Link: https://www.eatransformation.com/p/how-enterprise-architecture-helps-stop-bad-ideas
From Enterprise Architecture Transformation: A Practical Guide
Enterprise architecture (EA) is usually described as something that enables strategy, supports change, and builds shared understanding (among others).
And that’s true.
But here’s a secret: one of the most valuable things EA does in practice is stopping bad ideas before they drain time, money, and attention.
Why Bad Ideas Happen
Every organization faces a constant flow of new ideas. Some come from leaders with bold visions, some from vendors pushing the latest technology, and others from teams trying to solve local problems. The catch? Not all of them are good for the organization as a whole:
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Unclear need: An initiative where the problem isn’t actually defined. People propose a solution first (“We need a new system”) without validating what the real business need is.
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Pet projects: A senior leader’s favorite idea that doesn’t align with strategy.
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Trend-driven initiatives: “We need AI/blockchain/VR right now.”
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Duplicate solutions: Another project team buying a tool we already have.
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Local optimizations: A department fixing their own problem in a way that creates bigger ones elsewhere.
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Short-term fixes: A temporary patch or workaround that “buys time” but piles up technical debt and delays addressing the real problem.
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Favorite tool/vendor syndrome: “I’ve used this tool in my previous workplace—it’s great. Let’s use it here too.”
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Technology sprawl: Adding yet another platform, programming language, or cloud service—without considering consolidation or long-term maintainability.
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Vendor-driven “opportunities”: A vendor offers a steep discount or showcases a shiny new feature. Excitement drives adoption, even if there’s no real need.
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Misaligned standards: Adopting a tool or platform that doesn’t fit security, privacy, data, or integration principles. It might solve one issue, but at the cost of breaking alignment elsewhere.
Not all of these are inherently bad. Many of them might be excellent ideas in another context. The real problem is that they’re incompatible with the organization’s goals, priorities, or existing landscape.
How the Enterprise Architecture Function Can Stop Them
This is where EA comes in. With even a modest set of models and the right conversations, a skilled enterprise architect can turn vague ideas into concrete discussions about feasibility and fit. Equipped with relevant EA content, they can:
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Clarify the need: “Before choosing a solution, let’s define the problem. What outcome are we trying to achieve?”
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Show overlaps: “We already have three CRM systems—do we really need a fourth?”
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Reveal dependencies: “To launch this product, you’d need to upgrade the payment platform and add APIs to the logistics system—neither of which is in scope or budget.”
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Highlight risks: “Yes, it works in theory, but GDPR and security rules make it unfeasible without major safeguards.”
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Put strategy first: “This is a good idea in itself—but right now, our focus is growth in digital services, not another back-office optimization.”
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Challenge vendor-driven proposals: “This tool may be excellent, but it doesn’t integrate with our core platforms or align with our principles.”
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Control technology sprawl: “Adding another cloud provider would create more overhead than benefit—let’s check if we can use what we already have.”
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Expose hidden costs: “The license fees look manageable, but the long-term maintenance and training costs make this less attractive.”
The point isn’t to crush creativity or say “no” to every idea. It’s to make the consequences visible so leaders can decide based on the whole enterprise—not just a single perspective.
My Favorite Enterprise Architecture Views for This
If I had to pick one “bad idea detector,” it would be the capability map—especially when it’s enriched with criticality and realization data.
Why? Because it gives a neutral, high-level, business-oriented picture:
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“Yes, we need to improve this capability—but there are already three initiatives doing just that.”
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“This proposed application doesn’t map to any of our core capabilities—so why are we doing it?”
It takes the debate out of opinions and brings it back to facts: does the idea actually fit into how the organization creates value?
Other views support the same purpose:
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Application map with functional categorization makes overlaps and duplications visible.
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Architecture principles act as simple feasibility tests: does the idea align with the way we’ve agreed to operate?
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Roadmaps surface timing conflicts—maybe the idea is sound, but not now.
Together, these views shift the conversation from “who likes the idea” to “where and how does it fit?”
Where the Stopping Happens
Bad ideas don’t vanish on their own. They need to be surfaced and tested against the bigger picture—and that’s where EA has a role.
The EA function usually plays its part in concrete forums, such as:
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Strategy discussions, where architects highlight not only how proposed directions align (or conflict) with capabilities and priorities, but also the current-state constraints that must be considered when setting direction.
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Portfolio boards, reviewing initiatives and investment proposals.
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Project initiation processes, where EA input is required before approval.
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Quality gates during projects, which can still stop or redirect ideas, even if later in the lifecycle.
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Steering groups, where trade-offs are negotiated and priorities set.
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Architecture working groups, acting as a sounding board and peer review forum.
In these settings, an enterprise architect rarely makes the decision themself. Instead, they equip leaders and project owners with facts, comparisons, and implications they otherwise wouldn’t see.
But for this to work, the architect has to be heard. If architectural input is treated as a checkbox or ignored when inconvenient, bad ideas slip through anyway. Influence only comes when decision-makers trust the EA function to provide relevant, timely, and actionable insight.
Final Thoughts
Every initiative consumes scarce time, budget, and leadership attention. Stopping the incompatible or redundant ones creates space for the efforts that truly move the organization forward.
EA does this by making complexity visible—so leaders don’t chase shiny objects, duplicate effort, or let individual preferences override shared goals.
And it doesn’t take a massive EA function. Even a lightweight set of models, principles, and conversations can be enough to prevent waste before it starts.
In the end, some of the most valuable contributions enterprise architects make are not the initiatives that succeed—but the ones that never begin.
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