Beyond the Architecture Dogma
Nadeem Malik
Enterprise Architect - providing enterprise-wide insights, promoting standardization, reducing costs, mitigating risk, increasing agility, realizing strategies, and driving innovation.
Challenging the Conventional Wisdom
In the world of enterprise architecture, dogmatic allegiances to specific methods abound. Some treat capability modeling as the holy grail. Others worship at the altar of detailed process documentation. Zealous devotees of data architectures, enterprise IT platforms, and other technical elements perpetuate similar devotion to their chosen craft.
However, the reality is that there is no "one right way" when it comes to architecting diverse modern businesses grappling with unique challenges. Different organizations have different realities, priorities, and constraints. Rigidly sticking to theoretical best practices ignores on-the-ground practicalities.
Customize to Context
The most effective architects I've worked with eschew dogma for pragmatism. Rather than forcing predefined methods onto ambiguous problems, they carefully diagnose each business context before offering solutions. If core challenges center on disjointed processes across units, detailed workflow mapping takes precedence over broad capability definitions. Where fragmented data lies at the crux, information architectures may serve as the compass guiding decisions.
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Adaptability Amidst Change
Top architects also remain flexible and adaptable as new business realities emerge. Initiatives rarely follow textbook trajectories, so the ability to iteratively evolve designs and collaborate across silos becomes critical. A great architect offers not fixed formulas, but versatile frameworks and adaptable methods tailored to ever-changing environments.
Cultivating a Growth Mindset
For me, escaping rigid dogma comes down to cultivating a growth mindset. I try to enter every engagement with curiosity rather than preconception, seeking to deeply understand a business on its terms. This empathetic orientation bonds relationships with people who feel heard, not shoehorned into predefined models. And humility to keep learning new perspectives prevents my views from ossifying into unyielding dogmas.
Reality Trumps Dogma
So before imposing any method or architecture, first seek context. Glean insights directly from those on the business frontlines. Only once the lay of the land is clear can mapping the terrain begin in earnest. The goal should not be elevating any specific approach - it should be nurturing a versatile, ever-evolving toolkit ready to meet the realities at hand. For in the world of business, reality will always trump dogma.