What personal characteristics, knowledge, and skills are most commonly found in effective enterprise architects? Although not at all intuitive, several traits are even more important than knowledge of enterprise architecture.
META Trend: Enterprise architecture (EA) success will be determined by the extent to which corporate and line-of-business managers comprehend, support, and enforce the architecture. By 2006, 10% of EA core teams will move out from under the IT organization's management structure, with direct reporting relationships to either corporate strategy or corporate change management functions. By 2008, 40% of enterprise architects will have primary expertise in business strategy or process engineering.
As the discipline of enterprise architecture has broadened beyond technical architecture in recent years to include business, information, and solution architecture, deep technical expertise is even less essential - and can be a liability if the individual has a 'favorite' vendor/product.
TextClients often ask what characteristics to seek when recruiting (internally or externally) full-time architects or part-time members for the architecture team or the architecture review board. Too often, research indicates, individuals in these positions lack several key characteristics, traits, knowledge areas, or skills most essential for success in the enterprise architect role. Why is this true? IT managers often assume that the best technical experts will naturally make great architects. This is simply not the case. As the discipline of enterprise architecture (EA) has broadened beyond technical architecture in recent years to include business, information, and solution architecture, deep technical expertise is even less essential - and can be a liability if the individual has a “favorite” vendor/product. The most effective enterprise architects have numerous strengths, which are even more important than their EA knowledge.
To select the right people, hiring managers and EA team leaders must understand the most important competencies to seek in enterprise architect candidates. We have observed that the wrong people attempting to apply the right process will still struggle to make it work. It is critical to spend time engaging the right people for this important function. As the META Trend states, by 2008, 40% of enterprise architects will have primary expertise in business strategy or process engineering and may no longer be found within the IT organization. This reflects the rising importance of the enterprise business architecture and the need for a more balanced skill set (beyond technical architecture).
Key Characteristics of Enterprise Architects
· Enthusiastic: A passion for life, work, and EA goes a long way. Far too many architects are rendered much less effective simply due to a lack of enthusiasm in their communication about EA.
· Technology-agnostic: Unfortunately, many strong technical people are also quite biased in their views toward vendors/products and tend to “go with what they know.” Architects must be vendor/product-neutral and maintain an objective perspective.
· General in technology outlook: It is important to understand enough about the broad range of technologies that an architect can engage in discussion with technical experts and not be swayed by inappropriately biased personal agendas in technical decisions.
· Well-respected and influential: Architects need the support of senior IT and business managers and the ability to influence them as well as the IT organization at large. Those that are already well respected and have influence have an advantage. New hires must establish this credibility early. It should be noted that influential persons are not always in management positions.
· Able to represent a constituency: Members of an EA team have a constituency - part of the organization they represent in the process. Some individuals are too focused on their own agenda to properly represent others. Although it is fine to assertively share an individual opinion, he or she must yield to the position that best represents and serves his or her constituents.
· Articulate and persuasive: Enterprise architects must spend substantial time communicating and educating. Therefore, it is important that they have the skills to clearly communicate ideas in a persuasive, compelling manner.
· Persistent: Enterprise architects are strategically inspired change agents. People tend to resist change (in most areas), and we certainly find this with the behavioral change being introduced by an EA program. Therefore, it is critical to be persistent in pursuit of positive transformation.
· Good at “helicoptering”: Effective enterprise architects have the rare ability to zoom out and be able to conduct a worthwhile discussion about business strategy with the CEO and, a minute later, be in a technical expert’s office with a zoomed-in mindset discussing technical details without getting lost.
· Strategic: Strategic ideas are, by definition, those that contribute to defining or fulfilling the transformations described in the business strategy of the enterprise while tactical issues pertain to executing well with operations. Architects must be strategically driven, while recognizing the need to have balance in the organization with effective, tactical operations.
· Focused on what is truly best for the organization (limited personal agendas): Although it is human nature to have a personal agenda, the best enterprise architects are leading or participating in an EA process designed to yield whatever will best serve the enterprise (even at the discomfort on one or many along the way).
· Knowledgeable of the business: It is important to avoid the trap of technology for the sake of technology. Enterprise architects are leaders and therefore must have a strong interest in and understanding of the business, its strategic direction, dysfunctions, strengths, etc. It is not good enough to be a superior technologist.
· Able to facilitate: Enterprise architects are frequently counted on to facilitate content development meetings or lead subcommittees. In this capacity, effective group facilitation skills are important.
· Able to negotiate: It is important to seek the win-win positions/solutions on issues as architecture content is developed. There are difficult decisions to be made. Emotion can get in the way. Effective negotiation skills are invaluable for peacefully resolving these situations with powerful decisions to benefit the organization.
· Focused on the long term: The idea is to take a series of short-term steps that not only deliver near-term value, but also contribute toward achieving a longer-term vision for the enterprise. This demands focus on identifying and driving toward that longer-term goal.
· Able to effectively use the whiteboard: Architects are visual people and tend to feel compelled to draw diagrams in their communication. Some people even like to use this reality in interview techniques.
· Able to lead: Taking the initiative to persuade, inspire, motivate, and influence others, plus the ability to make quality decisions with a high level of stakeholder buy-in.
· Able to be taught: It should be noted that a strong understanding of EA is not on this list. This is not an oversight. We have learned that if a person possesses all or most of the aforementioned traits, and he or she is “teachable,” then he or she can learn EA best practices quickly and rapidly become effective.
Bottom Line: Managers/executives must focus on seeking the right mix of knowledge/skills in filling enterprise architecture full-time or part-time roles. Most of these key characteristics are non-technical.
Business Impact: When the right people are