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Architecture Brand

Management

CEB Enterprise Architecture Leadership Council

Increase the Effectiveness of Your Current Team 15

© 2012 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. EAEC4033112PRO

OVERVIEW

Confusion about the nature of architecture roles at many organizations inhibits the architecture group’s ability to realize its potential to create business value. EA leadership can reenergize both formal and informal architecture with a branding exercise that creates role clarity and sets up EA as a trusted business partner.

EXECUTIVE TEACHING

Heads of EA can create a unified brand for architecture if they clearly define the function, and match roles to deliver architecture services that are consistent with that definition. This makes talent management and cross-organizational collaboration more effective.

COMPONENT TEACHINGS

■ Component 1: Define the responsibilities of your organization’s architecture function, and describe how various roles contribute to the accomplishment of these responsibilities.

■ Component 2: Use your definition of the responsibilities of the architecture function to define job packages for individuals. Reassign roles that do not have architectural responsibilities as you have defined them to another function as quickly as your organization will allow.

■ Component 3: Locate all functions within your organization, both inside and outside IT, that make architecturally significant decisions, and actively engage those groups.

■ Component 4: Launch your architecture brand by communicating your function’s responsibilities, the individuals responsible for carrying them out, and how the architecture function works with other stakeholders widely.

ARCHITECT BRAND MANAGEMENT

Bridging the Architecture Talent Gap 16


CREATE AN ARCHITECTURE BRAND

Challenge SolutionsRoot Causes Components

The lack of an architecture “brand” creates role confusion that inhibits business value delivery.

Define the Responsibilities of Architecture

Build Relationships with Incidental Architects

Align Titles with Responsibilities

Architecture Brand Management

There is no consistent definition of the architect title.

EA does not have awareness of, or communication with, other individuals in the organization who do architecturally significant work.

Define architecture for the organization and create roles to execute it.

Identify and engage people outside your organization who may impact Architecture.

Everyone called “architect” does not have a common set of responsibilities.

Stakeholders do not understand the benefits of working with Architecture.

Assign titles and responsibilities to reflect the architecture work that needs to be done.

Communicate the architecture value proposition proactively and continually.



1. DEFINE ARCHITECTS BY THEIR OBJECTIVES Define the architecture function and its roles by the responsibilities you want individuals to own.

■ Architecture’s distinctive mandated features create a unique architecture “brand,” or how it is understood by your colleagues across the organization.

■ An inclusive process ensures buy-in from architecture and IT leaders.

■ A clear understanding of Architecture will also help you identify other architecture-related activities outside of IT.

Identify Stakeholder

■ Identify architecture thought leaders in your organization.

■ Find example best practices.

Define Architecture

■ Build consensus with thought leaders on a responsibility-based definition based on best practices and organizational norms.

Socialize Definition

■ Reinforce your definition and Architecture’s role.

Architecture Is: Architecture Is Not: ■ Strategic planning ■ Master technology expertise

■ Standard setting ■ Project management experience

■ Modeling and design ■ Seniority in the institution

■ Governance ■ Years of overall experience

■ Technology innovation

■ Roadmapping and planning



Migrate roles to the appropriate group.

2. DISTINGUISH ARCHITECTS FROM OTHER ROLESBase architect responsibilities on your mandate and objectives and move roles with a different focus to a more appropriate home.

■ Role clarity and consistency for architects helps business partners understand what architects do and how they can work with them.

■ If unable to actively retitle and realign architects in name only, use the role clarity exercise to establish a structure going forward, but remain attuned to opportunities to accelerate the process.

Architects in name only True architects Incidental architects

Create a career path and job titles outside of the architecture group, and parallel in seniority, pay, and opportunity to the architecture roles, for architects in name only.

Other job group

Senior Engineer

Engineer

Architecture

Enterprise Architect

Solution Architect

Describe these roles by their nonarchitecture responsibilities. The HR function can help with this process.

Use opportunities like IT or enterprise-wide reclassifications and reoganizations to move existing staff and accelerate the process.

32

Draw a line that highlights responsibilities of architects and areas outside of Architecture. The location of the line will vary by organization.

1

Architecture

(Legacy) Senior Architect

Other job group

Senior Engineer

New Enterprise Architect

New Senior Engineer



1

3. EXPAND THE ARCHITECTURE BRAND TO INCLUDE “INCIDENTAL ARCHITECTS”

Finding the Architecture Community Outside of Traditional Architect RolesIncidental Architects Are Nonarchitects Who Make Architecturally Significant Decisions

Locate and actively engage with architecturally significant functions within the organization.

■ Potential sources of incidental architecture include:

– Corporate strategy;

– Marketing;

– New product development; and

– Analytics.

■ Criteria for identifying high-influence roles include:

– Widespread impact of work;

– Strategic role;

– Planning responsibilities;

– Innovation responsibilities;

– Standard-setting responsibilities; and

– Development of new business capabilities.

Architects in name only True architects Incidental architects

Architecture role boundary

Reasons to engage with other sources of architecture

■ Makes the business visible. ■ Increase solution quality. ■ Identify strategic talent.

Reasons for other sources of architecture to engage with you

■ Access architecture toolkits. ■ Transfer architecture work to EA. ■ Increase economies of scale.

Networking

Identify a trusted individual in Architecture with the strongest personal network to identify pockets of architecturally significant work. Create a heatmap for your organization to help visualize these high-impact colleagues.

Project architectural significance scores

Identify Incidental Architects Engage Incidental Architects

Scope

Seni

ori

ty

2

CFO CMO COO



4. MANAGE THE ARCHITECTURE BRAND

Brand Management Timeline

Communicate new definitions and title changes consistently and proactively across several channels.

■ Explain that the goal of role changes is to help staff succeed rather than judge their performance.

■ Engage with individuals outside of Architecture to introduce them to the architecture team and to what architects do and don’t do for the organization.

Brand Prep Brand Launch Brand Maintenance

Managers Practice message delivery to ensure consistent answers to likely questions.

Announce new structure and role changes to employees.

Enforce consistent application of architecture principles.

Corporate Communications

Begin communicating architecture value delivery expectations.

Announce key elements of architecture branding, such as the definition of architecture and how architects deliver value.

Use formal corporate channels like web portals to reinforce what architecture does and doesn’t do.

Events (meetings, off-sites, etc.)

Socialize definitions at gatherings of senior stakeholders to build buy-in.

Present changes in person whenever possible and offer employees opportunities the chance to ask questions.

Lead regular discussions with a wide set of stakeholders using real-life examples of the architecture definition in action.

Relative Effort

Progressive

Conventional

DO Communicate the new architecture definition and roles at every opportunity through multiple channels; reinforcement is as important as the initial presentation.

DON’T Forget potentially important stakeholders, like non-IT business partners.

Progressive organizations achieve lasting impact by investing extra effort in preparing the brand and reinforce their gains by actively maintaining the brand over time.

© 2014 CEB. All rights reserved. CIO9884614SYN

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