EA Governance


What in the world is EA governance you may ask. The term governance as explained by The Business Dictionary means “establishment of policies, and continuous monitoring of their proper implementation, by the members of the governing body of an organization”. Well this is also true in the world of enterprise architecture. Governance is a key component to the EA process. Governance is not limited to policies and observation, it is also inclusive of activities that the organization performs so that efforts are supported by measures of culpability.
Think of EA as a great big trip. You have your Enterprise Roadmap for how to get from point A to B. Typically you don’t take trips without travel insurance, so why go in your EA journey without it? Governance as the protection plan for your EA journey. Those policies and monitoring provide checks and balances throughout the process.


With EA being such an intricate program, there are inherent pitfalls that come with implementation. Taking the time to invest in governance allows organizations to keep the EA team members, leadership and organization as a whole accountable. If for any reason your organization thinks that this step can be skipped because it is easy enough to address something when it comes up, they are sadly mistaken. Take heed and ensure that governance not an afterthought in your company’s EA program implementation by doing 2 key things.

1       Assemble an Architecture Review Board (ARB) to be the ones to make definitive decisions regarding the EA program. Who is supposed to approve the policies, methods of monitoring, changes to the program and/or content? Identify individuals who are:
·       Knowledgable about EA
·       Interested in participating
·       Have some hands-on role, but can be impartial
·       Willing to own missteps
·       Forward thinking/innovative
·       Problem solvers
2       Develop those critical artifacts such as policies and monitoring protocols as both a security net and a backbone. Know that the policies cannot simply be guidelines and flex as needed. These need to be well thought out so that they can provide the program support needed.

Reference:
The Business Dictionary http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/governance.html

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