consulting Archive

  • On the back of my comments regarding metrics, a natural question arises. Namely, provided you are able to identify the correct measurements to take in the course of assessing the success or failure of any particular program, what is there to be said about interpretation of those measurements?

    Avoiding Cost-Avoidance

    On the back of my comments regarding metrics, a natural question arises. Namely, provided you are able to identify the correct measurements to take in the course of assessing the success or failure of any particular program, what is there to be said about interpretation of those measurements?

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  • You might be wondering what social media has to do with enterprise architecture. Apart from my argument that EA must include social as a functional area as well as a technical layer (as it is indisputably part of the business of business), the two areas share a common culture of obfuscation and jazz hands.

    Social Media is Just Jazz Hands (and other heretical thoughts)

    You might be wondering what social media has to do with enterprise architecture. Apart from my argument that EA must include social as a functional area as well as a technical layer (as it is indisputably part of the business of business), the two areas share a common culture of obfuscation and jazz hands.

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  • A model is useful if it describes something in a context that renders a complex topic easier to digest for specific audience. Its purpose is to describe, to communicate. It is an expression of a viewpoint. It isn't a detailed map or a blueprint. It is representative of a system, it doesn't depict the system. It is an abstraction. I'm afraid we model too frequently as a cover for not actually producing things of value.

    The Power of Carefully Worded Nonsense

    A model is useful if it describes something in a context that renders a complex topic easier to digest for specific audience. Its purpose is to describe, to communicate. It is an expression of a viewpoint. It isn't a detailed map or a blueprint. It is representative of a system, it doesn't depict the system. It is an abstraction. I'm afraid we model too frequently as a cover for not actually producing things of value.

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  • Suggesting architecture in general, or enterprise architecture in particular, doesn't add value or is otherwise a fiscal black hole is akin to declaring that badly executed means discredits the ends. The objective of enhancing Business-IT alignment is a worthy one. Just because a bunch of charlatans over time have discredited one method of achieving that alignment doesn't mean we shouldn't bother.

    Bad Marksmanship

    Suggesting architecture in general, or enterprise architecture in particular, doesn't add value or is otherwise a fiscal black hole is akin to declaring that badly executed means discredits the ends. The objective of enhancing Business-IT alignment is a worthy one. Just because a bunch of charlatans over time have discredited one method of achieving that alignment doesn't mean we shouldn't bother.

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  • Companies like innovation. But they won't be early adopters of an ill-defined and constantly changing mindset. They'll wait for it to calm down a bit, solidify and congeal. Then they'll slowly roll it out and gradually update it over time. Suggesting they take an ADHD approach of constant churn and ongoing rip and replace of the latest EA theories doesn't help them or us as practitioners.

    On the Bleeding Edge

    Companies like innovation. But they won't be early adopters of an ill-defined and constantly changing mindset. They'll wait for it to calm down a bit, solidify and congeal. Then they'll slowly roll it out and gradually update it over time. Suggesting they take an ADHD approach of constant churn and ongoing rip and replace of the latest EA theories doesn't help them or us as practitioners.

    Continue Reading...