Enterprise Architecture Scorecard
posted by Anna Mar, July 17, 2011It's not possible to calculate a ROI for enterprise architecture. The value of enterprise architecture lies in influence — which can't be quantitatively measured.
Enterprise Architecture Scorecard
There are four major ways that EA generates value: decision support, tactical wins, project governance and architectural reference materials. The following scorecard assigns a RAG (red, amber, green) status for each area by architectural domain:
Decision Support
Enterprise Architecture facilitates business and IT transparency. Examples of EA decision support capabilities include:- executive dashboards
- trusted advisors
- identifying strategy gaps
- identifying opportunities for common solutions
- mapping business strategy and IT strategy
- mapping strategy, metrics, applications, data and projects to a business capability map
- supporting solution architects and IT management (enabling teams to think global; act local)
- presentations (marketing the architectural vision and roadmap)
Tactical Wins
Enterprise Architects are heavily involved in long term strategic planning. However, tactical considerations are critical to business success — EA must show results on a quarter over quarter basis.Examples of EA tactical wins include:
- consulting services for business and technical initiatives
- use of the EA repository to resolve project issues
- use of the EA repository to resolve operational issues
- Mergers & Acquisitions support
- high level involvement in critical solutions
Projects
Architecture is the result of a series of projects — EA must actively influence projects.- Project governance (reviewing the architectural approach of major projects)
- Mandating or influencing projects to leverage common solutions
- Identifying projects that are inconsistent with business and IT strategy
- Gaps and opportunities that lead to project initiation
- Influencing solution architecture
Reference
Enterprise Architects build out a repository of critical architectural knowledge — this repository is a significant part of EA's value proposition:- business and technology strategy that influence projects and initiatives
- vocabularies and capability maps that become the language of business and technology
- reference architectures that become the basis of solutions
- use of EA materials for onboarding and training
- EA materials that support major business initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions
Track who uses the EA repository — and survey users on the value of EA materials to business results.
Notes on Scoring
Scoring EA is inherently qualitative. Don't try to come up with a systematic score — it just isn't realistic.Scoring should be relative to the maturity of the organization and the EA team. For example, many EA teams have no influence on business projects — so this box can be greyed out.
The scorecard should link to a list of accomplishments for each box in the grid.
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