The representation of architecture in the form of architecture artifacts is less important than the act of representation. Architects are no less susceptible than others are to pitfalls of assumptions and beliefs that are suspect and, perhaps, outdated. The act of representing forces architects to think. The goal of architects is not to create works of art that pander to the need for certainty and control, but to deliver frameworks that provide the context to question, poke, and prod. The goal is to surface concerns, bring out possibilities, and expand, at least a little, into the vast darkitecture that envelops the visible enterprise of architecture.

In a culture of innovation, a culture in which "failure" has no useful meaning, a culture where we cannot predict the outcome of our work, we're going to have to get a new idea about efficiency. We will not "get it right the first time." Well, we might, but that would be an accident. No amount of planning and arrangements will guarantee a valuable outcome. What we used to abhor as failure becomes a fact of life, a key feature of our work processes. We must fit our expectations to the fact that of the things, services, and ideas we find innovative, many if not most will not display immediate value.

Consider this: when the IT world wrote its first line of code, there were no methods and we were “flying by the seat of our pants,” so to speak. Then came the structured systems analysis and design methods and entity-relationship modeling for relational structures. Later, the object-oriented methods and the formal project management through Prince-II and PMBOK all provided increasing sophistication in developing solutions but, at the same time, added overheads and bureaucracies to the way in which we worked.

Evolution within security needs to move in a more adaptive direction. The contest between security and intrusion is an arms race like the "Red Queen Hypothesis" — the faster the threat evolves, the faster the response must become, and it is never possible to get ahead of the game.

This Executive Update digs into the working rhythm of an instituted business architecture function. It utilizes PEST (political, economic, social, and technological) analysis and introduces a “5E methodology” to formulate, qualify, and deliver sustainable solutions for change.

As I explain in this Executive Update, service leadership is about doing the right thing for the right reasons and making principled, fact-based decisions.

I have to admit, I’m not a particular fan of metrics. Many managers still seem to believe that you can manage an organization by setting numerical objectives and tie them to financial bonuses. This approach has utterly failed; most prominently as one of the root causes of the ethical and economic breakdown of major parts of the financial industries in 2008.

Growing up, many of us remember walking to school alone, hanging out with friends in the park, and then, eventually, finding our way home for supper. Today, for children of the same age, such activities are considered dangerous or even illegal. It’s staggering. But norms change. The challenge for most of us is keeping up with the pace of change.

Enterprise architecture is a discipline that centers around information and knowledge. EA practice relies heavily on the quality of the information available in regards to the building blocks that comprise the architecture as well as how those blocks are configured and deployed. The discipline also depends on the personal knowledge of the people that create or use these components to understand how well architectures meet the needs of stakeholders and users. Not surprisingly, the EA practice can learn a great deal from knowledge management (KM). However, many KM techniques are either unknown or underutilized within the EA community. In this Executive Report, we examine which KM techniques hold the most value and how architects can apply them.

As we move into the next era of computing, the Internet of Things (IoT) is likely to continue to develop as a serious security challenge. The IoT has been characterized as simply the attachment of diverse devices to the Internet, but it is also the entry point for a much more complex and nuanced issue, as we discuss in this Executive Update.

As we move into the next era of computing, the Internet of Things (IoT) is likely to continue to develop as a serious security challenge. The IoT has been characterized as simply the attachment of diverse devices to the Internet, but it is also the entry point for a much more complex and nuanced issue, as we discuss in this Executive Update.

Knowledge management (KM) and enterprise architecture (EA) are both children of the late 20th century. The fact that they both emerged as distinct disciplines around the same time might suggest that they have a lot to share.

We are seeing a serious push by vendors and organizations to incorporate machine learning (ML) techniques into both consumer and enterprise applications, where the technology is being applied to automate the analysis of large amounts of data, identify patterns, and learn preferences and behaviors.

The special properties of nanotechnologies are opening up new possibilities in medicine, electronics, photonics, biotechnology, and a host of other industrial applications.

Central to psychological contracts is the inherently perceptual nature of contracts and the need to manage relationships, not just compliance with the written contract. In this Update we’ll be exploring the legal aspects of these contracts. When individuals begin to act as collectives (or clans, as they are known) with shared values and behaviors, patterns of behavior can override what the written document might say — not just in practice, but legally as well.

The recently announced VW emissions debacle is something that I take personally.

Clarity, conditions, and constraints must work together to create the right balance of freedom and responsibility for teams. Without appropriate freedom, companies waste the experience, intelligence, and creativity of their employees. Without appropriate responsibility, teams may miss the mark or do foolish things. Conditions make it possible for teams to do work. Clarity and constraints bound autonomy and maintain the balance between freedom and responsibility.

The timing of bringing innovations to market affects the long-term viability of the enterprise. This Advisor calls out this timing issue specifically in order to focus more on opportunity cost, or potential revenue and profit. Creating new sources of revenue is not a mechanical or technical issue. It is a people issue. EA can support or create barriers, or it can help transcend them.

There has been considerable talk among industry proponents and analysts about the need for standard frameworks and practices for building applications and products for the Internet of Things (IoT). But how do mainstream organizations actually view the importance of industry standards when it comes to supporting connectivity and interoperability between various IoT devices, machines, and applications? A recent Cutter Consortium survey that asked 80 organizations (worldwide) about their plans for the IoT helps answer this question.

The unfolding Volkswagen emissions control cheating scandal has all the ingredients and drama of a great Shakespearean play.

Why does the word "commodity" raise the hackles of business technologists? It could just be a matter of semantics, according to Cutter Senior Consultant James Mitchell.

At the heart of the Agile movement is the concept that collaborative problem solving is a better way to work than having people sit in their cubicles working by themselves.

This Executive Summary highlights the various psychological and social aspects of transitioning to (and rendering) an Agile organization.

Maybe, just maybe, if we had thought of architects as archists, we would have been in a different future today. But maybe it is not too late? Maybe there are techniques and ways of thinking about the future that can be part of the future of the discipline we happen to call “architecture.”

Adopting Agile as an organizational culture is a different ball game than that of practicing Agile as an individual on the project level. Yes, it’s the same ball, but a different game. This Executive Report focuses on how to best render an entire organization Agile. Practical, logistical challenges involve nonproject (business-as-usual) situations, part-time or telecommuting work, outsourced vendor relationships, ROI, and regulations. Despite the challenges, as argued in this report, it is precisely at this organizational culture level that Agile provides its maximum value.