Antwerp, Belgium
Cost reduction is one of the main focuses of so many companies out there today. The market is not great, and that is the moment companies take a deep look at the financials of it all.
One of the first things that is being asked is: What are we really spending?
Not just the big hard numbers like contracts and licences, but everything. The hidden costs and invisible hours.
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It’s the start of a new fiscal year. Strategy season. That time when all the grand ideas come out and everyone is still hopefull.
Over the years, I’ve settled into a structure that helps me define projects that not only link to the strategy above but also looks at my own team’s enviroment, I thought I’d share it here.
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Last week, while sitting in a bar, I had a chat with a good friend of mine about the role of software in an organization. I stated that the primary role software plays in an organization is to facilitate processes. My friend argued that this is a strict and overly theoretical view of software in the workplace. He might be right, but nevertheless, I think there is an article in this conversation.
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In my last post1, I briefly talked about how I include information (PPTI) in my operating model (PPT), and I even promised to write a post about it. This is that post.
People, processes, and technology are very common ways to look at an organization from an architectural point of view. It is often argued that everything that happens (projects, implementations, strategy, etc.) is impacted and driven by these three pillars.
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One of the most confusing things about architecture is the vagueness of the naming surrounding it. This is true not only for non-architects, who often don’t really know in detail what all the different disciplines do, but also for the architects themselves. A lot of the naming seems to be based on feelings without any clear definition.
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Well, the real title was going to be “Business strategy is like a lizard: It leaves behind its tail while it grows a new one,” but that was just too long.
Strategy never exists in isolation: it’s always a response, a build-up, or a pullback. It also has to be passed down to all the layers of the organization to make these chances. It’s a very reactive business.
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Last week, I discovered a new podcast called The Enterprise Architecture Experience. They had two episodes featuring interviews with Dr. Svyatoslav Kotusev about his books and work. Svyatoslav is a fascinating figure in the Enterprise Architecture space 1, and I was delighted to hear his insights on the podcast. The conversation did not disappoint.
Near the end of the podcast, Svyatoslav made a brief remark about ArchiMate, stating that it is a language spoken only among architects and reinforces the stereotype of the ivory tower architect. His comment resonated with me, and I have been reflecting on it ever since. Allow me to share my thoughts.
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Most big organizations I’ve worked with are more akin to an ecosystem of multiple smaller companies. These smaller companies all share the same umbrella of the bigger total but internally compete for resources and priorities. Think of it as a federation of specialised companies that all share the same banner and want to achieve the same bigger goal.
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A big part of enterprise architecture is keeping your architecture model up to date. Without this model, it’s impossible to do your real job in advising projects, strategy and general company awareness. The problem is that getting a full model is a daunting and maybe even impossible job. Let’s talk about the pitfalls and how we can approach this.
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The last weeks I’ve been focusing a lot on the data and information models in our architecture. Organizations have so much data flowing around that it’s hard to effectively map it all out. That’s a shame because there are some very valuable learnings to be had from that data.
That’s why I wrote this post; it’s mainly to gather my current thoughts on this topic. Might as well share it with you. It’s a combination of techniques I’ve done at previous organizations (things I know work) and things I’ve been thinking about for a long time now (things that might work). So this isn’t a full-on manual, more a collection of current thoughts. I hope that makes sense.
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