Reinventing Enterprise Architecture

I've seen articles recently proclaiming that Enterprise Architecture (EA) is dead. Of course, I've seen the same proclamations for SOA, for COBOL and any number of other technologies or IT practices over the years. These premature announcements all have one thing in common - they equate the value of a technology (or technology practice) with its current position in the hype cycle rather than its actual utility. There is another thing these death...

Read More

Why Most Organizations need a Data Strategy

One of the most important tasks that a Data Architect is often asked to help with is the creation of an Enterprise Data Strategy. But why is Data Strategy so important and what exactly does it consist of, and lastly why is this a task that a Data Architect should be leading or supporting? So, what is a Data Strategy? Let's review what it isn't first… A Data Strategy is not a list of generic principles or obvious statements (such as "Data is an...

Read More

Creating Agile IT Transformation - part 1

IT Transformation has been a buzzword for more than a decade now, but what does it really mean? The first time I heard it used regularly was in relation to specific Department of Defense (DoD) technology initiatives from the early 2000's. I had the opportunity to work on several of those projects and as the years progressed the concept of IT Transformation evolved quite a bit – becoming much more flexible and yes – even somewhat Agile in nature. At...

Read More

Making the Case for IT Architecture

There are still quite a few misconceptions in regards to IT Architecture. For many, hearing the term "Architecture" in relation to any IT topic seems to imply Enterprise Architecture (EA). To others, the notion of formal design processes represents the anti-thesis of Agile or responsive problem-solving. These misconceptions are unfortunate because there has never been more architecture connected to IT in actual practice and there has never been...

Read More

The Top 10 Mistakes in Data Architecture - part 1

The IT Architecture Journal is meant to help both practitioners of IT Architecture as well as those who might hire architects. It is vital that both of these stakeholder group understand not only the core principles behind the practice of Architecture but also where and when Architecture can go wrong. Today, we're going to talk about some of the more common problems or mistakes that arise in the practice of Data Architecture. While there are no...

Read More

Security Architecture, Defined

There are some people who don't recognize Security Architecture as its own niche within IT Architecture, but given the number of roles / positions now using the title "Security Architect," perhaps the naysayers have missed out on something. This post will examine what Security Architecture consists of and how it fits within the larger context of IT Architecture. Back in the old days, security was a lot easier. We didn't have internet connectivity...

Read More

How to Create Product Maps

In some of our articles here you've probably noticed various types of diagrams thrown in as examples. All of these come from real-world project related exercises. When an IT Architect produces a diagram we generally refer to it as an "Artifact." While this may sound like we're talking about relics, it is simply an odd naming convention of our industry. An Artifact can be any sort of deliverable; a Word doc, a spreadsheet or perhaps even a file associated...

Read More

Lifecycle Management, Defined

Like many other aspects of Information Technology over the past 15 to 20 years, Lifecycle Management has evolved quite a bit. In fact, it didn't generally even get referred to as "Lifecycle Management" until about ten years ago. It (both the term and the practice) has become more expansive in nature as time has passed. This is an interesting not just due to the evolution which has occurred to the surrounding practice, it is also the one area in...

Read More

Aligning Lifecycle Methodologies - Part 1

In a previous post, I contended that requirements are still an important part of most enterprise environments, even those that might be using Agile lifecycle methodologies. However, I didn't specify exactly how those requirements should be captured — or even what constitutes a requirement. This is an important question when determining how to align multiple lifecycle approaches within one organization (the need for which is much more common than...

Read More

Understanding Architecture Accessibility

The topic of Architecture Accessibility may sound a bit abstract upon first glance, but it is in fact one of the most important considerations as to whether an architecture effort will add value or not to an enterprise (or any particular solution lifecycle). It is also directly related (or perhaps a part of) the most important consideration for any architecture - its usability. Let's step back for a moment and paint the background a bit. IT Architecture...

Read More