What's in a Name ? - "Enterprise Architect"

Enterprise Architecture is a new discipline within the Information Technology domain. Few if any university level programs adequately address the skills required to work as an EA. Perhaps sometime soon there will be degree programs focused on enterprise architecture – perhaps not. The vast majority of people who work in the field as EAs are self-taught and often work in other IT disciplines as well. All Enterprise Architects began their careers doing something else.

Enterprise Architecture also represents the apex of technical positions within IT – both in terms of career status and usually in terms of compensation. It represents an alternative to management as an ultimate career goal (e.g. the inevitable interview question – where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years). It serves this capacity because it allows IT professionals the opportunity to apply their expertise and experience in high profile roles that often are responsible for leading critical enterprise projects.

What is somewhat confusing is the fact that enterprise architects aren’t always referred to as such or may be shifted back and forth between enterprise and project roles. It is helpful to view architecture within its continuum – that continuum is separated mainly by scale or scope:

• Level 1 – Technology Specific Architect (many to 1 – project or enterprise)
• Level 2 – Solution or Project Architect (many to 1 enterprise)
• Level 3 – Enterprise Architect (may be more than 1 per enterprise based on domain responsibilities with a Chief Architect as lead).

Other roles that are sometimes asked to perform EA tasks include:

• Systems Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Data Analyst
• Systems or Chief Engineer

So that begs the question – what types of tasks is an Enterprise Architect asked to do? Here is a brief list (by no means meant to be comprehensive):

• Determine enterprise workflow models.
• Perform enterprise technology and architecture assessments.
• Create EA views using one or more EA Frameworks (ToGAF, DoDAF, Zachman etc.)
• Provide Transformation Blueprints (ERP, SOA etc.)
• Create Enterprise level Ontologies, Taxonomies or Master Data Frameworks.
• Determine Data Center Configurations and Processes.
• Design Network Architectures
• Design Data Architectures
• Design Application and Service Architectures
• Solve Problems
• Integrate multiple architectures / technologies
• Design products and services

The technologies and tools change. Often, the exact nature of the role changes as some aspects of the work are shifted to specialists (can be solution or technology architects) or as new disruptive technologies or challenges require attention. The Enterprise Architect is the first line of defense against complacency and the number one agent or facilitator of change in any organization.

An architecture assessment methodology, like the one above, can be applied to any technology...

The EA is a technologist, first and foremost and must necessarily spend much of their time understanding and learning new technologies. The EA must also never lose sight of the realities involved with actual implementation of higher level strategic designs and directives. It is perfectly reasonably and highly recommended that from time to time the EA should take more specialized roles to make sure they don’t lose touch with the difficult details associated with real world projects. The EA is a generalist who has the ability to be a specialist in any number of areas (and in fact probably was before moving to EA).

The enterprise architect is someone who is comfortable extending their boundaries – pushing the envelope. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like constant change or challenge than enterprise architecture is the wrong career path. An EA is someone who doesn’t assume they always have the right answer – but is dedicated to finding it regardless of the difficulty involved.

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