Lesson 63 - Prescriptive Strategy of Enterprise Architecture

Summary

In this episode of 'Software Architecture Monday', Mark Richards explores the prescriptive strategy of enterprise architecture. He explains how this centralized approach mandates the use of common standards across the organization, reducing complexity and decision time. While this strategy offers cost-effectiveness and reusable assets, it can also lead to dissatisfaction due to its rigidity and the challenge of gaining enterprise-wide consensus. Richards also highlights the need for strong governance to prevent subversive projects. The episode invites viewers to consider the trade-offs of the prescriptive strategy in the broader context of enterprise architecture.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The prescriptive strategy in enterprise architecture is a classic approach that dictates how solutions are developed using common standards across the organization.
• 🛠️ It involves a central governing body of enterprise architects who define a set of standards that every business unit and team must adhere to, such as specific technologies and methodologies.
• 🔍 The prescriptive approach aims to reduce complexity and decision-making time by providing predefined standards for all units, promoting consistency and reusability of assets like security frameworks and documentation techniques.
• 💰 One of the main advantages of the prescriptive strategy is cost-effectiveness, as it minimizes the need for individual units to develop their own standards and allows for the reuse of assets across the enterprise.
• 🚫 However, the strategy may not fit every purpose, as the central team's standards may not be suitable for every business unit, potentially leading to dissatisfaction and a lack of flexibility.
• 🤔 The strategy requires strong governance to prevent 'rebel camps' and ensure adherence to the defined standards, which can be challenging and may lead to resistance within the organization.
• 🔄 The centralization of standards can slow down the pace of innovation and the deployment of new projects, as teams must conform to the established infrastructure and technology choices.
• 👥 The enterprise architects enforcing the prescriptive strategy may become unpopular within the company, as they are responsible for imposing restrictions on technology and process choices.
• 📚 The script suggests considering both the pros and cons of the prescriptive strategy, acknowledging that while it has benefits, it also has significant drawbacks that need to be carefully weighed.
• 🔗 For further exploration, the speaker refers to lesson 62 for an introduction to enterprise architecture strategies and upcoming lessons for a deeper dive into other strategies and their applications.
• 🗣️ The speaker, Mark Richards, offers additional resources including private training classes, public speaking engagements, and online training through his website for those interested in learning more about software architecture.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script provided?

The video script focuses on discussing the prescriptive or classic strategy of enterprise architecture, including its definition, how it is applied, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Who is the presenter of the video script?

The presenter is Mark Richards, a hands-on software architect and the founder of developer to architect.com.

What are enterprise architecture strategies?

Enterprise architecture strategies describe the overall structure of the enterprise architecture team, whether it's centralized or decentralized, and how standards are applied, governed, and defined across the enterprise.

What is the prescriptive strategy in enterprise architecture?

The prescriptive strategy specifies how solutions are developed through a set of common standards applied across the entire organization, defined by a central governing body of enterprise architects.

What are the advantages of the prescriptive strategy according to the script?

The advantages include reduced overall complexity, reduced decision time, reusable assets across business units, and the lowest cost type of strategy across the enterprise.

What are the disadvantages of the prescriptive strategy mentioned in the script?

The disadvantages include potential lack of fit for every purpose, difficulty in gaining consensus, promotion of IT and user dissatisfaction, and the need for strong governance to prevent subversive projects.

Why might the central enterprise architecture team be disliked in the company?

They might be disliked because they define all the standards that every department has to adhere to, which can lead to dissatisfaction if those standards do not fit well with the needs of every business unit.

What is the role of the central governing body of enterprise architects in the prescriptive strategy?

The central governing body of enterprise architects is responsible for defining a set of standards that every business unit and team within the company must apply.

How does the prescriptive strategy affect the speed of deploying new projects like websites?

The prescriptive strategy may slow down the deployment of new projects because every small team has to adhere to the basic infrastructure and standards defined by the central enterprise architecture team.

What are some of the trade-offs an architect should consider when evaluating the prescriptive strategy?

Architects should consider the trade-offs between the reduced complexity and cost benefits of the prescriptive strategy and the potential for dissatisfaction, lack of flexibility, and the need for strong governance.

Where can one find more information about the topics discussed in the script?

More information can be found on developer to architect.com, particularly under Software Architecture Monday and the Lessons section, as well as through private training classes and speaking engagements listed on Mark Richards' website.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Prescriptive Strategy in Enterprise Architecture

In this segment, Mark Richards introduces the prescriptive or classic strategy of enterprise architecture, which is a centralized approach dictating how solutions are developed using common standards across the organization. He explains the structure of the enterprise architecture team and how they define standards for technology, processes, and methodologies that every business unit must adhere to. The example given includes using Oracle for databases, F5s for load balancing, IBM hardware, Java, agile team structures, and standardized documentation. Richards also discusses the pros and cons of this strategy, noting that while it reduces complexity and decision time, leading to reusable assets and lower costs, it may not fit every purpose and can cause dissatisfaction due to its rigidity and the difficulty in gaining enterprise-wide consensus.

05:01

🚫 Challenges and Considerations of the Prescriptive Strategy

This paragraph delves into the challenges associated with the prescriptive strategy, such as the potential for IT and user dissatisfaction due to the inflexibility of the standards imposed by the central enterprise architecture team. Richards highlights the need for strong governance to prevent the formation of 'rebel camps' that might seek alternative technologies outside the prescribed standards. Despite the negatives, he reiterates the benefits of the strategy, including low cost and the promotion of reusable assets, which contribute to reduced overall complexity. The paragraph concludes with an invitation for further exploration of enterprise architecture strategies through additional lessons and resources available on the developer to architect comm platform, as well as information about private training classes, public speaking engagements, and online training opportunities.

Keywords

💡Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise Architecture refers to a well-defined practice for conducting organization's analysis, design, planning, and governance for its organizational structure, business processes, information systems, and technology. In the video, it is the overarching theme that discusses how to structure and manage the IT environment within an organization.

💡Prescriptive Strategy

A prescriptive strategy in enterprise architecture is a classic approach that dictates the use of a set of common standards across the entire organization for developing solutions. The video emphasizes this strategy by explaining how it mandates adherence to specific standards defined by a central governing body, ensuring uniformity.

💡Centralized

Centralized, in the context of the video, refers to the organizational structure where decision-making and standard-setting are concentrated within a single governing body or team, such as the enterprise architects. This approach is contrasted with decentralized strategies and is a key element of the prescriptive strategy discussed.

💡Standards

Standards in enterprise architecture are the established norms or requirements that all business units must follow. In the script, standards are exemplified by specific technologies like Oracle for databases, and practices like agile team structures, which are uniformly applied across the organization.

💡Governance

Governance in the video script pertains to the processes and structures put in place to ensure that standards are adhered to within the organization. It is a critical aspect of the prescriptive strategy, as it enforces compliance and maintains consistency.

💡Complexity Reduction

Complexity reduction is one of the advantages of the prescriptive strategy mentioned in the video. By having a set of common standards, the overall complexity of the organization's IT environment is minimized, making it easier to manage and maintain.

💡Reusable Assets

Reusable assets refer to the components, frameworks, or methodologies that can be used across different parts of an organization without the need to reinvent or duplicate. The video highlights how the prescriptive strategy facilitates the creation and use of such assets, such as security frameworks, to streamline operations.

💡Cost Efficiency

Cost efficiency is discussed in the video as one of the benefits of the prescriptive strategy. By having a unified set of standards, the organization can reduce costs associated with training, development, and maintenance, as the same solutions can be reused across different business units.

💡Dissatisfaction

Dissatisfaction in the script refers to the potential negative reaction from employees and users due to the strict adherence to the prescriptive strategy's standards. It suggests that this approach might stifle innovation and flexibility, leading to unhappiness among those affected.

💡Governance Challenges

Governance challenges highlight the difficulties that can arise in enforcing the prescriptive strategy's standards across an organization. The video mentions the need for strong governance to prevent 'rebel camps' and ensure compliance, which can be a significant undertaking.

💡Trade-offs

Trade-offs in the context of the video refer to the balance between the benefits and drawbacks of implementing a prescriptive strategy. While it offers advantages like reduced complexity and cost efficiency, it also comes with potential downsides such as user dissatisfaction and the need for strong governance.

Highlights

Introduction to Lesson 63 on enterprise architecture strategies by Mark Richards.

Definition of enterprise architecture strategies as they relate to team structure, standards application, and governance.

Explanation of centralized and decentralized strategies for enterprise architecture.

Introduction to the prescriptive or classic strategy of enterprise architecture.

Description of how the prescriptive strategy specifies solutions development through common standards.

Example of a central organization governing enterprise architecture standards.

Mandatory application of defined standards across all business units under the prescriptive strategy.

Illustration of a scenario where specific technologies and methodologies are standardized across the company.

Discussion on the potential downsides of the prescriptive strategy in terms of workplace flexibility.

Architectural trade-offs between pros and cons of the prescriptive strategy.

Advantages of the prescriptive strategy including reduced complexity and decision time.

Mention of reusable assets across business units as a benefit of the prescriptive strategy.

The cost-effectiveness of the prescriptive strategy as the lowest cost type of strategy.

Challenges of the prescriptive strategy such as lack of fit for all purposes and difficulty in gaining consensus.

Potential for IT and user dissatisfaction due to the prescriptive strategy's rigid standards.

The necessity for strong governance in the prescriptive strategy to prevent subversive projects.

Final thoughts on the balance between the advantages and disadvantages of the prescriptive strategy.

Invitation to review Lesson 62 for background information on enterprise architecture strategies.

Announcement of upcoming lessons covering other enterprise architecture strategies and case studies.

Information on private training classes, public speaking engagements, and online training offered by Mark Richards.

Conclusion of Lesson 63 with a preview of the next lesson on the classic alternative to the prescriptive strategy.

Transcripts

hello and welcome to software

architecture Monday my name is Mark

Richards I'm a hands-on software

architect and also the founder of

developer to architect comm in today's

lesson number 63 we'll take a look at

the prescriptive or classic strategy of

enterprise architecture as we learned in

lesson 62 enterprise architecture

strategies basically describe the

overall enterprise architecture team

structure whether it's centralized or

decentralized and how standards are

applied and governed and also defined

across the enterprise we saw in Lesson

62 that they were centralized and

decentralized strategies and there were

four total strategies we're going to

take a look in this lesson about the

prescriptive strategy the prescriptive

or classic strategy of enterprise

architecture really specifies how

solutions are going to be developed

through a set of common standards that

are applied across the entire

organization so let me give you an

example of what this looks like and so

we have a central organization in other

words a central governing body of

enterprise architects and those

enterprise architects and that team

define a set of standards now every

business unit and every team within

those business units across the company

have to apply those same sets of

standards let me show you an example so

with the prescriptive strategy let's say

that the enterprise architecture team

defines these set of standards that we

will be using Oracle for databases f5s

for load balancing compact hardware

we'll be embracing IBM along with Java

will have agile team structures and also

a standard way of document everything

across the entire company and the

prescriptive strategy says every

department has to adhere to these

standards hmm I imagine a lot of you out

there looking at this are probably

saying yeah right this would be a

horrible place to work

but Before we jump into any conclusions

a good architect always thinks about all

of the trade-offs the pros and cons of

any type of solution or any type of

anything for that matter so let's

actually take a look at both the good

and bad about the prescriptive or

classic strategy because although this

looks really bad there are some good

aspects to it first of all it reduces

overall complexity across the

organization as a matter of fact it also

reduces decision time in other words all

the business units already have all of

the standards again whether they be

technology architecture process or

methodology already defined for them and

because of that we get reusable assets

across each business unit if we think

about security frameworks or any sort of

persistence frameworks or any

documentation or diagramming techniques

or process we can reuse those assets

across each business unit across each

team and consequently because of that

one of the best advantages of the

prescriptive strategy of enterprise

architecture is that it's the lowest

cost type of strategy across the

enterprise and so if we look at these

advantages somehow you know it you could

say okay it's not all that bad but let's

look at the negatives to counter those

first of all as most of you probably

guessed this is not a good strategy in

the sense that it might not be a fit for

each purpose you see the central

enterprise architecture team is defining

all the kinds of standards and again

remember there's four different kinds

technology architecture methodology and

process and these may not be a fit

across every business unit as a matter

of fact it's also really hard across the

enterprise across the company to gain

consensus on these those poor enterprise

architects are the most hated people in

the company

and also the other thing is that it's

per does promote a lot of IT

dissatisfaction and consequently also a

lot of user dissatisfaction a small team

to put up a quick website has all this

basic infrastructure and those are the

standards they have to use and so we

can't get websites out as fast as we

possibly can and furthermore really

strong governance is needed in this kind

of model and because a lot of people are

going to be unhappy about those

standards and attempt to form kind of

rebel camps subversive kind of projects

to bring in other kinds of technologies

and so it's a lot of strong governance

and needed so we can see the negatives

are really really powerful here however

I do want to stress the fact that

low-cost reusable assets and also that

overall complexity across the company

are the advantages of the prescriptive

strategy so for more information

certainly as a background you can go to

lesson 62 and appraise architecture

strategies for really the introduction

to these and we're going to spend the

next three after this looking at the

other enterprise architecture strategies

and also then we'll have a lesson

looking at really case studies on how to

apply these all of these lessons can be

found in developer to architect comm

under software architecture Monday

that's slash lessons also I do private

training classes in software

architecture fundamentals microservices

architecture and design and also

analyzing architecture you can find more

information about those training classes

on my web site as well I do a lot of

speaking at conferences I also have

public training and also online training

that you can find through the upcoming

events portion of my website and so this

has been less than sixty three the

prescriptive strategy of enterprise

architecture get my name is Mark

Richards as stay tuned next lesson 64

for the other centralized one which we

can compare against prescriptive which

is the classic alternative stress

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