Enterprise Architecture: Collaborating across the enterprise

Question: For Enterprise Architecture to be a success at your organization, who do you consider your most important internal partners???

Results: 89% of our followers told us it was their “Business Stakeholders”.??

In this week’s “Change by Design” newsletter we’ve gathered some best practices and resources?on collaborating across the enterprise.?

Firstly we’ll highlight various ways you can successfully engage with C-level executives, and then show you how best to visualize dataflow for your business audiences – using a metro map view. Finally, we share some great resources you might want to have in your back pocket!???

How to Engage with C-level Executives So That They Take Note?

Enterprise Architecture has become a strategic capability to address an organization’s transformation challenges in a rapidly evolving environment. We feel comfortable collaborating with our peers and other technology professionals because this has always been part of the traditional role of an Enterprise Architect. ?

Today, the role of architects has changed. The digital age demands a new approach in that we need to communicate with a growing network of collaborators. Here’s how. ?

?? Go no-tech: speak to execs directly?

C-level executives don’t understand technical jargon. To ensure that we communicate with them so that they listen, we need to provide an answer or insight into a business challenge that is relevant to them. If not, it won’t get noticed nor acted upon.??

?? Tailor architectural models for the C-level?

We need to make it easy for business executives to understand our architectural models. C-level and business leaders are typically very busy and need to form an opinion quickly. Creating a ‘Capability Map’ is generally our first port of call because it shows how IT is aligned to the business strategy and aims to support strategic decisions.?

?? Network to the top: cast your net wider?

To give business executives a full line of sight of the entire organization, we have to extend our reach beyond IT to the rest of the organization to involve an expanded set of stakeholders from a far larger cross-section of the enterprise. Collaboration within our teams will no longer be sufficient. We need to understand and determine requirements from many different sub-cultures within the enterprise such as finance, marketing, HR, all the way to the C-level.?

?? Promote the value of your architectural models?

Simply producing insights by itself is not enough. We need to shout from the rooftops about where the value lies. Remember that the clearer your message is (what you solve), the easier it becomes to promote it. We need to become salespeople for the work we’re doing.?

?Find out more about each one of these steps in our full article here ?

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How to visualize dataflow for business audiences using metro maps

ArchiMate is the modeling language of choice for most enterprise architects. When ArchiMate is communicated to a business audience, however, the default visualization is often perceived as too technical. To solve this, Bizzdesign is creating alternative ways of visualizing ArchiMate models , such as the Metro Map. The new Metro Map view visualizes dataflow or processes more intuitively for a business audience as ‘metro lines’ flowing between ‘stations’, representing applications or business functions.?

How to create a Metro Map in Enterprise Studio?

Step 1: Select the ArchiMate model content you want to visualize??

A functional decomposition diagram from the ArchiSurance TOGAF is a great starting point. Simply select and copy the objects and relations you want to include in your map.?

Step 2: Create a dataflow Metro Map??

Create a new Metro Map view using the context menu in the model browser and paste the content selected in Step 1 onto the view. Next, use the on-canvas dropdown menu first to perform an automatic layout of the view and then to auto color the lines by name.?

Step 3: Refine the visualization??

?You get a clearer visualization at the push of a button (see the figure below) by removing some superfluous ‘stations’, playing a bit with their position, using the relation layout and manually repositioning the labels. It’s also possible to manually change the color of the lines, the size of the stations and the formatting of their labels. ?

?Now you can have a meaningful discussion with business stakeholders about the information that flows through the organization.??

Want to learn more about the three different methods to create a Metro Map? Read the full article here ?

What else you should know about this month...?

• ?Find out how this banking group , with $1.4 billion revenue,?drives collaboration across their enterprise?and provides a consistent view for their business?
• Our latest podcast on “How to become the Customer Driven Enterprise”?- and how enterprise architecture plays a key role - is out now and is worth the listen here ?
• Get your complimentary copy of the 2022 Gartner? Peer Insights Voice of the Customer Report here ?

Make sure to follow Bizzdesign on LinkedIn for the latest and greatest updates!?