elemental links

elemental links blog: new location

Going forward, the elemental links blog and business site will be (finally) co-located at elementallinks.com

To preserve the integrity of inbound links, I am retaining this site.  Existing links to the original path (elementallinks.typepad.com) and the mapped path (blog.elementallinks.net) will bring you here.  All other “elemental links” mappings – in theory – will go to the new site.

The new site has all of my post archives, with your comments, from December 2004 – August 10, 2010. 

The elemental links feed (via feedburner) is now mapped to the new site. 

Please join me at the new, shiny, elemental links. - brenda

Moving to a New Blogging Platform & Host

Over the course of the weekend, I'm moving elemental links blog and business sites to a shiny, new, combined platform.  Since I'm remapping URLs, results will be unpredictable for a bit.

Back with an update in a day or two.  Wish me luck!

Enterprise Architecture Re-Think: What are your outcomes?

On his excellent blog, Nick Malik asks if we need a canonical definition of enterprise architecture?  Nick opens with a definition from the EARF, continues with the compromise definition from the 160-character LinkedIn discussion, shares his own and asks for input. 

Certainly, a canonical definition of enterprise architecture would be valuable.  But, what exactly should it convey?  And how would it vary from traditional definitions?  What follows is the comment I submitted.

Hi Nick,

So, I participated in that LinkedIn thread as well.  I shared a prior tweet of mine, “The ultimate outcome of Enterprise Architecture is change-friendly capability delivery”.

Interestingly, most replies in that thread interpreted “purpose” as describing the function, rather than the outcome.  I find this problematic. 

I think the number one question Enterprise Architects and Enterprise Architecture Practices need to answer is “What do we contribute to the business”.  What is the ultimate outcome of Enterprise Architecture?  And therefore, what would be missing (or more difficult) without Enterprise Architecture.

For me, it’s getting to “change-friendly”.  If I’m reading correctly, your definition and the EARF contain a similar theme.  So, it seems purpose-wise, we coalesce on enabling change. 

Additionally, I agree with the EARF purpose of reducing complexity, and as Aleks Buterman often calls out, EA plays a large role in technology investment management.

So, I propose we think of EA as a business and work backwards from the desired outcomes -- ease of change, reduction of complexity, and better technology investment return.

To achieve those outcomes, what capabilities, policies, people and tools are required.  And then, how would we describe (classify) that? 

Would it be a rev of Enterprise Architecture?  Something else?  I know it’s not the Linkedin Group output.

Your comrade in the EA revolution,
Brenda

So, assuming my approach on thinking of EA as a business is a good starting point, what do you believe is the ultimate outcome of enterprise architecture?  Is it ease of change, reduction of complexity, and better technology investment return?  More?  Less?  Different?

And, (bonus question) if your enterprise architecture practice didn’t exist, what (if anything) would be more difficult?

Reading for Enterprise Architects: The Four Phases of Design Thinking

At some point this week, I read a post by Warren Berger, author of Glimmer, on The Four Phases of Design Thinking.  I couldn’t help but notice the similarities to (good) enterprise architect thinking, especially phase 1, Question:

“If you spend any time around designers, you quickly discover this about them: They ask, and raise, a lot of questions. Often this is the starting point in the design process, and it can have a profound influence on everything that follows. Many of the designers I studied, from Bruce Mau to Richard Saul Wurman to Paula Scher, talked about the importance of asking "stupid questions"--the ones that challenge the existing realities and assumptions in a given industry or sector. The persistent tendency of designers to do this is captured in the joke designers tell about themselves. How many designers does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Does it have to be a light bulb?”

While I chuckled at the light bulb joke, it was the next section that really caught my attention.  Back in my corporate chief architect days, I used to say to my team and peers in the leadership group that it was my job to ask questions.  Here’s why:

“In a business setting, asking basic "why" questions can make the questioner seem naïve while putting others on the defensive (as in, "What do you mean 'Why are we doing it this way?' We've been doing it this way for 22 years!"). But by encouraging people to step back and reconsider old problems or entrenched practices, the designer can begin to re-frame the challenge at hand — which can then steer thinking in new directions. For business in today's volatile marketplace, the ability to question and rethink basic fundamentals — What business are we really in? What do today's consumers actually need or expect from us? — has never been more important.””

Another synergy with the enterprise architect role is “Connect”:

“Designers, I discovered, have a knack for synthesizing--for taking existing elements or ideas and mashing them together in fresh new ways. This can be a valuable shortcut to innovation because it means you don't necessarily have to invent from scratch. By coming up with "smart recombinations" (to use a term coined by the designer John Thackara), Apple has produced some of its most successful hybrid products; and Nike smartly combining a running shoe with an iPod to produce its groundbreaking Nike Plus line (which enables users to program their runs). It isn't easy to come up with these great combos. Designers know that you must "think laterally" — searching far and wide for ideas and influences — and must also be willing to try connecting ideas that might not seem to go together. This is a way of thinking that can also be embraced by non-designers.”

So, my enterprise architect friends, I ask you this: Are you asking enough of the right questions to discover (and deliver) “smart recombinations”?

Read the full post. 

Monthly “Top Stories” Cloud Talk with Dave Linthicum

Dave just published the podcast we did this morning on our Top 3 Cloud Computing Stories for July.  This is a fun format.  Dave reports it is his most popular podcast of the month, which is a plus.

While I don’t normally give hints as to my picks, you can find the Open Group whitepaper here.