re: Go Build an Enterprise Architecture

lynuzzle — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:40:42 GMT

Enterprises *are* like cities in that they change constantly, grow organically, and are subject to external constraints like law, natural and other external events(e.g., disasters). Both are systems in the "cosmic" sense; not the box-full-of-logic sense. They evolve continously. In both cases, the trick is to have clarity about your current reality, its reasonable evolutionary trajectories, and how you respond to random as well as anticipated contingencies.

re: Go Build an Enterprise Architecture

NickMalik — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:20:07 GMT

Glad to see you agree. So why call this work architecture?

re: Go Build an Enterprise Architecture

Jack van Hoof — Thu, 31 May 2007 11:28:31 GMT

In my lingo architecture means "purposeful composition". This implies components, arrangement, connections and purpose. It doesn't say anything of domains. It can be about a piece of music, electronic circuits, buildings, IT, organisations. Everywhere you determine components and arrange them based on (concurrent) purposes I mention it architecture. So a tree is has not an architecture (not based on predefined purpose), but a garden does. The architecture of a building combines purposes with regard to estetics, function, stability, construction, material, etcetera.

The enterprise may be your scope of the architecture. But that is too fuzzy. Enterprise IT would be a more suitable scope in our context. But be carefull with Enterprise IT architecture. The enterprise IT is fading into a bigger global IT in the context of Internet, SaaS, Service Orientation, outsourcing, off-shoring, and so on.

One of the purposes of IT architecture at the enterprise level is the ability to follow changes in the context. So the components must be connected in a way that makes it possible to deconnect and reconnect them with other components. This puts constraints on the components themself. That is were autonomy and loose coupling comes in place.

So what do we call "the enterprise" and based on what purposes do we identify and arrange IT components of the enterprise. Once defined the components and how they are arranged, you might say you got an architectural description of the enterprise IT.

See also a nice posting of our data architect: http://senseofdata.blogspot.com/2006/09/architect.html

This is the way I look at enterprise (IT) architecture...

re: Go Build an Enterprise Architecture

NickMalik — Thu, 31 May 2007 19:18:57 GMT

Wow, Jack. Excellent response.

I will grok this and post again.