Enterprise architecture as strategy enabler or as governance enforcer

When large transformation opportunity presents, organizations often struggle to position enterprise architecture in the enterprise. Some expects enterprise architecture becomes the panacea of the organization’s business and technology solutions and ends up always finding out it falls short of expectation. Some drives the innovation from ground up and finds enterprise architecture as the roadblock of any sort of technology innovations. This has caused many enterprises reboot enterprise architecture program again and again.

Where do enterprises position enterprise architecture? As strategy (enabler) or as governance(enforcer)? Or as both? As an advocate, consultancy or rubber stamp? In my own experiences with various organizations, I felt the balance between a strategic role and a governance role may benefit the enterprise most. Without that balance, enterprise architecture could become the ivy tower where no one cares, or become solution driver whom everyone hates. 

So where is the right balance of strategy and governance in the role of enterprise architecture?

A strategic role of enterprise architecture is an enterprise architecture program which is capable of the following:

1. Having an in-depth understanding of business strategy, industry, and short-term and long-term strategic business plan
2. Becoming innovation enabler, savvy in both business and technology, and being able to devise a set of technology strategies connect to and enable the business and organization strategy, and being able to put together a big picture of business and technology view together to drive the executive level strategy conversation.
3. Being able to navigate the organizational and political structure to advance the business and technology strategy.

Obviously strategic enterprise architecture defines the technology strategy and technology plan to align with business strategy. It starts with business strategy, dissects the business model with business capabilities, and anatomizes business priority through value stream, codifies the business operations through business model canvass. 

Enterprise architects need to be technology savvy, and is an emerging technology though leader. They should be able to see major technology trends in the industry and be cognizant about innovative and disruptive impacts of emerging technologies onto the business. In formulating technology plan, they should be able to devise a cohesive set of technology strategies informing the enterprise what is ahead of IT organization, how organization prepare for the future, and when things need to be in place to enable the business. 

A good technology plan needs to build a smooth and just-in-time connection with strategic business plan. That requires enterprise architects work closely with the business, program management office, and delivery organization, as well as all supporting shared services within the organization and beyond. Without such just-in-time connection, enterprise architecture can easily be viewed as an ivy tower, and may not be able to drive effective strategy executions.

In some occasions, due to heavy regulations and compliance needs, organization may choose to leverage enterprise architecture as the governance. In some other occasions, especially when major modernizations and digital transformation are done, organization needs to settle down and ensure all pieces in the enterprise are able to fit together, organization may tap enterprise architecture as the gate keeper to ensure such alignment. In such cases, enterprise architecture tends to establish rigor or strict technology and architecture governance process, procedure, and policy. Their role is more to ensure architecture compliance with those defined standards, processes, and policies. 

The right balance lies in between strategy and governance. At the time when major transformation opportunities present, the organization should position enterprise architecture more as a strategy advocate, a strategic partner, digital transformation driver. Its role should be the one piecing together a big picture view of the enterprise at this moment, during the transformation and at the end of transformation. They should be charged to come up with strategic technology plan to enable and reinforce the transformation. 

Enterprise architecture may accidently become more governance entity in the organization. Strict or rigor governance tends to hinder the innovation. Enterprise architecture should examine its process, procedure, standards, and policies to ensure it reduces the innovation barriers, and becomes more an innovation enabler.

Enterprise architecture may become stale from time to time. It is perfect okay to reset and restart enterprise architecture program. The goal is to make the enterprise architecture become a strategy enabler again.