1. CEO’s Top Strategic Drivers
2. CIO’s Primary Concerns
3. Enterprise Portfolio Management

In fact, the CEO owns, knows, eats and breathes their top three strategic drivers.  At a time in the economy that we are facing now pure survival may likely be their number one focus.  Such drivers might include the area cost savings, as well company stock prices.  The chief architect needs to fully understand how these drivers impact or are impacted by the Enterprise Architecture Plan.

Figure out plan of attack

Choices made in the areas of infrastructure and solutions will most likely be efficiency based, and risk averse.  Creatively considering ways in which the architecture can contribute in the area of competitive tactics is another way in which we can provide value.  If the CEO is really focused on their competition’s moves, it might be a looming takeover or collapse.  How can the strategic plan allow for agility in these types of circumstances?  What would it take to expend with a line? A division?  Or purchase either?

An additional area of CEO concern is major projects.  The CEO realistically needs to keep aware of the biggest corporate expenditures and these may be IT projects.  Characteristically these are very high profile projects or large replacement projects.  The chief architect should be fully aware of what the CEO’s concerns are, and what it is troubling them about the projects.  It may be the board’s opinion of the project, or where else the money could be better spent.

The second area the chief architect needs to focus on is the concerns of the CIO.  It is crucial to have a list of things that keeps this soul up at night as well.  Some risky hardware component or some recent security lapse could be top of the list. It might be an employee or staffing issue.  Where they are privy, the chief architect needs to explore what can be done in upcoming plans.

Ultimately there is the major issue of job retention as a CIO.  Budget cuts and less than stellar IT performance can be used as stimulus to look within the large resource pool available.  What can be done to ensure IT performance is not a factor.

A major area of concern to the chief architect should always be enterprise portfolio management.  This is the prime source of where strategic future directives will be exposed.  The architect needs to comprehend and be fully aware at all times of the biggest opportunities.  What was the biggest project or investment identified?  What is on that list or that requires the biggest investment AS WELL as the biggest return on investment.

I would suggest that the chief architect to quickly scan that portfolio management list on a monthly basis and retain a list of the quick wins and low hanging fruit.  Each of these should be incorporated into whatever future planning is being pursued as the opportunities are available.

You’ve got to keep the pulse on these critical elements – and keep this in on your laser focus.  Continually update your enterprise architecture plan where you can whenever these strategic drivers change.

Happy Architecting

Sharon

There aren’t great job descriptions out there for Chief Architect’s.  To some companies, it’s head architect, top “smart guy/gal”, “IT Strategist” or even lead IT thinker.  You may be responsible for a very structured and detailed program, or you’ve been saddled with figuring out exactly what your job is.

Let me start by letting you in on three very important secrets that should be on your job description.  1. Risk.  2.  Risk   3.  Risk.

What do I mean?  Beyond everything else, you need to be your CIO’s eyes and ears when it comes to technology risk management from a really big picture perspective.  Their trusted advisor.  2009 is my year to focus on Perspective and the concept of dialing in and out on auto-focus as an architect.  Zooming In as a matter of fact.  The chief architect may be heads down in putting together an EA Program, Plan or Roadmap, but day to day work must be on their mind.

At any given moment, place and with any person in which you communicate, you need to be aware of the three biggest risks with respect to architecture in your company.    You don’t need to do any real work to create this list.  When you start with your company, use a default three, and each time you learn of something that has higher risk, move it to your list.

For example – if you have just started working at your company, your top three risks are

1. No Disaster Recovery Plan
2. Major Hardware failure in the gear that runs your most critical customer serving application
3. No risk management system

As you get to know and learn about the systems, technology and data in your organization, you will be able to replace these incredibly general risks with those that are more specific.  If you’ve been there for any period of time, you may not have this list posted anywhere, but you can probably derive it in about 90 seconds.

Obviously, you need to find out if there is a DRP and know what it’s all about first.  After that, find out from the highest ranking technology architect or engineer that you can find what they feel the biggest infrastructure risk is.  Something else you might want to consider is the new category of risks that is similar to those that everyone talked about when “pandemic” was the big buzz word”.   Two words – supplier solvency.  With layoffs and shutdowns, is your DRP supplier afloat?

Finally – learn what the organizations plans, systems and methods are towards managing risk.    If there isn’t a system, documentation, plan or program, that just became your number one task.  Talk to your CIO.  Discuss with the IT staff in your company.  Demonstrate value in Architecture in another dimension – AVOIDING risk as a strategy.  Know when risk is discussed, where it’s documented and what the next steps are to manage or remove the risk.

As the Chief Architect, you should be your CIO’s trusted advisor.  As their trusted advisor, you need to both protect them, as well as look forward to their future.  Any future plans must include the removal of risk as well as creating great plans for the opportunities that exist.

In my next posting, I’ll include the Big Three Secrets for planning and opportunities!

Happy Architecting

]]> http://architectbootcamp.com/architecture-role/the-role-of-the-it-architect-part-2/feed/ 0 http://architectbootcamp.com/architecture-role/architect-role-and-projects/ http://architectbootcamp.com/architecture-role/architect-role-and-projects/#comments Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:50:34 +0000 http://enterprisearchitecturecoach.com/?p=229 The architect’s role may be best described using this diagram of project phases and architectures. This diagram depicts the project phases and the relationship to both the architect and the architect’s role. To describe this diagram, I included again my basic definition of the architecture frame work the purposes of communication over this site.