Frederick Vanbrabant's Delirious Rantings

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Enterprise architecture needs to get better at architecture strategy

Enterprise architecture , Strategy

I’ve been reading a lot of strategy books these last weeks 1 (also two James Bond books, but that is probably not related to this post), and I’ve been trying to tie it to my everyday work of enterprise architecture. Most of these posts are just me finding an excuse to put my thoughts to paper to see if they make sense, so why not write a new post about what I’ve learned? It’s also a perfect time, with the end of the year approaching, to maybe reflect on the next year and how we can tackle it.

Taming Chaos: Handeling vendor based architecture

Enterprise architecture , Software , Managing technology

I’ve noticed a huge shift in the architecture of big companies in the last few years: companies are shifting from in-house development to third-party applications, shedding the traditional ‘Not Invented Here’ stigma in favor of external innovation. It is not hard to understand the rationale behind it: you can use the best tools in the market 1 to handle parts of your business, the vendor handles all the technical maintenance, and they even keep improving the software, and most importantly, you don’t need in-house people dedicated to the job.

Communication for team leaders - Ownership

People , Communication for team leaders

And we’ve come to the last post in the series of “communication for team leaders.” This one is about ownership. You can find the other posts here. https://frederickvanbrabant.com/blog/2024-10-11-communication-for-team-leaders-context/ https://frederickvanbrabant.com/blog/2024-10-31-communication-for-team-leaders-trust/ And these posts are based on a part of my talk, “I just became a team lead, now what” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtSbTded0o). The red line in these posts A smart reader like you has probably found the pattern in these posts; they all have a focus on keeping people engaged and motivated. This is a very important part of leadership. If you can’t motivate your people to stand behind their work, you will never get good results. At best you will get passable work; at worst you will get an open vacancy.

Communication for team leaders - Trust

People , Communication for team leaders

The second part of a three-part"Communication for Team Leaders". This one is about trust, letting go and delegating. I think it’s the hardest one for new managers. You can find the first post here: https://frederickvanbrabant.com/blog/2024-10-11-communication-for-team-leaders-context/ These posts are based on a part of my talk, “I just became a team lead, now what” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtSbTded0o).

Communication for team leaders - Context

People , Communication for team leaders

This will be the first post in a series of three called “Communication for Team Leaders”. The first focuses on context and why it’s crucial in daily communication and task-giving. These posts are based on a part of my talk, “I just became a team lead, now what” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtSbTded0o). You can have a fantastic team of subject matter experts and brilliant technical people, but if they don’t talk to each other, you will never get a good product or outcome for a project. I don’t think this is a new statement. Soft skills have been a focus of conference talks for a while now. We keep talking about empathy and how we bring messages, yet I haven’t seen a lot of practicality in those talks, and as a result, the adoption in companies is fairly low. I hope I can bring some practicality to this topic with these posts.

Data driven is not the silver bullet you think it is

Strategy

In the 2010s, there was a huge buzz around big data. Big data was going to save the world of decision-making. Gather all the information you can about the market, clients, employees, and your product, and just follow where the data will lead you. The big data buzzword went away a bit (I guess we now use it to fuel the AI buzz), but the mindset remained. These days, we call it data-driven, and it’s used every day in management meetings. It’s a great way to give power to your strategy, and the data doesn’t lie…

I think we should reimagine how we see architecture principles

Enterprise architecture , Software , Managing technology

To me, it always seems strange that in a world that thrives on innovation and constant change, every architectural department tries to implement a rigid set of principles that stay in place for years. From software design patterns (think SOLID, DRY, …) to the more strategic layer (think TOGAF, PRINCE2, …), these principles seem to have been around forever. Is anything really timeless and forever the same?

Internal vs consulting Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise architecture , Consulting

Today, I want to discuss the two big experiences you can have as an Enterprise Architect: working internally at a company and being a consultant. I’ve done both in the past, so I hope to bring some insights into this topic. I have the feeling that depending on what you have more experience with (internal or consulting), you will have a very different perspective on Enterprise architecture as a whole.

Architecture in an agile world

Enterprise architecture , Software

Before we start talking about architecture, it’s a good idea to lay out the foundation of this discussion first. I know there are a million articles about agile and how it will all save us from certain doom and is a money-making machine, but let’s stop the marketing drive for a second and have an honest look at it.

Business Capabilities, how I like to use them

Enterprise architecture , Capabilities

So we should probably start with this right? Business capabilities (further in this article referred to as capabilities) are the backbone of enterprise architecture. They are also, sadly, one of the most misunderstood things in enterprise architecture. You can think of a capability as something a company can, or is doing. An example here could be, if you are a restaurant, stock management or food preparation.