You have a Business Architecture interview. What are the most important things to bring?

In my perspective, your portfolio serves as a testament to your Business Architecture proficiency, showcasing past and ongoing projects, deliverables, and artifacts. It encompasses diverse elements like business models, diagrams, frameworks, roadmaps, and value streams, among others. Additionally, your portfolio should emphasize your contributions and accomplishments, illustrating instances where you enhanced business performance, resolved challenges, or delivered value. It's essential to ensure that your portfolio is well-organized, succinct, and user-friendly for easy navigation. Depending on the interviewer's preference, you can present either a printed or digital version of your portfolio during assessments.

1. Your knowledge of Business Architecture 2. Your Experience and Case Studies 3. Your Strategic Thinking Ability 4. Your Stakeholder Management Skills 5. Your Knowledge of Architecture Frameworks and Tools 6. Your Portfolio (or a presentation summarizing your successful architecture work) 7. Your Questions: they're checking your fit for the job; you should check their fit for your aspirations.

Architecture Experience: Showcase your experience in developing & implementing business architecture frameworks. Technical Proficiency: Emphasize your proficiency with business architecture tools, software, and methodologies. Mention any certifications or training. Problem-Solving Skills: Provide examples of how you've addressed challenges, optimized processes, or aligned business strategies with technology initiatives. Stakeholder Management and Communication: Highlight your communication skills and experience in collaborating with stakeholders. Results and Impact: Quantify the impact of your business architecture initiatives. Include metrics such as cost savings, revenue growth, & process efficiency improvements.

Bring a portfolio with tailored resumes, project summaries, case studies demonstrating problem-solving, process diagrams, certifications, recommendations, evidence of continuous learning, and soft skills. Please highlight experiences relevant to the role and industry, concisely showing your strategic impact, technical proficiency, and leadership abilities.

Bring references from former supervisors, clients, or colleagues who can attest to your strategic thinking, project management skills, technical expertise, and leadership qualities. Choose those who have directly observed your work on significant projects and can speak to your impact and contributions.

Ask about the organization's strategic goals, how the business architecture team supports these objectives, and the key challenges they face. Inquire about the tools and methodologies used, how projects are prioritized, and the typical stakeholders involved. Also, ask about the team dynamics, professional development opportunities, and how success is measured in the role. These questions show your strategic thinking and interest in the company's operations and your potential role within it.

It’s like anything taking the KISS principle and changing it for this. Know what you are interviewing for, have the foundations/frameworks in mind if asked - BIZBOK, TOGAF, etc. Interpersonal skill is must, how will you be present, how you will be confident but not overtly and still have humility. When asked about a challenging situation, speak to being solution oriented based upon the Biz reqs (active listening). Simplify - the interviewer may be a pro and it’s been a long day. Make it simple. What you did, what efficiencies implemented, what resources saved, and positive outcomes (aka deliverables). Stakeholders - talk about how you caucused, built relationships both internally and externally.