Tasks and Activities
- Shape the design architecture based on strategic business and operating models.
- Develop principles, strategies and frameworks.
- Ensure standards and framework compliance across the business.
- Develop and maintain strategic and technology roadmaps.
- Develop and maintain a strategic vision for the delivery of ICT based on key business drivers.
- Provide advice and consultancy on strategy to management team.
- Liaise with solutions architects to develop design standards.
- Produce models to describe the artifacts, principles, frameworks and strategy.
- Lead the development of capabilities in all facets of strategic and tactical implementation from conception to post deployment.
- Provide cross project architectural governance that includes identifying relevant strategy, policy and roadmaps.
- Monitor and report on project compliance and alignment to ICT strategy.
- Provide expert consultancy in the development of programs of work and capital budget allocation.
- Liaise with engineers and technology experts to ascertain system functional capacity, constraints and support lifecycles.
- Model and assess the organizations' baseline Architecture.
EA Domain Role Descriptions
Enterprise Architect roles are generally aligned to logical groups of services known as domains. Because these domains can be intrinsically complex, EA practitioners' career skills sets are generally aligned to one or two domains only.
The five EA domains include;
1. Business architecture: Describes behavior at the business layer including information flows, processes, roles and work practices that impact business objectives and capabilities. EA practitioners who specialize in business architecture are almost solely involved with business practices and can have little/no computer systems focus.
2. Data architecture: Describes data structures used by business processes or systems. This domain facilitates and enhances intra and inter systems communications for storage and transmission. Roles within this domain are closely related to software development and applications.
3. Applications architecture: Maps applications and business capabilities to describe how systems interact within the organization. This domain should provide mappings between users, systems, platforms and business functions. This domain is also closely related to software development and applications.
4. Information architecture: A hybrid between Data and Applications architecture that facilitates the modeling of data structures as they relate to business applications and capabilities.
5. Technical architecture: Often called Infrastructure architecture, this domain describes the behavior of infrastructure platforms and the business systems that they support. This domain is primarily concerned with end nodes (workstations), servers, networks and storage solutions and the role that this infrastructure plays in supporting business systems. Roles within this domain have a strong focus on IT infrastructure and hardware.
Role at a glance
Organizational Position
This position will likely work in the Strategy and Architecture department liaising with business leaders as well as executives and operational staff.
Figure 1. Enterprise Architect in the Organization (click to enlarge image)
Qualifications & Certifications
There is a relatively diverse set of qualification and certification requirements found in EA jobs. The most common requirements include Degrees as well as Togaf and Zachman training and certifications. However, many roles also request more specific qualifications that are more closely aligned to the EA domain.
More certification information can be found in the following pages:
Attributes of an Excellent Enterprise Architect
An excellent enterprise architect is able to develop and defend forward thinking strategy that complies with a complex set of requirements and inputs that may sometimes appear to contradict each other. For example growth vs cost saving.
Related Career Links
Attraction to the position and job retention strategies for employers
Attraction
This role bridges the gap between business and the role that ICT systems play in the delivery business objectives. For this reason, it provides an opportunity for ICT professionals to influence the productivity of the business by enhancing or refining the ICT systems that support it. This type of influence can be very rewarding and offer significant job satisfaction.
Pressures
Because the role carries significant influence in terms of strategic direction, staff may experience pressure or resistance from colleagues who may have a more narrow worldview based on their particular expertise or different motivators based on pressures within their particular departments. In other words, a holistic view to a solution can often contradict a solution to a specific problem. It is important that an open process be implemented when creating strategy and policy in order to avoid this type of social and political pressure on Enterprise Architects.
Related Information
What You Know
Thorough knowledge of the core business & business objectives
Know relevant legislation and/or government policy
Know information systems from a holistic perspective
Understand key technologies and limitations
Understand systems modelling and enterprise frameworks
What You Do
Write/guide/set information technology stragey
Write policy
Consult business stakeholders
Consult technical specialists
Predict emerging technologies and trends
Produce models
What You Are
Able to influence
A strategist
An excellent communicator
A leader
Enterprise Architect Job Description
Job Description
Provide strategic direction, guidance notes, position papers and design principles to the ICT department. Ensure close alignment between business objectives, ICT design principles and solutions. Use models and architectural frameworks to identify key relationships and gaps between business objectives, process and ICT systems. Deliver roadmaps that enhance operational efficiency and provide visionary guidance for project solutions.
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