Is it foolish to think that IT will support EA?
posted by John Spacey, April 16, 2011Have you ever noticed that enterprise architecture is a lot like city planning?
EA as City Planning
City planners do not build buildings but:- set building standards
- plan common services such as public transportation
- design the city by setting policies for land use etc....
The commonalities with EA are many.
Taking the Analogy a Bit Further
Construction companies are never going to like the regulations imposed by city planners. They view such rules as a tax — increasing their costs but adding nothing to their bottom line.This is exactly how IT build teams feel about enterprise architecture. Project Managers, Solution Architects and Developers are never going to see the value in EA — because it restricts their design choices and adds dependencies and cost to their projects.
Enterprise Architects often argue that they can convince build teams of the value of EA — that EA will make their life easier with common solutions etc.. However, build teams often feel that they can find common solutions without EA.
Lessons from City Planning
City planners do not get their support from construction companies and builders. They get their support from city governments and citizens.IT build teams may see the benefit of EA — but rarely lend it strong support. EA is most likely to find support on the business side with executives and users alike.
Survey
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