Business Engagement - An Architects Most Important Role in Low Maturity Organisations
Over the last couple of weeks I have had a couple of new clients (happy days) who are going through some sort of transformation, they need an architect but aren't sure in what capacity. They currently have no architecture capability and have had varying degrees of success with architects over the years.
This got me thinking about these sorts of organisations and what they need from their architects. I believe engaging the business and providing them with evidence of what architecture can deliver which is an architect's most important role. You can come up with the greatest documentation, strategy or solution in the world that could solve the countless problems, but if you can't show the business the value and don’t engage the stakeholders, then you might as well have not done anything at all.
Generally, what I have found within larger organisations is that there is already a base knowledge of what architecture is and what the rough benefits are. You would normally have an architecture repository and framework that transformation programmes are to follow. How mature that is, varies wildly from organisation to organisation. The ability to engage the business is still critical, but theoretically the groundwork should have been laid.
Within smaller organisations however you often have two situations:
There is no architecture in place, the business is unaware of what architecture is and how it can benefit the company
This is an interesting scenario as you are coming in with a bit of a blank canvas, you are able to apply the framework you think is most pertinent to the organisation and can shape the architecture practice as you like.
There have been architect(s) previously, however they hid in a separate room and created documentation in isolation, without working with the business
The question then goes to, what happens when your stakeholders have been burned by ivory tower architecture in the past? The conversations are likely a bit different, as they are more likely to be sceptical about architecture and what it can achieve. They likely see it is pie in the sky thinking, where no real business value is achieved.
Being able to effectively communicate the value of architecture to the business is crucial, especially in organisations with no architecture capability. By taking a methodical approach and relating architecture to specific business needs, you can gradually build trust and understanding with stakeholders.