Random Enterprise Architecture Talk

When an organization is launching any EA initiative program there are major considerations to be made. Typically the top two items to consider are how to link the EA program with facets of the organization and communication. Figuring out how to utilize existing (and possibly new) technology to help an organization perform more efficiently while working towards goals is laborious. Typically there is such division in standard organizations that identifying the operations plan separate from the IT plan is necessary in order to see where there are opportunities to add or improve function. There are many saying that elude to how important communication is- one being "communication is key." Communication is a tool that must be utilized in the proper way to ensure clear understanding. Effective communication must be present between the EA architect, team members, stakeholders and consumers. Communication from the EA architect may need to be adapted based on the target audience.

fig. 1 Enterprise architecture is an ever-growing tool that was created to help organizations align and better leverage their IT resources according to their business strategy. There are fundamental questions to be asked when contemplating enterprise alignment. These questions include: Who are we as an organization? How do we stack up against competitors? Where trajectory are we on as an organization? What is important to us? What are our desired outcomes? What performance metrics will be used? How is our performance? What resources can be afforded and/or apportioned to help improve performance? Can resources (especially IT) be used in a more optimal way across the organization? What steps are needed to improve performance? How do we make our improvements sustainable? Once these questions are answered an organization can create a plan outline and move forward with adding substantive steps. These steps will leverage the organizations existing IT resources to help acc