2012 Open Group Predictions, Vol. 2

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By The Open Group Continuing on the theme of predictions, here are a few more, which focus on enterprise architecture, business architecture, general IT and Open Group events in 2012. Enterprise Architecture – The Industry By Leonard Fehskens, VP of …

Knowledge-base wiki for whole-enterprise architecture

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A kind of announcement, really: a knowledge-base wiki for whole-enterprise architecture is now available and ready for content and use. I’ve given it a temporary home on my Sidewise server: http://ea.sidewise.biz No doubt it should have a proper domain of its own, but that’ll do for now to get us started. [By the way, this […]

Common Pitfalls of Solution Architecture Governance

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Framework-ism: Form and structure over content and good practice (not best practice). Best practice is all too often a cover for theoretically ideal, but practically non-functional solutions.
Boil-the-ocean-ism: All too generic frameworks intended for large-scale program transformation lack local focus and technical guidance.
Architecture astronaut-ism: Abstraction upon abstraction upon abstraction until everything is so conceptual that end-users have dissolved into TOGAF deliverables.

My mantra for solution architecture governance is:

“In IT governance land, it is OK (read: critical!) to be IT- and solution-centric. After all, it is called solution architecture, not conceptual framework theory.”

Common Pitfalls of Solution Architecture Governance

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Framework-ism: Form and structure over content and good practice (not best practice). Best practice is all too often a cover for theoretically ideal, but practically non-functional solutions.
Boil-the-ocean-ism: All too generic frameworks intended for large-scale program transformation lack local focus and technical guidance.
Architecture astronaut-ism: Abstraction upon abstraction upon abstraction until everything is so conceptual that end-users have dissolved into TOGAF deliverables.

My mantra for solution architecture governance is:

“In IT governance land, it is OK (read: critical!) to be IT- and solution-centric. After all, it is called solution architecture, not conceptual framework theory.”

Happy Whatever!

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‘Tis the season for… something, probably? For many people, it’s ‘the ‘Holiday Season’, or Christmas, or New Year, or something like that. A calendrical marker-point, anyway. Something to celebrate, perhaps. The culture I come from is nominally Christian, hence ‘Christmas’ and suchlike, so that’s the label others around me tend to use. (Though it doesn’t […]

Outcomes First: Best Practices and Metrics for Public Participation

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Recently, the White House launched another in a series of public participation activities around the US National Action Plan for Open Government. This time, they’re focusing on developing best practices and metrics for public participation. This is an intriguing question, and there is certainly no shortage of expertise and research around the subject. While the definition of open government, embodied in the Open Government Directive, is focused on transparency, participation, […]