By Holt Hackney
Organizations should define the enterprise architect role more narrowly and tie it to measurable business outcomes, according to new research from Info-Tech Research Group.
The research firm said many organizations continue to evaluate enterprise architects primarily on technical expertise, even though the role also requires analytical thinking, communication, relationship-building and the ability to explain complex issues to business leaders.
Info-Tech’s report, “Build a Better Enterprise Architect,” argues that vague job descriptions and broad expectations can weaken an enterprise architecture program’s credibility and make it difficult to demonstrate value.
“Enterprise architects often become difficult to justify and resource because many organizations expect architects to do too much at once,” said Andrew Kum-Seun, research director at Info-Tech. “Once the mandate is clear, the skills and development priorities become much easier to define and plan.”
Enterprise architecture programs are facing increased scrutiny as organizations examine technology spending and seek clearer returns on investment. Info-Tech said EA initiatives can lose organizational support when architects lack a defined mandate, measurable objectives or a clear connection to stakeholder priorities.
The firm identified several common challenges.
Role ambiguity can lead architects to assume responsibilities that do not align with organizational needs. Generic competency frameworks may also encourage organizations to evaluate too many skills at once, resulting in development plans that lack focus.
Info-Tech also said enterprise architects can serve different functions depending on an organization’s priorities. An architect may focus on business strategy, technology planning, governance, transformation or another area. Selecting an orientation that does not match stakeholder needs can limit the architect’s effectiveness.
The report recommends a three-phase approach to defining and developing the role.
- The first phase calls for organizations to establish the architect’s purpose, scope, reporting structure and expected outcomes.
- The second involves identifying the technical and nontechnical skills required to fulfill that mandate and assessing gaps.
- The third calls for organizations to establish development milestones, objectives and metrics that can be communicated to stakeholders.
“The role of the enterprise architect is so complex that to deliver long-term value, they need to determine what skills to develop and what orientation to adopt to best serve the enterprise,” said Caleb Pittman, a research specialist at Info-Tech. “When architects stop chasing the desire to please everyone and focus on a narrow, high-impact mandate, their credibility deepens and their influence scales.”
Info-Tech said organizations should treat the enterprise architect role as a context-specific position rather than relying solely on standard job descriptions or industrywide competency models. The firm said a more focused role can help enterprise architecture teams establish priorities, track progress and demonstrate their contribution to business and technology decisions.