In my first article for Forbes in July 2014, Is Enterprise Architecture Completely Broken?, I compared enterprise architects to Milton, a character in the cult film Office Space who has nothing valuable to contribute to his organization.
“The writing is on the wall,” I point out. “For all the Miltons in the role of Enterprise Architect, applying frameworks and creating artifacts and generating documentation, the business value they provide is questionable at best.”
I then present a challenge for all enterprise architects (EAs): “The field of Enterprise Architecture must itself transform into a new, Agile Architecture in order to drive digital transformation effectively in today’s increasingly wired world.”
Little did I know that my exhortations would still resonate two years later. At IRM UK’s Enterprise Architecture Conference in London this week, it was readily apparent that this transformation of the field of EA is in full swing.
I’ve been to EA conferences before, and usually they consist of disgruntled architects commiserating amongst themselves about how little value they’ve been able to provide to their respective organizations.
Not so this year. While there’s unquestionably more progress for these professionals to make, it’s clear that EA has turned a corner.
Enterprise as Complex Adaptive System
David Hunt, Chief Architect of Digital Banking from architecture consultancy Enterprise Blueprints and former Chief Architect at ABN Amro, quoted my article challenging the status quo for enterprise architecture at length. He was especially intrigued by my belief that we must treat enterprises as complex adaptive systems.
Read the entire article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2016/06/16/change-as-core-competency-transforming-the-role-of-the-enterprise-architect/.
Intellyx advises companies on their digital transformation initiatives and helps vendors communicate their agility stories. As of the time of writing, none of the organizations mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. Image credit: Jason Bloomberg.
