The cyclist-shopper’s tale
You can’t go wrong if you follow the rules, right? But what happens when you come across something where the ‘rules’ don’t make sense – and yet you still try to hold on to the certainty of ‘the rules’? Or,…
principles
Principles and checklists
What is the role of principles in enterprise-architecture? What is a principle? For that matter, when is a principle not a principle? These were questions that came up in response to a post by Simplicable: ‘101 Principles of Enterprise-Architecture‘. Or…
Resistance to Architecture
A few weeks ago, I was at a meeting to discuss the UK National Health Service reforms. One of the speakers, a senior NHS administrator, used the word “architecture” in her presentation. Twice. Clearly referring to business/organizational architecture r…
Rules, principles, belief and faith
Following on from the previous post ‘Rules, principles and the Inverse-Einstein Test‘, there’s an important corollary about real-time sensemaking and and decision-making – it was in my notes for the post, but I forgot to include it, so I’ll do…
Rules, principles and the Inverse-Einstein Test
It started with one of those first-thing-in-the-morning ideas that seemingly turn up from nowhere: Principles create a bridge between order and chaos. Order is expressed in rules; principles are expressed in story. Order, principles and chaos: order is an abstraction…
It’s a small world after all.
I can’t escape the feeling that today’s IT decision makers are passionately committed to building the best IT infrastructure the 1990′s have to offer. I have a very clear memory from the early eighties. I was standing on St Kilda Rd. It was a beautiful Melbourne weekday. Sun shining through the plane trees. A soft […]
Structure Follows Strategy?
#entarch In his talk to the BCS Enterprise Architecture Group this week, Patrick Hoverstadt suggested that traditional enterprise architecture obeyed Alfred Chandler’s principle: Structure Follows Strategy. In other words, first the leadership defines …
Structure Follows Strategy?
#entarch In his talk to the BCS Enterprise Architecture Group this week, Patrick Hoverstadt suggested that traditional enterprise architecture obeyed Alfred Chandler’s principle: Structure Follows Strategy. In other words, first the leadership defines …
The Architecture Crystal Ball: Predictions for 2012
I have had the opportunity to read several documents containing estimations on what the chief architects and CIOs should expect of the concept of Enterprise Architecture in 2012. As a result I have made some thoughts of my own, and my thoughts have been delimited to what could happen in Scandinavia. There are reasons for […]
On the misuse of general principles
#entarch There is a common fallacy among enterprise architects that radical structural and behavioural change can and should be driven by a few simple and powerful ideas. Alas, the public sector is strewn with the disastrous consequences of this fallac…
On the misuse of general principles
#entarch There is a common fallacy among enterprise architects that radical structural and behavioural change can and should be driven by a few simple and powerful ideas. Alas, the public sector is strewn with the disastrous consequences of this fallac…
More on principles and decision-time
Seems that that Twitter-conversation about principles and decision-making just keeps on rollin’ on. Stijn Viaene kicked the ball rolling again with the following Tweet: destivia: @ebuise @tetradian @richardveryard Never forget a ‘model’ is always only a preliminary version of how we see or want to see reality. After which, yes, the whole happy ‘passel o’ […]