Should the Enterprise Architect be an X or Y or XY thinker?

(MIT Sloan School of Management X & Y Theory)

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Most EAs X and Y Theory hybrids, but will lean towards their strengths, interests and philosophical inclinations. This is why there are so many avours of Enterprise Architect. To name a few...

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The Planner - Planners seek a blueprint for the enterprise. They focus on identifying opportunities and solutions for common enterprise services. Planners are comparable in certain respects to solution architects the main difference being that they operate at the enterprise level. Pros: Enterprise Architects are supposed to have a blueprint for the enterprise the and Planners have one. No one can accuse them of neglecting their EA duties. Cons: It takes a whole bunch of political power to implement a centrally planned blueprint. Planners are seen as ineffective when their blueprints go unimplemented.

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The Executive Advisor- Many EAs seek trusted advisor status with CxO level executives. They keep a pulse on business and IT and use their EA mandate to get in front of executives whenever they can. The can help develop truly integrated business-technology strategies and aligned business and IT architectures. Pros: IT and business transparency for executive decision making EA valued for its strategic importance of EA understood at executive level. Are more likely to spot opportunities for innovative business-technology designs early. Cons: Everybody and their dog is seeking the ear of executives. Political EAs must compete with IT and business directors, IT line managers and every ambitious soul in the organization (most of whom will have their own theories about enterprise architecture).

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The Collaborative Consultant- They take an consultative and inclusive approach to EA they focus on adoption of the Enterprise Architecture transition plans. They offer architectural support to projects, publish white papers and are always available for architectural advice, opinion and analysis. Pros: Provide value by obtaining buy-in and being involved in day-to-day architectural challenges. Cons: Can appear to 'sit-on-the-fence' when direction is sought.

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The Enforcer - Enforcers see themselves as the ultimate architectural authority in their organization. They review solutions and frequently override the architectural decisions of project teams. They get involved in troubled projects to turn them around. Pros: Enforcers can provide value by vetting solutions. They provide a strong architectural voice this helps to make architectural decisions more consistent. Cons: Enforcers are perpetually in conict with project teams, IT line managers and executives. They need to be bullet proof. Otherwise, they will be bumped-out of the organization by a stronger adversary.

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YX

The Hands-On Designer - Gets involved in the solution architecture of major projects in a Design Authority role. In many cases, they are effectively solution architects or development team leads. Pros: Add value by architecting major projects and ensuring they are aligned with the EA vision. Cons: Can neglect EA duties - potential conicts with project Solution Architects - can get too focused on technologies.

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The Financial Analyst - Focused on IT nancial management and cost efcient and effective architecture. Pros: Provide value by vetting the nances of projects and the costs of architectural decisions. Help express the value of the EA in nancial terms and investment analogies (such as 'Enterprise Debt'). Help structure large procurements. Provide technology investment advice. Cons: Over focus on cost and vendor contract management (may neglect other architectural considerations). Can create conict with the procurement team by too much interference. .

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The Taxonomy Specialist Focuses on the language of the business and develops enterprise taxonomies such as data dictionaries, product catalogues and business capability models. Pros: Enterprise taxonomies are very useful a degree of common language is essential for the EA practice to be successful.. Cons: Taxonomies seldom get the appreciation they deserve too much focus detail can irritate and damage EA credibility with business stakeholders

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The Navigator Focuses on navigating the complexities created by the ever-changing business environment and IT landscape. The Navigator thinks about the journey from current to future-state and plots a course of achievable steps but comfortable with ambiguity and open to making coarse-corrections in reaction to unfolding events. Pros: Breathes life into the Enterprise Architecture, keeps it current and spots opportunities to prove its value. The Navigator often knows the nuances of the way the enterprise works and its current direction of travel better than anyone else. Cons: The adaptive mindset of the Navigator can create friction with those that expect absolute certainty such as the Enforcer.

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The Well Rounded Enterprise Architect (or EA Team) Few Enterprise Architects are as one dimensional as these archetypes. Successful EAs have a well rounded style that blends several of these approaches. In many cases, however, a team of Enterprise Architects cover these roles between them the range of skills and personality traits make it pretty hard to nd these archetypes in one individual!

Inspiration for this material came from Anna Mar's Simplicable website and Doug Newdick's blog post: Avoiding the Standard Metaphors for Enterprise Architecture
Permission to reuse and adapt original material was granted under a Creative Commons SA 2.0 License by Anna Mar please follow this link for the original work http://simplicable.com/new/live-your-enterprise-architecture-dream 5Di Ltd. Also grant permission to reuse and adapt with attribution under a Creative Commons SA 2.0 License by

CC SA 2.0 License
Permission to reuse and adapt original material was granted under a Creative Commons SA 2.0 License by Anna Mar please follow this link for the original work http://simplicable.com/new/live-your-enterprise-architecture-dream 5Di Ltd. Also grant permission to reuse and adapt with attribution under a Creative Commons SA 2.0 License by