help

An enterprise architecture (EA) capability can assist with strategic decision making within this complex and unpredictable environment.

Enterprise architecture introduces a common language so complex issues can be better understood by decision makers throughout the enterprise. There are four major domains of EA. Here’s how they can assist in the decision-making process.

1. Business architecture establishes business priorities and requirements so the right response can be scoped. A fully articulated business architecture describes what the organization does and why it does it. This can be used to model and simulate multiple new and improved business scenarios.
2. Information architecture sets data definitions and standards so information can be more easily shared, understood, and consumed by decision makers.
3. Application architecture articulates a future vision and blueprint for new strategic initiatives to validate against.
4. Technology architecture sets technical standards that new projects must conform to.

Enterprise architecture can help the organization answer questions on how to do things better, faster, and cheaper. Example questions that an enterprise architect might be asked could include:

• How do we comply with SOX, Basel II, and information security?
• How will this merger or de-merger impact our business?
• Should we outsource part of our activities?
• How do we get the right information to run our business?
• How do we best integrate with our customers, partners, and suppliers?
• How do we improve and optimize business processes?
• Existing Approaches Are Not Satisfying The Needs Of Decision Makers

There are many existing frameworks and approaches to developing an enterprise architecture. Architects have been successfully using EA frameworks since 1987 when John Zachman published his Zachman Framework. While an EA framework is a good place to start, it is not always applied well or in a consistent fashion that will benefit decision makers from the business. There are several reasons for this, including:

• Current frameworks are not sufficiently issues-based.
• The real business problem or opportunity that is being addressed is not always clear and central to the approach.
• Not enough attention is given to engaging business stakeholders and explaining how the myriad of artifacts and deliverables will be understood and used by them to make better decisions.

Most frameworks are based on the concepts of information systems planning, a 30+-year-old approach to architecture that no longer resonates with and excites those outside of the narrow confines of the typical EA team.

EA Teams Need A New Approach That Focuses On The Language Of The Business

Existing approaches to EA, therefore, are failing to support enterprise strategic decision making. Is there a new way for EA teams to engage decision makers within the business more fully? EA teams need to embrace the language of the decision maker and complement existing approaches with business rich architecture models. Specifically, architects should:

• Utilize user journeys to better engage the business.
• Make business architecture a core competency.
• Move away from logical models when building the case for investment and change.
• Drive transformation using clear business benefits.

1. Utilize user journeys to better engage the business

The software developer and user experience community utilize user persona and journey models to help understand the motivations of users and how they interact with IT systems. Successful architects put the needs and requirements of decision makers at the core of their EA programs. Understanding the value that business stakeholders place on individual artifacts as well as their individual criteria for measuring EA success is critical. User personas and journeys are a great way for EA teams to articulate, communicate, and drive their program, as well as increase the benefit delivered to the organization. The models ask: what are the goals of stakeholders, how do they achieve their goals, and how can EA be utilized to help them reach their goals?

2. Make business architecture a core competency

Business architecture skills and competencies should be a core capability, and EA teams need to think more like business design engineers rather than technical architects. When looking to source people with strong business architecture skills, the following criteria should be used as a baseline:

• Must be able to clearly articulate complex design concepts in layman’s terms to a variety of stakeholders.
• Should be personable and able to empathize with the needs and concerns of key workers. Be able to listen to employees who are unconsciously competent at their job and translate the description of “what they do” into a business process.
• Must be diligent and detailed oriented but still be able to understand and articulate the bigger picture.
• Perhaps has a mathematical/statistical background (a bonus).
• Understands best practice principles related to efficiency, roles and organization, IT, and business environment.
• Has workshop facilitation skills.
• Has a working knowledge of process design tools and design notation and rules (Lean, Six-Sigma, BPMN, etc.).
• Brings a high-level understanding of the function and assets of the business and the business strategy and priorities.
• Has a detailed understanding of information architecture, the role of data flow in operational activity, and the interfaces between business areas.

While an understanding of the enterprise’s business is desirable, it should not come at the expense of core business architect skills and competencies. You can teach a good architect about the business. It’s much harder to train a poor business architect to be competent in these specialist areas.

Enterprise Architecture can help the organization answer questions on how to do things better, faster, and cheaper.

3. Move away from logical models when building the case for investment and change

Business stakeholders will often make decisions on the emotive arguments: How does this feel? What does it look like? How can I use it? EA teams should move away from logical models when building the case for investment and change. Instead, use better models and deliverables that resonate well with business decision makers and that are well grounded with bottom line supporting data. These would include organization models, interactive market simulations, constraint modeling, and profit forecasting. Most leading EA tools implement simulation modeling, and this can be a powerful way to demonstrate the bottom line value that an EA program can deliver. Be sure to choose the right model for each potential audience and choose simple, one-page views that will immediately strike a chord with your partners and that clearly summarize the intended message. Be innovative with your architecture models and work hard to ensure that they are visually appealing.

4. Drive transformation using clear business benefits

Enterprise architecture’s success lies in first being clear about where the business value will come from and how the best outcomes are achieved when one or two factors dominate. It’s important to understand which factors dominate for a specific enterprise and use that to drive the creation of models and all subsequent engagements with key decision makers.

In addition, an approach is needed to regularly monitor the value that is being delivered and communicate this in a consistent fashion to the enterprise. The key steps to getting this right are:

• Identifying who your EA stakeholders really are.
• Eliciting the benefits that your stakeholders are looking to achieve.
• Understanding what deliverables your stakeholders would value most.
• Prioritizing your EA activity around the required benefits and deliverables.
• Designing a mechanism to capture, monitor, and report on benefit realization.
• Implementing continuous improvement within your EA program.

Failing To Engage Your Business Partners By Speaking In A Language They Understand Will Hinder Your EA Program

By adopting these strategies, embracing the language of the decision maker, and complementing existing approaches with business-rich architecture models, architects can avoid many of the pitfalls common to traditional technical-led EA programs and will be one step closer to enabling well-informed and high-quality enterprise strategic decision making.

by Proteus Duxbury, a managing consultant in PA Consulting Group’s IT Consulting practice and an experienced and accomplished enterprise architect and certified TOGAF practitioner. He has 10 years experience as an IT consultant in a variety of roles including enterprise architecture, solutions architecture, technical due diligence, software development, system development life cycles, and project management. Primarily focusing on assignments in the public sector (health, criminal justice, and social services), he also has a long track record of working with blue chip private utility companies in both the U.K. and U.S.