Link: http://davidsprottsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/so-nobody-is-doing-ea-eh.html
From David Sprott's Blog
I get rather tired of the “Enterprise Architecture doesn’t work” debate. The latest comment from ZapThink is predicated solely on the fact that “architecture must precede build”, therefore because an enterprise, by definition already exists, architecture is redundant. In the line of facile arguments this one must rank very highly.
Simplistic analogies never work. Architecture for bridges or buildings doesn’t scan. In the physical world there are any number of examples of evolutionary enterprise architecture in which the product is evolved on a continuous basis. Think airports, highways, networks etc.
For years we at CBDI have been advising (and indeed practising) how to modernize portfolios of applications and technology in order to establish continuously evolving capabilities. Of course we practice enterprise architecture, but it’s about clear understanding of the levels of abstraction that provide minimum necessary detail to plan and execute the next phase of activity in an agile, iterative process that is common to initial build and ongoing evolution. And even more important, it’s about triage – understanding what elements must have an enterprise context and what elements are entirely local.
All this bottom up and top down, inside out, emergent and so forth are so much rubbish bandied about by those that need to spend some time breaking rocks. Think continuous evolution of business architecture, enterprise architecture and solutions. Rant over!
