Appendix C. The Seven Habits of an Agile Enterprise Architecture

Some schools and teachers are better than others, but my level of effort, dedication, curiosity, and willingness to grow determine what I learn.

Larry Elder, KABC Radio, Los Angeles

While this book provides practical advice on enterprise architecture, the book would be incomplete without outlining seven action items that every architect should make a habit:

1. Architecture Is Business-Driven. This is the first and most important habit of an architect. All architectural undertakings should be done for the sole reason of solving business problems. Architecture planning is a continuous process that requires full alignment with business goals.

2. Communication Is King. Enterprise architecture must be communicated to all parties across all IT organizations and lines of business on an ongoing basis. This should include strategy, goals, and objectives. Its purpose is to increase awareness throughout an enterprise. It must also include a statement of shared values that are endorsed and supported by the executive team and incorporated into the IT governance model.

3. Unification Is Queen. For enterprise architecture to succeed, it must be unified across the enterprise. Success and failure of all forms of architecture depend upon the joint efforts of all business and IT areas, their support of the architecture, and consistent implementation.

4. The Frog Is a Prince. Support from the executive team is essential for the practice of architecture, but a successful architecture starts almost at a grass-roots level by seeking support from line managers and their direct reports where the sell is the hardest. Getting buy-in from the troops (Seek first to understand, then be understood) will shield the architecture from passive resistance.

5. K.I.S.S.: Keep Infrastructure Simple. Information technology assets and the elimination of the endless combinations of platforms that use disparate technologies are the main inhibitors of change and result in an inflexible architecture. A goal of sound enterprise architecture is the destruction of incompatible technologies. If infrastructure is kept simple and consistent, enterprise architecture can leverage existing skill sets, training, support, and services in a cost-effective and agile manner.

6. Agility Is Key. Sometimes the best solution for a particular business problem requires adoption of a technology and/or approaches that are not mainstream. Agile enterprise architecture will allow the modification of standards to support business requirements, and it will seek out alternate ways to integrate the technology with the current architectural model.

7. Crawl Before You Walk. Expectations should be managed. The best architecture for an enterprise is one that evolves versus one that is created. Each iteration of the architecture should build upon previous versions and provide an incremental improvement to the organization. Enterprise architecture should also focus initial efforts on near-term opportunities what is within reach that can provide immediate business benefit. Small but quick wins will help win allies from both the business and technology areas and will best demonstrate the value of agile enterprise architecture.