ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE IS THE GATHERING OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
In The Practice of Enterprise Architecture, [1] Svyatoslav Kotusev surprisingly suggests that we study enterprise architecture like we study nature — that is, by observing it in real life.
This subtle, but radical shift in methodology brings about an entirely new way of understanding enterprise architecture that fundamentally redefine how enterprise architecture is practiced.
Kotusev delivers a harsh critique of enterprise architecture frameworks not by questioning their level of perfection, but their point of departure: These frameworks are logical assumptions on how enterprise architecture should be performed.
Persuasively, Kotusev argues that we instead must study how enterprise architecture is performed. Performing in-depth analysis of real-life enterprise architecture practices, Kotusev synthesizes his findings into what he calls artifacts. The artifacts describe enterprise architecture elements of more or less static nature, either oriented towards Line of Business or IT. Each artifact is useful in itself, with no intellectual dependencies to the network of components that enterprise architecture are full of. Instead, these artifacts can be obtained by studying and communicating about how everyone in a company performs enterprise architecture. That is how enterprise architecture is the gathering of empirical evidence.
The shift from logical to empirical enterprise architecture is groundbreaking. It provides useful, tangible advice that is actionable without enterprise architects having to first complete complex memory tests on enterprise architecture frameworks that will never be applied.
Furthermore Kotusev also delineates why enterprise architecture is sorely needed and justly despised: The coordination of the entire IT landscape of a company help rationalize and solidify the portfolio of applications and technologies, but equipped with inapplicable framework certifications describing a reality that has never existed, highly paid enterprise architects have failed far to often in performing the task they were hired to carry out.
Empirical, evidence based enterprise architecture is a way out of this conundrum — it will help your company firmly establish the practice of enterprise architecture.
[1] S. Kotusev , The Practice of Enterprise Architecture (2021), SK Publishing
