Enterprise 2.0: The Strategic Planning of Enterprise Architecture (EA)
Happy Fav Five Friday!
The Expression of Enterprise 2.0 Architecture
Enterprise 2.0 Architecture is a complete expression of the enterprise. The equation values of collaboration and communication provide solutions for supporting goals, visions, & missions of the enterprise. The equation of business remains fluid, therefore the structure should not be rigid.
listening: shareskiAtFlickr
Planning Enterprise Architecture: What? When? Where? Why?
You can get an idea about my perspective on Enterprise 2.0 here “The Art of Enterprise Architecture in E 2.0“, but we can save each other the time and sum it up in one word, “Listen“. The strategy of enterprise 2.0 architecture starts with four simple questions. Identify your stakeholders, ask them the following four questions, and listen to their answers.
- Why would you hide knowledge?
- What would make life easy for you?
- When do you share with others?
- Where can you connect with others?
This sounds pretty simple right? I like to think of enterprise solutions as a party and this is the invitation.
4 Simple Questions on Enterprise Architecture
- Why would you hide knowledge?
- The why question comes first, because if you don’t know why, then you can drop the whole thing. I hope this does not sound like a sarcastic question. Would you share your bank account information, social security number, or other private data in a public space? Organizations don’t usually freely share information with their competitors. We usually don’t share work-product, but it would be nice to have a controlled collaborative space to complete the work with invited co-workers. This question usually helps us discover additional treasure about knowledge management.
- What would make life easy for you?
- In the enterprise, this is usually framed around goals and vision statements. Expect to hear about time and things that consume time, which can create barriers for accomplishing goals. Listen carefully here and take notes, this is the foundation to adoption.
- When do you share with others?
- All people share differently. People choose to share when they are motivated. What motivates them to share? Listen carefully and take notes here because collaboration is the foundation of successful Enterprise 2.0.
- Where can you connect with others?
- People easily connect with others when they feel comfortable. Using the word “can” here instead of “do” will help open the door to new ideas. Different types of conversations take place in different types of environments. Would you have a detailed conversation about salaries in the middle of a design meeting? Some people need “face time”, while others are perfectly fine in the virtual environment. Deeper levels of connection surface detailed conversations. Higher comfort levels relate directly to true engagement. Listen carefully here because level of comfort and how people connect to each other are the keys to drive collaboration.
Image from Pragmatic EA
What is purpose of Enterprise Architecture?
- To provide the business with:
- Structural Models to aid Strategic Planning
- Governance to manage alignment to the Strategic Plan
- Metrics to measure execution of the Strategic Plan
Learn more at Pragmatic EA http://pragmaticea.com/
Fav 5 Friday: Enterprise Architecture
- Enterprise Architecture Matters – IT Tool Box
- Fixing Enterprise Architecture: Balancing the Forces of Change in the Modern Organization
- TOGAF Version 9 “Enterprise Edition”
- The DoDAF Architecture Framework Version 2.0
- There is no Enterprise 2.0, there is your Enterprise 2.0.
I also like the conversation here: Do Today’s Enterprise Architecture Practitioners Get at all Close to the Original Vision of EA?
Happy Fav 5 Friday!
Tags: Architecture, Enterprise 2.0
