Most businesses engage in the creation of architectural artefacts as part of their Business As Usual process as it applies to the design and execution of strategic initiatives.
Many of these businesses will not have a supporting Enterprise Architecture Framework in place yet appreciate the value that one may bring.
Oddly enough, a significant obstacle in establishing an Enterprise Architecture is the wealth of already created material. In exploring the Architectural Frameworks such as FEAF or TOGAF the question generally arises on what happens to the architectural components that have already been developed. These have generally been socialised and accepted by the business and the prospect of ‘tossing’ them out can result in significant push-back.
One solution is the establishment of a Hybrid Architecture Framework. In this case, by aligning architectural components already developed with those supported by other frameworks, it is reasonable to expect that appropriate coverage of the architectural landscape could be made. By choosing components that maximise the reuse of an already created body of work, avoiding rework and also resonate strongly within the business and IT the perceived obstacles can be largely overcome.
Instead of maintaining a purist view to building an Enterprise Architecture, by ‘picking the eyes’ out of what is already developed and what make sense from other frameworks, the business can realise an asset to which it may otherwise have been denied.
It is much better to have an Enterprise Architecture, no matter its form, than none at all.
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