What could possibly block Enterprise Architecture going to CEO level ?

EA is often left in IT because it can only handle tame problems

Started by Kay Hasselmann on The Enterprise Architecture Network last november.
Number of comments as of January 22 : 785

(...)tdk
Hello,
please allow me jump in without reading all the comments and start from the discussion title.

"EA is often left in IT because it can only handle tame problems"

As English is not my native language, i got to the dictionary to find synonyms :
"broken",
"incultivated"
"docile",
"gentle"
"domestic",
"domesticated" .

If so, why the need to have the ear of the CEO ?
CIO level of even less IT governance level should be fine.

(...)tdk
@Rémy, Nic

in France, The Open Group has opened a franchise since 2008 for Togaf®.
But my perception is that Togaf is much less popular than other IT governance/management frameworks such as ITIL® or Cobit®.

Here is maybe a bit of root cause.

EA is France is litterally translated into architecture d'entreprise.

But (one of) the primary brick of an enterprise is people.
Does Togaf address people issues ?

So when addressing EA, we would rather talk with a CEO about process/IS/IT architecture...


Togaf® is a registered trade mark of The Open Group.
ITIL® is a registered trade mark of The Cabinet Office.
Cobit® is a registered trade mark of The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA®) 

(...)tdk
@Peter,
for "unwicked" as the synonym for "tame" within the perspective of this discussion i got to wikipedia as suggested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked

(...)
* Wicked Pictures, an American pornographic studio

* Wicked problem, that which has incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements; and solutions to them are often difficult to recognize as such because of complex interdependencies

* Boston slang for "very"

Which one to choose ? ;-0

(...)tdk
@Frédéric [Hardes],

In France, a country of more than 400 cheeses ...er ..gaëllic (gaulois) villages, there are a lot of "approaches" around EA/process/IT planning/IT architecture :
- Togaf's franchise of course ,
- Urba-EA,
- CEISAR from Ecole Centrale,
- CESAMES (complex systems) sponsored by Ecole Polytechnique,
- "Agate" for the French "DoD", which has the same intent as Dodaf
- SITA (sustainable IT architecture)
- other approaches from professionals or consultants (such as C. Longepe)
Zachman also seems to be somewhat known.

It is difficult to compare their respective merits because they dot not represent what their key managed objects are (nevertheless most of them provides for a glossary)

From my comparative reading in 2010, PEAF was one of the best frameworks towards an objects oriented approach for EA that brings pragmatism.

(...)tdk
@Frédéric,
i am impressed. You are the first professional i meet who seems to stand an epistemological posture towards best practices/framework.

For Agate, the French DoD (Ministère de la défense) is one of my clients...

This little bit of ad posted :-), let me go back to the "unwicked" as a synomym of "tame as pointed by Peter above.

Wikipedia's entry of wicked show as top example of use

" Wicked Pictures, an American pornographic studio"

Two cents for the answer to "what coud could be pornographic in a [business] organisation ?"
(...)tdk
Frédéric,

i owe two cents :

If i understand your answer well, "pornography" transposed to business organisation could be : "ethics"

Let's wait for other responses. 

(...)tdk
@Matt,
brillant,  "Ecosystem Architect" or "Ecosystem Architecture"

Unfortunately, the two capital letters are EA.

What would you suggest to launch this framework ?


PS : i have a few cents more for the pornographic concept applied to business organisation. 

(...)tdk
 @Matt,

on ethics and ESA (EcoSystem Architecture)

What measures would you recommand to the board to improve their organisation in intellectual properties management (IP management) ?

(...)tdk
Hi Nic,
yes, IP is not new in the real life.

The question is whether you need to have it explicitely represented in a framework, which is an abstraction/conceptualisation of real life.

For example, if we take the lastest release of Cobit®, Cobit®5, you have to get down to the last level of details (eg Activities) to see the word IP mentionned and you have more than 1000 Activities labelled.

ex APO01.03.6

"Create a set of policies to drive the IT control expectations on relevant key topics such as quality, security, confidentiality, internal controls, usage of IT assets, ethics and intellectual property rights".


PS : The Cobit 5 levels of details are labelled, from general to detail : Area, Domain, Process, Practice, Activities 

(...)tdk
How about digging into the concept of "Culture of an entreprise" and take one element ?

For example, power [in an enterprise]

And i keep my two cents to build the next generation of the Wicked Pictures of the enterprise ;-) 

(...)tdk
@Matt,
thank you for your responses en IP (all IP including copyrights) management in a corporation.

From France, it seems that there is a lot work to trigger awareness at CEO level.

Who should take on the task : the CIO, the HRO or the legal counsel ? 

(...)
 @JD,
indeed, just like IT is the responsibility of the IT department...

and then the CEO (or the board) is wondering why its organisation does not deliver sustainable innovations... 

(...)tdk
 
@Matt,
"My interpretation of this interest is down to knowing who takes the lead internally in raising awareness of IP and how to manage it ( is that the case, Tru?)"

Yes : In France, the "legal deparment" is in the same posture as the IT department 30 years ago : in a bunker or ivory tower as you like.

Before managing, there is awareness.

Whose job it is ? The "Digital Enterprise Architect" where digital = IP + IT ?
I have opened a new discussion to keep focus on the discussion, but we might stay here as well.

Contratulations Cay for the 841 comments. But why don't you post comments ? 

(...)tdk