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 so much need for it.
So, let's start at the top - IT Architecture is a continuum and an umbrella for every design process in the enterprise. IT Architecture is the foundation for understanding every enterprise capability as well as being the starting point for all planning and governance. The reason it serves all these roles is because it provides the necessary insight for guiding all of those processes. Without that insight, making decisions and governing IT management or evolution becomes more or less like guesswork.
Why should this be so? Well, it has a lot to do with the disruptive and dynamic nature of Information Technology; it is not all uncommon for large organizations to have incomplete information in regards to their own systems, costs and data. Often times there are redundant, distributed islands of IT that cross business units or may even involve the separation of capability across IT & business communities. Gaining a complete picture of what's going in many organizations is quite a challenge - but is absolutely necessary in order to unify systems operation and to move forward in a coordinated fashion to exploit new opportunities and technologies.
So, let's go back and address those two very common misunderstandings again…
1 - IT Architecture and EA are the same thing (and EA is useless) - now I've paraphrased some of the criticism I've heard over the years about EA, but of course there is a legitimate question there. Is there any real value to EA? First off, EA and IT Architecture are not the same. EA is a top level architecture process and represents perhaps 20% of the total architecture that occurs in the typical enterprise. EA is integrated with IT Strategy and portfolio planning and governance.
Does EA have value? Yes, it does. It represents that portion of IT architecture that helps allow business stakeholders understand their IT capability landscape. It is high level enough to function as a communications tool, a governance framework and a project estimation bench-marking tool. EA is also, when done properly, the bridge to all other solution architecture.
2 - Does Architecture inhibit Agility? This is a thorny question and a complex topic, but I will try to address it briefly. At first blush, it might appear that any formalized design process might not fit within the context of the Agile Manifesto. But there are some important considerations worth noting that tend to contradict that initial assumption:
- Agile, as a methodology, has never been effectively transferred from a system or application scope to an enterprise scope except through the adoption of more iterative, time-boxed approaches to lifecycle management. There is a good reason for this - purist Agile approaches are focused on deriving requirements through experimentation rather than up front design.
- When you move from the application development scope to the enterprise integration domain things change - a lot. The problem at this level is no longer invention, but reconciliation and complexity management. In this context, the discovery associated with design relates to existing capability and introduction of well-defined new technologies. Here, IT Architecture provides the reference point for establishing and maintaining control over what otherwise might become a chaotic environment.
- Agile is all about making the application work by any means necessary - operations is all about making the enterprise work as a whole in the most efficient manner possible.
- And even within Agile, there is a design process and that process is merely one specifically-tailored component of a larger family of IT Architecture practice.
Perceptions are often hard to change and IT Architecture is a large, emerging and complicated field of practice. After working as an architect for 16 years, I can honestly say I've never seen more organizations doing architecture work. More often than not that architecture has become an important part of their overall IT management strategy. Yet, the continued misconceptions tend to hold back the true potential of IT Architecture. Too often, people view it from the perspective of one of the many sub-disciplines (such as Agile design, etc.) rather than seeing it as a holistic enterprise resource. I think that as the realization of its true scope becomes clearer IT Architecture will become even more important in the years to come.
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