EA Governance How is strategic direction imparted Creative

EA Governance How is strategic direction imparted? Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Yet Another Governance Board • Much of what applies to the other boards applies here • Not usually a 5 day a week job • Board must have some diversity of skills and outlooks – Must work together well • Gives guidance and sets policy for EA team – Not the dictator Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

EA Governance • Part of the methodology of an EA is establishing this governance • EA Governance often influences the choice of: – The framework – The methodology – The artifacts to be gathered – The tools to use, including repository Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Areas • EA Governance gives direction on the establishment and ensures continued operation of the following areas – Controls – Compliance – Management – Accountability Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Six Qualities • These are qualities that we want in the EA board – Discipline – Transparency – Independence – Accountability – Responsibility – Fairness • More explanation follows Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Qualities 1 • Discipline – Must be committed to following governance processes – Must also respect authority of the architectural decisions. • As well as EA governance within the corporate hierarchy • Transparency – The processes, their outcomes and all follow-up actions must be available for everyone to see and understand Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Qualities 2 • Independence – Decisions and actions should be conducted in a way that is impartial – This should show that team is not unduly influenced by any one group • Especially management. • Accountability – People or groups should have clearlyidentified responsibilities – Who are responsible for carrying out governance tasks. Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Qualities 3 • Responsibility. – All participants must act in a professional manner and work for the best interests of the organization and to its stakeholders. • Fairness. – Your decisions must be fair and unbiased, not influenced by your own personal preferences and prejudices. Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Commentary • Setting up and running an effective architecture governance regime can be very challenging – Regardless of experience level or organizational maturity • Often find little understanding among stakeholders of what governance means and how it adds value – Often seen as another layer of bureaucracy Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Danger • Upper level management often has the suspicion that EA is a conspiracy for lower level management to gain control or at least more power – There is some truth to this • The balance point to attain is: – Those designated by the enterprise board do not surrender power, nor ignore the positions of those lower who actually have insight to how things should be Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

• Context EA Governance must fit into the context of the other governance boards – Everyone should agree as to its position and responsibilities • Possible locations – It may report to the Enterprise Board, management team or the IT board – It may also parallel the IT board, where the two cooperate and both report to the Enterprise Board – Having the IT board replace not such a good idea Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Who is on board? • CIO or CTO usually chairs – Often ‘board’ consists only of CIO and chief architect – Architect is a good member but should not be half the board • After that a variety of people from all areas of the enterprise should be included – Good business skills – IT familiarity Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Picture Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Governing What? • The goal of EA is to document the current and future state of an enterprise • Then to produce a management plan, which is the map from the former to the latter – The Board must approve • Like driving a car, there is the continuous process of monitoring current state and adjusting controls to keep on course Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Power • What happens if the transformation gets off course? • It is EA governance’s task to sound the alarm • If the course correction is minor then the EA team may be able to nudge it back on course – Otherwise, it needs to be referred to enterprise governance Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.

Conclusion • EA governance follows the pattern of several other governance boards • Its position and responsibilities should be clear • Generally chaired by CIO (or CTO) • Should be composed of a variety of people with diverse viewpoints and good technical knowledge Creative Commons License – Curt Hill.