For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

When Selling EA Value, Context Is Everything

Align Your Value Message With Your Marketplace To Make It Stick

by Katie Smillie, Jeff Scott, November 3, 2009

Describing success as a result of being at "the right place at the right time" is often akin to saying "I just got lucky." So rather than waiting for the right place and time to market EA's value, continuously craft your message around what will be successful . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Consolidating Vendors? Make Sure EA's Voice Is Heard On Strategic Products And Services

Enterprise Architects Need To Become More Involved In Corporate Initiatives To Rationalize The IT Vendor Portfolio

by Gene Leganza, September 4, 2009

When CIOs and CFOs launch vendor consolidation initiatives to cut costs and simplify their environments, they turn to their sourcing and vendor management teams to lead the charge. But enterprise architects must play an active role, identifying the enterprise's . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Developing Architects, Q2 2009

by Jeff Scott, Katie Smillie, June 29, 2009

Whether you're an architect yourself or you have architects reporting to you, you've probably wondered: What does it take to be an architect? We analyzed more than 60 inquiry questions from Forrester clients related to the topic of the architect's role . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Building An EA Practice, Q2 2009

by Gene Leganza, Katie Smillie, June 1, 2009

Forrester examined 2,292 end user inquiries from enterprise architecture (EA) professionals in 2008. The topics of these inquiries were wide ranging, including questions about information and knowledge management, infrastructure and operations, and application . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Enterprise Architecture Best Practices, Q1 2009

by Gene Leganza, Katie Smillie, April 9, 2009

Forrester examined 2,292 end user inquiries from enterprise architecture (EA) professionals. Most of these inquiries were on specific technology topics such as information and knowledge management, infrastructure and operations, and application development; . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Enterprise Architecture Books Being Read By Enterprise Architects

by Henry Peyret, April 7, 2009

We surveyed 180 enterprise architects about which books on enterprise architecture (EA) they have read for professional development. They responded with both recently published books such as Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, and classics from 10 or . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Organizing Architecture Teams Q1 2009

by Gene Leganza, Katie Smillie, March 27, 2009

Forrester examined a total of 2,292 end user inquiries from enterprise architecture (EA) professionals in 2008. Many of these inquiries were about specific technology topics such as information and knowledge management, infrastructure and operations, . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Case Study: PNC's Secret To EA Success? A Strong Customer Focus

How One Company Achieves And Measures EA Effectiveness In A Federated IT Environment

by Jeff Scott, Katie Smillie, August 1, 2008

When The PNC Financial Services Group created a central enterprise architecture (EA) program nearly three years ago, it sought to build the team's success from the inside out, creating a small, central team as well as a formal structure of distributed . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Best Practices: Improving EA Effectiveness

Customer Focus, EA Skills, And Delivering Value Are Key

by Jeff Scott, August 1, 2008

Creating an effective enterprise architecture (EA) practice is challenging and frequently elusive for EA teams. Architecture initiatives require broad organizational support just to get started and, once started, often have long investment cycles. Small . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Case Study: Michelin Uses Second Life For Enterprise Architecture Training

by Erica Driver, June 4, 2008

Michelin Group's enterprise architecture group has begun training IT application delivery professionals (e.g., developers, architects, and infrastructure, security, and integration professionals) on complex concepts using the Second Life virtual world. . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Case Study: A Multichannel Retailer Boosts Standards Compliance With Architecture Review

Achieves $3 Million In Benefits In First Two Years

by Larry Fulton, May 12, 2008

When a large multichannel retailer decided to improve consistency across its IT solutions, it turned to an improved architecture review process to drive project teams to comply with established technology standards. Applying the best practices of mixed . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Collaborating For EA Success

Architects Expand EA's Network Beyond IT For Greater Impact

by Jeff Scott, May 5, 2008

Enterprise architecture (EA) leaders have small teams with big responsibilities. Few EA teams are staffed adequately to deliver all that they are tasked with. To increase their impact, EA teams leverage a wide variety of IT staff to both develop and promote . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Art Of The EA Deal

Making Effective Horse-Trading Your Secret Weapon

by Larry Fulton, March 11, 2008

The job of enterprise architecture (EA) is to move the IT organization toward a more strategic future, and while this requires that EA craft a plan that encompasses an appropriate strategic direction, it also demands that EA establish the influence needed . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Build EA Artifacts That Matter

by Jeff Scott, January 15, 2008

Enterprise architects frequently ask Forrester which artifacts are most important to create and how they should be constructed. Though the answer to which artifacts are important varies by organization, there is a straightforward method for constructing . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Enterprise Architecture? What's In It For Me?

To Communicate EA's Value, Architects Must Relate It To Stakeholders' Goals

by Gene Leganza, December 21, 2007

Enterprise architects know that their EA programs provide significant value to their organizations. But communicating EA's value is challenging: As a strategic activity, it doesn't have the immediate impact of other IT activities, such as implementing . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Five Trends That Will Shape The EA Profession In 2008

by Larry Fulton, Randy Heffner, Jost Hoppermann, Henry Peyret, Jeff Scott, December 14, 2007

In 2008, enterprise architects will find themselves at the center of a struggle to change their organizations into significantly more agile enterprises. As solution delivery morphs from traditional in-house custom development to the integration of an . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Effective High-Level Architecture Principles Spoon-Feed Business Implications To Stakeholders

US Government's Architecture Principles Illustrate Right Form And Content

by Gene Leganza, September 27, 2007

High-level architecture principles encapsulate and communicate an enterprise's goals, vision, and values. They are key constructs that provide guidance to governance bodies and individuals for making decisions in a manner consistent with the enterprise . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Is EA Certification Important?

Our Survey Says "No," But A Significant Pro-Certification Minority Is Emerging

by Gene Leganza, July 27, 2007

The majority of the respondents in Forrester's May 2007 enterprise architecture (EA) home page poll — 65% — say that EA certification is not currently important. But a significant minority of our respondents have planned or implemented changes to their . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

SOA Competency Planning And Educational Resources

The Goal Of SOA Training, Sample Starting Points For Your Training Plan

by Randy Heffner, June 26, 2007

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is here now; it's just not evenly distributed. In many organizations, enterprise architects are the first to investigate and understand SOA, but they then face the challenge of getting the rest of the organization up . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

EA Groups In Europe: The Communication Gap

by Jost Hoppermann, May 16, 2007

In January 2007, Forrester surveyed enterprise architects, IT planners, and IT strategists to get their take on the current state of communication between enterprise architecture (EA) groups and initiatives in Europe and their stakeholders and internal . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Role Overview: The Enterprise Architecture Professional In 2007

by Gene Leganza, Larry Fulton, May 11, 2007

In 2007, enterprise architects face the ongoing issues of defining technology strategy and improving the overall effectiveness of enterprise architecture (EA) processes, but the imperative to merge technology and business strategy brings new challenges. . . .

Topic Overview: Government Enterprise Architecture

by Gene Leganza, April 24, 2006

As government executives grow increasingly concerned about cutting operations and maintenance costs, as well as transforming their service delivery models, agency CIOs are leveraging enterprise architecture (EA) to reduce redundancy and deliver technology-enabled . . .

Topic Overview: Enterprise Architecture

by Alex Cullen, Gene Leganza, March 28, 2006

As businesses focus on top- and bottom-line growth (and as IT becomes integral to this growth), IT departments are turning to enterprise architecture (EA) to best advance objectives ranging from operational efficiency to delivering IT-enabled business . . .

Marketing EA's Value

IT Must Understand The Value For EA Groups To Be Successful

by Alex Cullen, January 3, 2006

Enterprise architecture (EA) groups believe their work is valuable — but they struggle with how to communicate this value to the rest of IT. Underlying this struggle is EA's focus on future options and improvements, while the rest of IT is focused on . . .

The Open Group Certifies Architects — But Leaves Out EA

by Alex Cullen, August 1, 2005

On July 18, 2005, The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), a vendor-neutral association of just over 100 vendor and end-user companies, announced its program for certification of IT architects. The intent is that by certifying architects, it will . . .