What is an Enterprise Architecture Principle?
We often refer to enterprise architecture principles as guideposts, guardrails, rules of the road. Or even the North Star. All these phrases are saying the same thing - enterprise architecture principles provide the base guidance on decisions.
Often, business and technology decisions need to be made with insufficient information. Rapid decision making presents a significant problem with IT and organizational change. How can you have confidence that rapid decisions made with insufficient information align with your strategy, goals, and value proposition?
It is all too easy to create a story that shows fake alignment. We all know many of those stories are fiction. What we want are decisions that align. You need to define enterprise architecture principles that guide you to your organization's default preferences.
Become a better enterprise architect, take the time to learn how to define enterprise architecture principles.
How to Apply Enterprise Architecture Principles
Enterprise architecture principles are used to create better decisions.
You use them to guide a decision that needs to be made. Or, use the architecture principle to test a potential decision. When used to test a decision, you are performing enterprise architecture governance.
Often, business and technology decisions need to be made with insufficient information. Rapid decision making presents a significant problem with IT and organizational change. How can you have confidence that rapid decisions made with insufficient information align with your strategy, goals, and value proposition?
It is all too easy to create a story that shows fake alignment. We all know many of those stories are fiction.
This is where enterprise architecture principles come in.They provide guidance on how to approach a problem. They state clearly your organization's default preferences.
TOGAF architecture principles provide a set of guidelines that will give your enterprise the guidelines to direct both rapid decision making and solid analysis on the path to business success.
How to Define Enterprise Architecture Principles - Write Them Down
Defining enterprise architecture principles requires writing them down.
We use the TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Principle template. Four parts - the name, the statement, the explanation, and implications. Completing the template helps you define high-quality enterprise architecture principles.
While the complete template is required, always start with the name and statement. If your principle's name and statement are not resonating a more detailed rationale whon't help. Keep working until you get a name that summarizes the intent and an understandable statement.
Go further and join the free Enterprise Architecture Principles Webinar.
TOGAF Enterprise Architecture Principle Template
The TOGAF standard provides a basic template for architecture principles.
| Name | An easy to remember summary of the principle. Never use soft ambiguous like "support" or "consider." |
| Statement | Unambiguously communicate the fundamental rule. Go past the short catchy name and provide a crisp explanation. Never explain how to apply the principle. |
| Rationale | Explain why this principle exists. Directly align with strategy, goal, and value proposition. Never use platitudes. When you cannot provide a solid rational, you have a wish, not an eneterprise architecture principle. |
| Implications | State what will it take to follow the enterprise architecture principle. Highlight the work n terms of resources, costs, change and tasks. Clearly state the impact and consequences of following the principle. |
How to Define Enterprise Architecture Principles
Do not look for universal enterprise architecture principles and attempt to apply them. There are no universal principles. Another organization's principles do not support your strategy, value proposition, opportunities, and threats. Always define enterprise architecture principles based on your organization.
Architecture Principles provide the guidelines for testing decisions and making rapid decisions. Guidelines for your enterprise. Each Architecture Principle must trace directly to your strategy, goals, and value proposition.
The steps to define enterprise architecture principles are simple to say. Doing the work requires skill, knowledge, and finesse. The quick answer is you will iterate through Name, Statement, Rationale, and Implications until you have good enterprise architecture principles.
Defining enterprise architecture principles is a critical thinking exercise. You need to focus on the guidance that matters most. After all, you should only have 10-15 enterprise architecture principles.
What are the Steps to Define Enterprise Architecture Principles
- Get Ready
- Review organization mission, vision, value proposition, and business model
- Review sample enterprise architecture principles as a source of ideas
- Review your existing enterprise architecture principles
- Look for gaps to fill
- Where is your organization consistently missing?
- What is the reason you are missing?
- Which existing enterprise architecture principles point away from the gap?
- Look for success to sustain
- Where is your organization continuously successful?
- What are the roots of success?
- Which existing enterprise architecture principles reinforce the success?
- Which elements of success are not supported by an enterprise architecture principle?
- Draft new principles
- Fill the gaps and reinforce success
- Test a few good and weak decisions to ensure your new enterprise architecture principles reinforce the good and guides away from the weak
- Test the Name to make sure it suggests the right course in your organization
- Test the Statement to ensure it explains the better path in your organization
- Write a rationale that traces directly back to your organization mission, vision, value proposition, and business model through the gap or success
- Write an implication that highlights the work or constraint
- Test your enterprise architecture
- Pull out some work in progress and test the architecture development against your draft principles
- Look for mis-alignment. Either the principle doesn't reflect your organizational preference, or the architecture doesn't. When you find mis-alignment, dig hard for the root.
- Take the draft enterprise architecture principles through your governance process
- Principles will require approval by your key enterprise stakeholders
TOGAF architecture principles provide a set of guidelines that will give your enterprise the guidelines to direct both rapid decision making and solid analysis on the path to business success.
Do it Yourself Path to a Successful Enterprise Architecture Team
Set of sample enterprise architecture principles. Use these examples to speed your definition of enterprise architecture principles
Best practice guidance on directing and controlling the development of your enterprise architecture and driving enterprise change