Sometimes when working on architecture initiatives we forget what business is about – winning and retaining customers who spend in ways that are profitable for our organization. If we don’t do this then we have no business. So the reality is that a key purpose of our Business Architecture has to be to help deliver and support those customers.

There are many ways in which we can help this. Not least is to assist the organization with those joined up processes we discussed in Step 3 and by making it easy for staff to work together as seen in Step 4. Enabling the organization to bring the full power of the combination of people, process and technology to bear on the customer massively increases our chances of success. That success is both at the architecture, where we can be seen to be delivering real value and at the business level.

At this step, we change from being passive with data to being active with information. We can identify overlaps across processes and data that when removed will improve organizational ability. We can also assist business managers to identify new and different ways of working and support them in their ever-changing needs.

You will have a unique ability, through your knowledge at this stage, to enable far greater coordination among project teams, business users and staff than is likely to have occurred before.

The value and importance of this step can never be overstated. A quick look around the globe at highly successful organizations reveals that all succeed as a result of great coordination between their staff, customers and suppliers and a strong focus on understanding and delivering value to their customers. The value of having people,  process and technology aligned may be more valuable in the long-term to an organization than any single innovation or product offering.

Business Value: When all parts of our organization work in harmony, then we generate happier customers, who stay longer and spend more.

Next week: Step 6 – Control & Comply