Enterprise architects are frequently tasked with impossible mandates, leading to a dilution of focus that stalls progress. Andrew Kum-Seun, research director at Info-Tech, notes that organizations often expect architects to be universal problem solvers, which ultimately undermines their influence. The firm’s new blueprint, Build a Better Enterprise Architect, encourages leaders to move away from generic job descriptions and instead anchor the role to specific, measurable business outcomes.
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CIOs Urged to Define Enterprise Architect Roles to Avoid Stalled Value
Many organizations struggle to justify enterprise architecture investments because they treat the role as a test of technical depth alone. New research from Info-Tech Research Group argues that without a specific, outcome-oriented definition, architects often fail to build the organizational credibility required to survive budget scrutiny.
Refining the Architectural Mandate
Defining the role requires more than listing technical competencies. Info-Tech’s framework highlights that successful architects must balance deep technical knowledge with storytelling, relationship-building, and analytical communication. The firm suggests a three-phase shift: establishing a context-specific role definition, assessing skills gaps based on a chosen orientation, and mapping development milestones to clear stakeholder value. By narrowing the focus to a high-impact mandate, architects can stop chasing broad expectations and start delivering results that justify their seat at the table. Caleb Pittman, a research specialist at the firm, emphasizes that when architects abandon the urge to please everyone, their ability to drive organizational change scales significantly.
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