The TOGAF document covers a little governance. In some cases, it may seem that governance is a separate subject and not something that needs to be involved in the company’s architect. The reality is that good governance is just in the center when it comes to making EA effective! In this article, you will get to know everything you need to know for passing the TOGAF Certification Training Test.
Earlier this week, I worked with a new EA team formed. We are talking about the need for some important things – such as environmental assessment frameworks, procedures, and tools. In this context, I did a quick assessment of maturity EA, then we saw what the team was to succeed. Everything went well until I ask a question about governance.
The members of the senior team say, “It’s good. It’s already in place in the development of our solutions, so we do not need to worry about it.” At this point, Klaxon starts to make the red light start flashing! Due to the experience I have seen that there is a direct correlation between the success of the EA team and their attitude towards governance.
Without a strong architectural voice on the governance office, the contribution and value of the EA will always be compromised. Unless you have effective EA governance, you will experience the following results:
Short-term improvements, reactive proactively build long-term capacities.
Incoherent, ad-hoc, and stand-alone in a series of integrated and consistent services.
Duplicate unnecessary features or data, more than taking advantage of potential sharing, synergy or collaboration.
I can continue! The potential advantage in the use of EE is very important, but as governance has no architectural courts, this advantage does not materialize.
I’m sure you get the picture. But what can you do to give the advantage of the necessary government? Here are two clarifications that will help you start.
First, you really need to know why governance is very important. If you are considering the AGAF (ADMA) architecture development cycle, it is clear that Phase A to E – architectural vision, through the company, information systems and Technological architecture, with opportunities and solutions – is to define architectural options. These include understanding the constraints involved in the current architecture and exploring alternative ways to overcome this limitation and address stakeholder concerns.
As a result, this initial phase provides architectural ideas, recommendations and options. In phase E, we have provided clear architectural contexts to make investment decisions and choose one option on the other. But to the point of not having resources and funds committed to implementing one of these ideas, we are also not responsible for this change.
This is what happens in Phase F, G, and H – which includes the planning of migration, governance of implementation and the management of architectural changes. Without the practice of a very good and good governance in this phase, the efforts of the previous phase remain theoretical waste!
The second thing is to be clear about the main things to do for effective architectural governance.
TOGAF 9 certification includes 6 characteristics of governance that they are adapted from corporate governance books that were originally written for South African companies. Let us watch some factors.
Discipline: All the necessary authority structures, procedures and processes have been fully established and that all the people involved are engaged towards them. This means that the governance framework shows all the parties involved – including EE decision-makers and teams. This means that all investment decisions follow the process to ensure that the amendments comply with architectural guidelines.
Transparency: All actions and decisions are recorded and can be verified. The EA team must have a clear system for registering decisions and actions and show traces to relevant EA artifacts – such as principles, policies, models or other construction.
Independence / Justice: Everything is done with the intention of avoiding conflicts of interest and avoid unjust advantages from any party. Remember here that the main role of the company’s architect is to examine all the problems of stakeholders and to make alternative architectural responses, costs, benefits, risks and future options they activate. The results of this architecture can then be used to weigh the advantages and disadvantages, make choices and prioritize investments in a way that minimizes contradictory interests and optimize synergy and better.
Responsibility / Responsibilities: All key groups in the organization have the authorities and responsibility necessary for their decisions and actions. This means that if there is a decision to set aside or replacing architectural recommendations, decision-makers understand that they are responsible for the decision.
Remember that the new EA team formed that I mentioned earlier. They now have two important actions that will have a strong influence on their future success:
Explain to all stakeholders, why governance is very important.
Updating the existing governance framework with effective EE governance, including discipline, transparency, independence/justice, and responsibility/responsibility.
Both actions – both are important. Everyone needs to know why everything is in the government, but it must also be more than just knowing. In the end of governance, governance must work!
