02.18.10
Shining the Light on Architecture
[Cartoon]
Many organizations are beginning to realize the importance of the architecture of their Information Technology. Often this awareness comes when the organization finds that it cannot quickly respond to the changes in their business.
Consider a scenario where an organization has decided to acquire another organization and merge it into their existing operations. The president of the organization would meet with direct reports to determine how long it will take to complete the merger. All of the managers believe they can move quickly and have the merger completed within three months except for one, the CIO. Systems’ changes are estimated to take over a year.
Now, suddenly architecture becomes important. Unfortunately, it is probably too late for this scenario. It is not always possible to anticipate a specific change like a merger, but it is possible to anticipate that the business will change. This is why architecture is so important, because change is inevitable.
In my experience, it seems that when management has a need to complete a project, like a merger, the target date is unmovable. A CIO that reports it cannot be done within the target date will probably be shown the door and another CIO that will commit to the target date will be found.
In these cases, the projects cause the architecture to become even more difficult to change. Approaches referred to as “duct tape solutions” will be applied that will literally gum up the architecture. Over time, this is felt as projects take longer and longer to complete. Longer projects mean more resources and higher costs.
Every manager in an organization should know the organization’s architecture for Information Technology. They should know how it works. They should be able to point out areas where there is insufficient flexibility to support potential changes. They should embrace the architecture as their architecture.
Providing this visualization for all to see is the responsibility of the Enterprise Architect. With this visualization the managers will be able to flush out the waste that permeates most organization’s architecture. Just by shinning the light on the architecture, an organization will be able to run faster with less cost.
[Please comment and share your experience.]
Closing the Business / IT gap.
