The solution to enterprise architecture at scale is community

Enterprise architecture has two big challenges. The need to focus on strategy and the need simultaneously to provide direct guidance and support to platform and delivery teams at scale. The problem of focus needs to be solved because without well reasoned strategies, road maps, reference architectures and patterns, a holistic context for software engineering work is missing (i.e. climbing the right mountain). These strategic deliverables tell us if we are building the right things to make the most efficient use of IT resources, enable the business to achieve its goals and provide real value to the enterprise. The problem of scale needs to be solved because EA teams just don't have enough enterprise architects to properly engage on solution architecture in every project and platform team across the enterprise. Generally speaking, I don't think hiring a bunch of solution architects within EA is the right way to go because I believe that in order to be effective, solution architects should be a part of the product and platform teams they support. So how can enterprise architecture solve for this? The answer, is that EA can create federated, solution architecture communities that are embedded within line of business product areas and also well connected to enterprise architecture. In this way EA can scale to meet the tactical needs of the product and platform teams while at the same time ensuring that the solutions they deliver have enterprise context and are fully aligned to both business and architecture strategies.  

This is a balanced approach, that is built upon close collaboration and partnership with open, two-way communication benefiting both the federated teams and enterprise architecture. The solution architecture community creates the capacity for EA so that it can focus on strategic objectives and it reinforces the connection for product and platform teams to enterprise strategy so that they will have the necessary context and guidance for their work. It would also create greater career mobility for technical leads and solution architects by opening up an additional pathway to further professional development as an architect if they have a long term interest in enterprise architecture work. Enterprise architects working together with solution architects promotes consistency of architecture practices and enable the delivery of high-quality architecture artifacts. 

In order to achieve these outcomes, EA needs to work with organizational partners to pull together a skilled group of solution architects who are well trained in architecture tools, techniques, standards and practices. Solution architecture as a function can be done either as a full time position covering one or more product areas or as a role that is executed as needed during a project lifecycle. It can also be a hybrid of these two approaches with some dedicated and part-time solution architects supporting a product area. The best archetype for a solution architect is a senior technical lead with strong software engineering and systems design skills. Building on that foundation of a technical lead, enterprise architecture can provide training in the necessary architecture skills to fill in the gaps.

Once the initial training has been completed EA can begin to stand up solution architecture communities across the enterprise with dedicated enterprise architects in each area as guides and facilitators. Each community would be responsible for their solution architectures, technical designs and code reviews. The communities would also be open forums for solution architects to exchange ideas, get guidance, ask questions, share lessons learned, find out what is happening with architecture across the enterprise and brainstorm with other solution and enterprise architects. The enterprise architects assigned to the local solution architect communities would be accountable for the meetings and activities, but the solution architects would take a very active role in them and share in the facilitation and leadership responsibilities. Over time these communities would evolve to the point where they are facilitated by the solution architects with ongoing support and engagement from enterprise architecture. As the federated architecture community practice matures, the overall breakdown of the work as well as the roles and responsibilities between the solution architects and enterprise architects would shift so that enterprise architects are primarily focused on strategic deliverables and the solution architects are primarily focused on tactical deliverables with overlap, bi-directional collaboration and support between the two.

At a time when difficult circumstances require us to be separated, the power of community to bring us together becomes more important than ever. Establishing and maintaining a federated solution architecture community would enable enterprise architects to focus on strategic guidance and direction without losing the critical connection to solution architecture work by platform and product teams delivering capabilities. I believe this approach is the next logical phase in the agile architecture journey that strives to create a balance between long-term, strategic focus and the fast delivery of business value. There are many opportunities here and I believe that if enterprise architecture teams work together with their federated partners in product and platform teams, then the solution to successful enterprise architecture at scale will be community.