Link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBusinessArchitect/~3/NCerBFuO4JQ/
I am a business architect. I believe in its value and see it producing unimaginable results on a regular basis. However, I am also realistic about the challenges of starting a business architecture practice. Too many potential business architects are squandering their opportunities by not recognizing and accepting the challenges to selling the idea. They believe their management should want a business architecture and intuitively see the value in the same way architects do. But they don’t. The fact is your management team does not want a business architecture and they will continue not wanting it until you convince them it adds value in a context they understand. Here are some cold, hard facts to keep in mind as you think through how to do that.
Business architecture is not a requirement. This is intuitively obvious but rarely acknowledged. Architects often believe in what they do so strongly they see it, not as an option, but as something that must be done. While business architecture might be a great idea, it is not a requirement. Your company was able to start up, fend off competitors, and grow, all without any formal business architecture function. Businesses have survived for decades, some for hundreds of years without the benefit of a business architect. The questions you should be asking yourself are “Exactly what is business architecture going to do for my organization that other functions have not? What is the incremental add we bring to the table? What will business architects do that will excite executives and managers?”
Business architecture is not a best practice. As business architects, we like to think of business architecture as a best practice, but that isn’t actually accurate. We still have a ways to go before we reach best practice status. For something to be a best practice, it needs the following characteristics. First, it has to be something proven to work better than other known approaches. The operative word here is “proven”. Second, it works consistently in a wide variety of contexts. If a practice has only been successful in a few instances then it may be considered a good practice or even an innovative practice but without proven broad applicability, it is not a best practice. If business architecture were a best practice, your executives would be asking for it.
Business architecture does not naturally resonate with business executives. Business executives think in terms of outcomes. They largely focus on leadership development, driving innovation, and growing revenue. They are much less interested in operational efficiencies and design. Many business architecture pundits talk about the CEO being the ultimate business architect but in reality, most CEOs are the company’s visionary and goal setter. They leave the operational design to others. CEOs give executives broad accountability and freedom to attain the goals set for them. Executives heavily incent mangers to maximize their organizations’ value giving business unit managers little motivation to support optimizing the whole at their own expense. These are not problems to fix, but realities to deal with.
The bottom line:_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Selling business architecture is considerably more difficult than most imagine. Yes, it is a great idea. Yes, it has great potential to solve complex business problems and aid in business design. Yes, every business could benefit in some way from a business architecture practice. However, it remains a largely unproven product that your business managers have little to no experience with. It is your job to sell it.
Tagged: Business Architecture 
