Enterprise Architecture Frameworks for the knowledge economy?

(Warning: This post is basically me thinking out loud, it may not have a conclusion) 

Out there in the blogosphere, the most common argument about EA is between those that think EA is about architecting the whole enterprise and those that prefer a…

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Enterprise Architecture Frameworks for the knowledge economy?

(Warning: This post is basically me thinking out loud, it may not have a conclusion) 

Out there in the blogosphere, the most common argument about EA is between those that think EA is about architecting the whole enterprise and those that prefer a…

Categories Uncategorized

The ‘This’ game and EA toolsets

Continuing on the theme of the ‘This’ game for engaging people in enterprise-architecture exploration and development, as described in the two previous posts ‘This: an exploratory game for service-oriented EA‘ and ‘More on the ‘This’ game for enterprise-architecture‘. The final note in that last post was about EA toolsets, and the need for appropriate support […]

Link Collection — October 30, 2011

  • Linus Torvalds’s Lessons on Software Development M… – Input Output

    “If anyone knows the joys and sorrows of managing software development projects, it would be Linus Torvalds, creator of the world’s most popular open-source software program: the Linux operating system. For more than 20 years, Torvalds has been directing thousands of developers to improve the open source OS. He and I sat down to talk about effective techniques in running large-scale distributed programming teams – and the things that don’t work, too.”

    tags: LinusTorvalds

  • Sysco’s Produce Division Makes Room For Local Farmers | Fast Company

    Interesting example of systemic constraints and redesign:

    “When Michigan State University wanted to serve more locally grown produce, Mike Passorelli’s basil would have been ideal. He grows it in a greenhouse two hours west, and labels it organic gardens. But the school can’t buy directly from tons of farms; that would be an organizational nightmare. So in 2007, it asked its food supplier, Sysco, to provide. That turned into a lesson on just how complex our nation’s food system is: To distribute local food, Sysco had to first spend three years restructuring its produce division in Michigan–a feat it’s now reproducing nationwide.”

    tags: produce local systemic change

  • The Great Tech War Of 2012 | Fast Company

    Terrific piece in Fast Company:

    “…To state this as clearly as possible: The four American companies that have come to define 21st-century information technology and entertainment are on the verge of war. Over the next two years, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google will increasingly collide in the markets for mobile phones and tablets, mobile apps, social networking, and more. This competition will be intense. Each of the four has shown competitive excellence, strategic genius, and superb execution that have left the rest of the world in the dust.”

    tags: Apple amazon Google Facebook fastcompany

  • Big data | BUSINESS RESEARCH

    Good report. Used a sliver in my Active Information post.

    “In June 2011 the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey of 586 senior executives, sponsored by SAS, to look at the state of big data, along with the organisational characteristics of companies that are adept at extracting value from data. It also explores the most challenging aspects of data management…”

    tags: economist bigdata

  • Economist Intelligence Unit: Master data fundament… – Input Output

    This week’s Active Information post:

    “…And sure, we’ve heard all of this before. All those data management activities that get head nods, lumped into architecture and COEs (read: overhead) and then get resource gutted as soon the economy gets challenging, or a “business critical” project comes along.

    But, here’s the thing. According to the EIU research, the organizations that have actively, consistently invested in data management fundamentals are reaping more than business benefits…”

    tags: active-information

  • Zen and the Art of Simplicity at Work – The Source – WSJ

    I preach simplicity in architecture everyday, just not so eloquently…

    “Tracing the Zen Aesthetic, what sets shibumi apart as a powerful design ideal is the unique combination of surprising impact and uncommon simplicity.

    It entails achieving maximum effect through minimum means, which, it turns out, is a universal pursuit that takes many forms: artists and designers use white or ‘negative’ space to convey visual power; scientists and mathematicians and engineers search for theories that explain highly complex phenomena in stunningly simple ways.

    What these various forms all have in common, and what shibumi has at its core, is the element of subtraction.

    Not only is the thought of subtracting something in order to create value a very different way of thinking (neuroscientists have shown using functional MRI scans that addition and subtraction demand different brain circuitry), it figures centrally in Zen.”

    tags: simplicity matthewmay

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Related posts:

  1. Link Collection — October 23, 2011
  2. Link Collection — October 9, 2011
  3. Link Collection – July 24, 2011

More on the ‘This’ game for enterprise-architecture

A great session yesterday with Kevin Smith, brainstorming ideas for the ‘This’ game for service-oriented enterprise-architecture. I’d originally envisaged ‘This‘ as a kind of card-game, with questions and supporting-information printed on playing-cards: There would be that small set of mandatory ‘setting-the-scene’ questions – perhaps printed on cards with a different-colour back – but all of […]

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Cloud Decisions

• Evolution rather than replacement.
The private cloud can evolve from existing virtualized infrastructure, enabling the transition to cloud computing without a complete and disruptive infrastructure overhaul.
• Security and complia…

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This: an exploratory game for service-oriented EA

For a while now I’ve been brewing a kind of ‘exploratory game’ for enterprise-architecture, with the somewhat uninventive title of This. It’s based on the same service-oriented view of the enterprise as Enterprise Canvas – in fact we would typically use the game as part of modelling some aspect of the enterprise with Enterprise Canvas, […]

Using Cynefin in enterprise-architecture

This is in part an addendum to the previous post. The main aim here, though, is simply to provide some practical guidance on how and where the Cynefin framework should and should not be used in enterprise-architectures and the like. This advice draws on my own practical experience with use of Cynefin since 2003, and […]