*Enterprise Architecture: How to Simplify Your Strategy Execution for Scalable Growth

| The "Invisible" Rube Goldberg Contraption

Even if you have taken great care to hire the best leaders, build the best team, provide them with the best leadership support, given them the best training, procured the best tools by the best vendors, implemented the best applications and processes, etc. — it's still very likely your organization could be hamstrung and find it difficult or near impossible to rapidly execute strategic changes without ongoing delays and budget overruns that in turn lead to disappointing stakeholder value, deteriorating profitability, and stagnant growth. But if by most visible indicators (excluding value, profitability, and growth) your organization appears to be firing on all cylinders, how could execution still remain stuck in the mud hindering scale and growth?

In many cases, its likely because all of the above "visible" assets interact as an interconnected s-y-s-t-e-m through an "invisible" complex fabric called "enterprise architecture" that serves both as your "foundation for execution" as well as your "foundation for innovation". This enterprise architecture fabric typically suffers from multiple types of "fossilization" that impede throughput, velocity, and ROI.

The four most simple ways to "visualize" fossilization types include but are not limited to: 1) Bubble-Effects, 2) Bottleneck-Effects, 3) Hairball-Effects, and 4) Logjam-Effects. But wait — there's more! Unfortunately, there are many more dynamics-related side-effects that plague enterprise architecture with rigor-mortis like stiffness that limit an organization's resilience and agility; i.e., its ability to adapt to change such as Filter-Effects (restrictions), Silo-Effects (disconnects), Queue-Effects (latency), and Looping-Effects (rework) to name only but a few more examples from a very diverse and complex set of dynamic fossilization types that exist in all organizations' enterprise architecture. Yes indeed, every medium to large organization has their fair share of them!

Continue reading below to learn more about how some of these "invisible" dynamic fossilization types impede scale and growth.

| The "Invisible" Bubble-Effect (Inefficient Agility)

The most pervasive and hard to see or detect performance-limiting side-effect of low-quality fossilized enterprise architecture are invisible Bubble-Effects (the opposite of the Bottleneck-Effect described immediately below). The bubble-effect describes what happens when a line of business or business function is locally-optimized; i.e., work streams are locally-optimized while neglecting the big-picture of system-wide optimization.

Bubble-Effects often happen because most operational teams are prone to only locally-optimize their specific segment of the enterprise architecture for local execution and so is rarely if ever intentionally well-architected to be system-optimized nor future-proofed to support system-wide agility optimization goals. This typically happens when businesses and teams are under pressure to execute, then these two architectural design objectives often become at odds with one another. If there is not sufficient time to intentionally optimize for both then system-wide agility and gestalt is usually sacrificed as its harder to design. As a result, executing strategic goals often may feel like running inside a hamster wheel where a lot of work is being done but without much visible progress toward reaching the goal. This type of local-optimization is just one of many definitions of enterprise architecture fossilization where "haste-makes-waste".

For example, if an agile manufacturing process has a single step that is made much more efficient (a local optimization) than downstream steps with limiting bottleneck behaviors, then raw materials may be consumed faster than the marketing and sales commercialization processes can unload thereby decreasing system-wide liquidity and cash that in turn decreases the overall financial agility of an organizations ability to remain resilient in difficult downturns.

But what if it were possible to make these "invisible" bubble-effects more visible and therefore more manageable?

| The "Invisible" Bottleneck-Effect (Constrained Flow)

The next most common hard to see and detect performance-limiting side-effect of low-quality fossilized enterprise architecture are the invisible Bottleneck-Effects (the opposite of the Bubble-Effect above) that plague system-wide value streams. The bottleneck-effect describes what happens when the flow of work is constrained or limited in a way that affects total system throughput.

When correctly understood, not all bottlenecks are bad — just the worst one that limits total system throughput called the "drum" bottleneck (for more information, read the books entitled The Goal or The Phoenix Project). In sharp contrast, an organization often supports multiple simultaneous local optimizations (see bubble-effect above) in hopes that the "drum" bottleneck that constrains total system throughput will be eventually neutralized by luck or happenstance thus allowing work to proceed at the required pace.

Yet many organizations that lean on this "are you feeling lucky" hope-based approach continue to frequently struggle with overdue or over-budget processes that seem to constantly shift around the organization like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole played in the dark where the organization and teams frequently resort to heroics and fire-fighting to compensate.

Again, what if it were possible to make these "invisible" bottleneck-effects more visible and therefore more manageable?

| The "Invisible" Hairball-Effect (Inverse Network-Effect)

Perhaps the most intractable of all hard to see and detect performance-limiting side-effects of low-quality fossilized enterprise architecture are the invisible Hairball-Effects that often plague core system-wide value streams. The hairball-effect describes what happens when systems are interconnected in a point-to-point manner. Again, this often happens when organizations are under pressure to move quickly with no time to design how the systems should be integrated with plug-n-play (PnP) behaviors.

As a result, many of the systems become deadlocked with each other in an entangled hairball containing entangled circular dependencies. Believe or not, some hairball architectures are so complex it is sometimes NOT feasible to untangle it — in such cases it may be more economical for the entire business platform to be rebuilt from scratch the right way in order to reduce the long-term total cost of ownership and therefore maximize ROI. This is also why it's so important that project rescue consultants understand how to calculate ROI for large capital investments given that some investments may have an unacceptable ROI and therefore should be cancelled as a result.

Unfortunately, untangling hairball architectures is one of the most challenging skillsets to learn as a certified enterprise architect because the solution is not straightforward but instead is very counter-intuitive similar to the Bubble-Effect described above. On the other hand, when done right, the solution reaps exponential benefits in terms of time savings, reduced cost, as well as maximum resilience and agility with plug-n-play (PnP) characteristics.

Once again, what if it were possible to make these "invisible" hairball-effects more visible and therefore more manageable?

| The "Invisible" Logjam-Effect (Misaligned Waste)

Perhaps the most destructive of all hard to see and detect performance-limiting side-effects of low-quality fossilized enterprise architecture are the invisible Logjam-Effects that plague all system-wide value streams similar to the hairball-effect described above. The logjam-effect describes what happens when systems are overloaded beyond their capacity with misaligned work. Not so surprisingly, this also happens when organizations are under pressure to move quickly with no time to prioritize; however, this side-effect also happens for a wide variety of other very complex reasons too lengthy for this article to cover.

In case you may be wondering why it's considered one of the most destructive side-effects; the author has come across more than one occasion where 85% of work currently in-flight was misaligned with corporate strategy. Given that each of these projects is a capital investment misaligned with corporate strategy, it drains not only human capital but also financial resources and reduces an organization's ability to compete in the marketplace. Just imagine the waste! This one example alone, when fully comprehended, is justification in and of itself to procure an enterprise architect to assess the current state of an organization where ongoing symptoms of missed strategic goals have become normalized.

How valuable would it be if it were possible to make these "invisible" logjam-effects more visible and therefore more manageable?

| Do You Have an "Invisible" Rube Goldberg Contraption?

Do any of these four most common performance-limiting fossilization effects plague your business? If so, your enterprise architecture may resemble a Rube Goldberg Contraption if you are experiencing lower margins, dwindling cash flow, and lackluster ROI or if you are seeking greater efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness all of which may surface financially as disappointing stakeholder value, deteriorating profitability, and stagnant growth.

And yes, every organization does have an enterprise architecture, whether you wanted one or not! In most cases, without an experienced enterprise architect, the enterprise architecture evolves ad-hoc and by happenstance into a juggernaut of complexity (bubbles, bottlenecks, hairballs, logjams, filters, silos, queues, loops, etc.). Ask yourself, did your enterprise architecture grow in complexity as it evolved over time or was it intentionally simplified through the diligent stewardship of an experienced enterprise architect to serve as the business's strategic "organizing logic" and "foundation for execution" asset?

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, there are many and varied strategy execution delays and overruns that result from an ad-hoc fossilized enterprise architecture. Furthermore, lack of a simplified enterprise architecture all too often causes large organizations to struggle when aligning their strategic investments with day-to-day operations. This misalignment can in turn lead to MASSIVE inefficiencies, ongoing delays, wasted resources, and many other missed opportunities.

Sadly, companies and their business leadership often look to unnecessary but gut-wrenching cost-cutting measures and layoffs because the root-cause enterprise architecture execution fossilization types (bubbles, bottlenecks, hairballs, logjams, filters, silos, queues, loops, etc.) remain hidden from view.

Fortunately, there are better alternatives available when business leaders are willing to proactively focus on enterprise architecture simplicity before it becomes an organizational liability.

| Visibility and Simplicity are the Ultimate Streamlined Solution

The enterprise architecture practice, also known as an EA Center-of-Excellence (CoE), addresses these and other fossilization challenges by providing a comprehensive blueprint that elevates the visibility of fossilization effects and a roadmap to simplify and neutralize these and many other side-effects.

Mapping out the existing (as-is) structure, processes, and information flows within an organization helps to both simplify and to make more visible the hidden complexities that are typically invisible to key decision makers.

Next, a simplified but future-proofed (to-be) blueprint is also created to help define, align, estimate, and articulate the organization's "north star" or desired future state of the organization that would serve to help accelerate strategy execution.

If the gap between the current and future states represents a large enough transformation, then intermediate baby-step (is-to) blueprints may also be created to help manage risk and maximize ROI with incremental pay-as-you-go deliveries.

Finally, all these blueprints may then be translated into a roadmap and timeline that ensures that every aspect of the business is aligned with its strategic goals, enabling more effective decision-making and strategy execution.

The benefits of implementing enterprise architecture are enormous (when done right, benefits are often exponential) if they are rightsized for simplicity and aligned with corporate strategy. By offering a clear and holistic view of the organization, enterprise architecture helps to identify quick-wins and other areas for improvement to streamline operations as well as R&D departments.

It creates a "north star" shared vision that enhances communication and collaboration across different departments, mitigates operational silos, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Moreover, it supports better resource allocation and risk management, ultimately leading to increased agility and competitiveness. The end result serves to improve margins, cash flow, and ROI as well as efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness while multiplying stakeholder value, profitability, and growth in a fraction of the time, cost, and risk.

| Untangle the Hairball and Scale with Ease

Is your organization suffering from any of the symptoms listed above? Well, you are not alone. According to Kaplan and other research 60%-90% of organizations fail to fully execute their strategy on-time and on-budget. According to the Standish Group, well over 72%+ of strategic initiatives struggle to cross the finish line with all of the projected benefits. According to ZDNet, this leads to more than $1.2T in lost value globally each year! As a result, when the elusive hairball is in play, it often leads to many business leaders feeling frustrated, lonely, and isolated at the top while they contemplate alone their next move on how to best mitigate losing even more ground to competitors. Just imagine the competitive advantage to be attained by untangling the hairball and mitigating all of the other side-effects discussed in detail above. Eliminating the hairball and neutralizing other fossilization side-effects stimulates execution with 2x Throughput, 4x Velocity, and 10x ROI to scale with ease and multiply stakeholder value, profitability, and growth. It all starts with reimagining enterprise architecture but without the hairball and other fossilization types.

INSIGHT: Did you know that more than 80% of global 50 companies and more than 60% of global 500 companies leverage enterprise architecture? So if you are contemplating whether or not you need enterprise architecture, a good rule of thumb is that while all organizations will benefit from stewarding their enterprise architecture using a certified enterprise architect (CEA) – organizations with less than $500M in annual revenue will likely only need the part-time assistance of fractional enterprise architect whereas at about $500M or larger your organization will likely need at least one full-time enterprise architect to manage all of the inherent complexity.

Getting Started — Reimagining Enterprise Architecture (as EA 3.0)

EA as evolved over many years and can be better understood through the phases of its journey. EA "1.0" describes the tool-centric approach focused on intangible results that most vendors still promote to this day even though results are very questionable. EA "2.0" describes the ROI-centric approach pioneered by JS Miller Consulting, LLC starting in 2008. EA "3.0" describes the Growth-centric approach pioneered by JS Miller Consulting starting in 2016. If you are thinking of leveraging enterprise architecture in your organization, it is beneficial to first learn about both the strengths and weaknesses of each approach before starting.

EA "1.0": First of all, the typical approach for enterprise architecture "1.0" vendors is start by persuading you to adopt a specific EA framework or toolset and then spending many months or even years populating it with data from a configuration management database (CMDB) and other sources. The problem with this "1.0" approach is that the vendor is assuming ROI will materialize down the road but has yet to understand which fossilization types exist in the organization and therefore which portions of a large EA framework will be needed by your organization and so then must try to boil the ocean — but this is a very costly approach ripe with risk that primarily benefits the vendor. As you might guess this approach is generally discouraged by most reputable EA frameworks and certified enterprise architects for obvious reasons - little to none or negative ROI. This is only one of many reasons why EA programs may struggle to provide value. More specifically, populating a tool with data to produce visualizations provides little to no business value if the information cannot be used to pinpoint fossilization types which many don't support. Nor is the tool of much value for strategic alignment if it focuses on capturing only tactical technical data given that the most significant EA quick-win is usually a massive reduction and realignment of project portfolios which many EA "1.0" tools don't even capture. The other big misstep most organizations make when establishing enterprise architecture capability is placing this under the CIO which assumes it is an IT function. In some cases this can work to solve a singular IT silo problem, but enterprise architecture is designed to optimize both business and IT as a s-y-s-t-e-m, and therefore was never intended to optimize only IT silos although it can be used that way when needed but also carries with it a lot of extra cost and risk. Because of the strategic nature of EA, it is rightly positioned within an organization directly reporting the CEO, CSO, Chief Risk Officer or other regulatory leadership in a neutral part of the business or under a Sr. Executive VP or Chief of Staff (CoS) acting in a trusted advisor role to the CEO.

EA "2.0": Given the inherent weaknesses of the EA "1.0" tool-centric approach, its best to chase EA quick wins with a set of layered traceability diagrams in conjunction with a project portfolio analysis (of capital investments pre-aligned with corporate strategy) which more often than not yields enough return on investment (ROI) to not only pay for the entire EA program setup but has the potential to self-fund the EA program many years into the future with funds left over when properly coordinating EA with enterprise solution architecture (ESA). Only then, much later, is the timing ripe for implementing an EA tool — after the EA program earns ROI. In most cases, this should be the litmus test of every EA program setup! If the certified enterprise architect is experienced enough to generate quick win ROI, then and only then is it likely that this enterprise architect has proven themself capable of selecting and rightsizing a toolset that can perpetuate similar ROI in conjunction with ESA. The lesson: a tool does not a good EA program make! A tool can never achieve the value of strategic thinking.

EA 3.0 = The JSMC Design Intelligence™ (DQ™) System

Similar to how a certified enterprise architect can drive maximum EA ROI using EA "2.0" quick-win strategic thinking approach (portfolio alignment along with ESA) that an EA "1.0" tool cannot provide in and of itself, abstract strategic thinking can be further leveraged by focusing on the rapid pinpointing of quick-win common fossilization type patterns (bubbles, bottlenecks, hairballs, logjams, filters, silos, queues, loops, etc.) using a 12-Ps Flow Canvas that is more easily understood by management than a typical EA "2.0" layered traceability diagram.

This EA "3.0" approach uses a three-step process to create a simple Opportunity Blueprint (for visibility) to quickly identify a quick-win Proven Pilot initiative (for simplicity and low risk) which if proven successful can then be scaled to provide Rightsized Benefits (for scale and growth) in a way that mitigates the law of diminishing returns as fossilization effects shift and move around the organization.

JS Miller Consulting, LLC is the sole-source provider of the EA "3.0" Design Intelligence (DQ) approach using the 12-Ps Flow Canvas™ as described above. When you're ready, we'd love to help you. Let's chat.

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