Last updated on Jul 14, 2024

How do you handle conflicting business goals when designing IT architecture frameworks?

When you're tasked with designing IT architecture frameworks, the alignment of business goals is crucial. However, conflicts often arise due to differing departmental needs, market pressures, or resource limitations. As a business architect, your challenge is to create a cohesive framework that supports the diverse objectives of the organization. By understanding the strategic priorities and facilitating communication among stakeholders, you can navigate these conflicts and design a robust IT architecture that propels the business forward. Balancing these competing interests requires a combination of technical acumen and strategic insight.

1 Assess Needs

To begin addressing conflicting business goals, start by conducting a thorough needs assessment. Engage with stakeholders from different departments to understand their unique requirements and objectives. This collaborative approach ensures that you gather a comprehensive view of what each part of the business expects from the IT architecture. By identifying commonalities and discrepancies early on, you can prioritize goals and determine where compromises might be necessary. Remember, the aim is to create a framework that supports the overarching strategy of the organization while balancing individual departmental needs.

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Cor Kroon

Independent Enterprise Architect | Founder | Trainer | TOGAF EA, Archimate 3.2 and SAFe 6 certified
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It is important to ensure you create a list of needs from all key stakeholders, because this list will be used to determine the suitability of different scenarios in the next steps.

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Nadeem Malik

Enterprise Architect - providing enterprise-wide insights, promoting standardization, reducing costs, mitigating risk, increasing agility, realizing strategies, and driving innovation.
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Just as a tailor measures a client before crafting a suit, an EA must thoroughly assess each department's needs to create a well-fitted IT architecture.

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2 Prioritize Goals

Once you've identified the various business goals, it's essential to prioritize them. This doesn't mean disregarding certain objectives; rather, it involves ranking them in order of strategic importance to the company's success. Some goals will be critical for immediate operations, while others may contribute to long-term growth. Use criteria such as impact on revenue, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency to guide your prioritization. This process helps in making informed decisions when trade-offs are inevitable and ensures that the most vital goals are met first.

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Nadeem Malik

Enterprise Architect - providing enterprise-wide insights, promoting standardization, reducing costs, mitigating risk, increasing agility, realizing strategies, and driving innovation.
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Like a captain navigating a ship, an EA must prioritize goals based on their impact on the company's overall success, ensuring the most critical ones are met first.

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Cor Kroon

Independent Enterprise Architect | Founder | Trainer | TOGAF EA, Archimate 3.2 and SAFe 6 certified
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Make sure you do indeed rank them/prioritise them by the value they create for the enterprise as a whole and not just based on "local" needs.

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3 Facilitate Dialogue

Facilitating open dialogue between conflicting parties is key. Encourage stakeholders to express their concerns and rationales behind their goals. This transparency allows for a better understanding of each party's perspective and promotes a collaborative environment. Use your role as a mediator to highlight the shared vision of the organization and how each goal contributes to it. This can help in finding common ground and in fostering a sense of unity, even when difficult compromises are required.

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Cor Kroon

Independent Enterprise Architect | Founder | Trainer | TOGAF EA, Archimate 3.2 and SAFe 6 certified
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One very useful technique is to discuss various scenarios for meeting the needs of the various stakeholders and assessing what needs are met by which scenario. Encourage your stakeholders to decide on the most appropriate scenario based on the ranking decided previously.

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4 Design Flexibility

Incorporate flexibility into the IT architecture to accommodate evolving business goals. Design modular systems that can be easily adapted or expanded as priorities shift. This approach allows for adjustments to be made without overhauling the entire architecture, saving time and resources in the long run. By planning for change, you ensure that the IT framework can support both current and future business objectives, even when they are in conflict.

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Nadeem Malik

Enterprise Architect - providing enterprise-wide insights, promoting standardization, reducing costs, mitigating risk, increasing agility, realizing strategies, and driving innovation.
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An EA is like a master builder, designing modular, adaptable IT systems that can be easily adjusted, just as a Lego structure can be reconfigured to meet changing needs.

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Cor Kroon

Independent Enterprise Architect | Founder | Trainer | TOGAF EA, Archimate 3.2 and SAFe 6 certified
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Because some needs may express short term goals while other needs may describe long term ones, be flexible in your scenarios. It is OK to decide on a temporary scenario to meet immediate needs now, as long as that does not block the long term ones. Reach an agreement with your stakeholders on when to realise next steps towards the long term goals.

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5 Implement Governance

Establishing a governance framework is crucial for managing conflicting goals over time. Define clear policies and procedures for how decisions are made regarding the IT architecture. This includes who has authority to make changes, how conflicts are resolved, and how alignment with business goals is maintained. A strong governance framework provides a structured way to manage change and ensures that the IT architecture continues to serve the business effectively.

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Nadeem Malik

Enterprise Architect - providing enterprise-wide insights, promoting standardization, reducing costs, mitigating risk, increasing agility, realizing strategies, and driving innovation.
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An EA is like a referee, establishing clear rules and decision-making processes for IT architecture to ensure fair play and maintain alignment with business goals.

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Cor Kroon

Independent Enterprise Architect | Founder | Trainer | TOGAF EA, Archimate 3.2 and SAFe 6 certified
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An EA without governance is just wishful thinking. Once you've reached agreement with your stakeholders on how to meet their needs it is essential that governance is implemented to make sure all work remains on track towards those goals and to measure how well they have been met once the work has been done.

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6 Monitor Progress

Finally, it's important to monitor the progress of the IT architecture in meeting business goals. Set up metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track how well the architecture is supporting various objectives. Regularly review these metrics with stakeholders to ensure that the architecture remains aligned with business goals. This ongoing evaluation allows you to make iterative improvements and resolve any new conflicts that may arise.

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Nadeem Malik

Enterprise Architect - providing enterprise-wide insights, promoting standardization, reducing costs, mitigating risk, increasing agility, realizing strategies, and driving innovation.
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Like a navigator constantly checking the compass, an EA must regularly monitor metrics to ensure the IT architecture stays on course and aligned with business objectives.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Business Architecture

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How do you handle conflicting business goals when designing IT architecture frameworks?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Assess Needs

2 Prioritize Goals

3 Facilitate Dialogue

4 Design Flexibility

5 Implement Governance

6 Monitor Progress

7 Here’s what else to consider

Business Architecture

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How do you handle conflicting business goals when designing IT architecture frameworks?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Assess Needs

2 Prioritize Goals

3 Facilitate Dialogue

4 Design Flexibility

5 Implement Governance

6 Monitor Progress

7 Here’s what else to consider

Business Architecture

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