1. Making The Leap From Business Analyst To
Business Architect
Jeff Scott
VP/ Business & Technology Strategy
IIBA / UK Chapter -- June 18, 2012

2. My Mission: create successful
business architects

3. Don’t listen to enterprise architects!
“In theory, there is no
Yogi Berra difference between theory and
practice. In practice there is.”
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4. Business architects have a wide variety
of backgrounds
“What prior roles do business architects typically hold in your
organization (immediately before becoming a business architect)?”
Business analyst 60%
Enterprise architect 42%
Application or solution architect 39%
Information or data architect 27%
Business manager 27%
Project lead or lead developer 26%
Other business role 12%
Other IT role 5%
(multiple responses accepted)
Source: Forrester Research
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5. Business architecture is an ecosystem
with many players
Business Business Architect
Architect [business]
[IT]
BPM
EA
Is business
architecture
Information
Architect a function . . Business
Analyst
or a role?
APM Business
Manager
Business Planner
- Strategist Business
Executive
???
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6. Business architects architect in the
enterprise context
2008 — 3%
2008 — 9%
2008 — 15%
2008 — 47%
2008 — 80%
2008 — 39%
Source: Forrester Research
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7. Business units are the focus
Who business architects spend their What business architects spend
time with their time on
Non-executive busienss leaders
Working alone Internal BU alignment
19%
IT professionals 35% Problem Solving
IT senior managers 13%
Enterprise Strategy
EA team members
Cross BU integration
Business executives 34%
External to the company
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Source: Forrester Research
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8. Business architecture is about
exploration .... not standardization
Mature
 Experimentation
 New ideas
 Contradictions Innovation
Frustration!
Dormant
1987 2005 ?
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9. What is business architecture?
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10. The executive’s view
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11. The organizational reality —
strategy diffusion
75%
75%
75%
75%
Strategic
75% 68% effectiveness
coefficient
61%
55%
49%
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12. Executives know they are not getting the
expected value from their strategies
• In a 2010 HBR survey of
1000 executives, only
37% say their companies
are “very good or
excellent” at strategy
execution.
• Only 23% blame current
economic conditions as a
major factor in their lack
of execution.
Source: HBR 2010 Strategy Execution Survey
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13. What does business architecture do?
• Effective strategy - creates a direct, clear linkage between executive intent
and organizational actions
• Effective investments - provides a structured approach to making
strategic and operational investment decisions
• Effective operations – clarifies the cross-organizational operating model
• Creates new insights and perspectives – encourages new thinking about
how the company creates value
Business architecture attributes:
• Focuses on “what” the business needs to do rather than “how” it
does it.
• Resonates with business thinkers (CxOs), P&L owners,
strategists, product planners, etc.
• Can be directed at a specific context (ecosystem, enterprise, line
of business, business unit)
• Is information rich and data lite
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14. Strategy to execution management
THE PROCESS OF BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
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15. Becoming a business architect
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17. Thinking shift # 1
GIVE UP YOUR OLD PARADIGMS
Thinking
about
thinking
Think diffferent
Thinking
differently
Acting
differently
Different
results
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18. Thinking shift # 2
START WITH WHY
What
Jeff’s “why”
How When we:
 think innovatively,
 work collaboratively, and
Why  act strategically
we create more value for our
customers, shareholders, and
employees.
http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how
_great_leaders_inspire_action.html
Adapted from: Start With Why, Simon Sinek
6/13/2012
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19. Thinking shift # 3
“SHOULD” SHOULDN’T MATTER
What What should be
can be
What is
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20. Thinking shift # 3
“SHOULD” SHOULDN’T MATTER
What can be
What is
What
should
be
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21. Thinking shift # 4
OPPORTUNITY FOCUSED - NOT EFFICIENCY FOCUSED
Revenue growth
Revenue
is better
Expense reduction
is good
Expense
Profit = Revenue – Expense
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22. Thinking shift # 5
SOLVE THE WHOLE PROBLEM
Context
Situation
Problem
Symptom
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23. Thinking shift # 6
COMPLEX PROBLEMS REQUIRE DIFFERENT APPROACHES
Solution
Context
Problem
Root cause
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24. Become more business-savvy
THINK LIKE BUSINESS EXECUTIVES
• Improve your business perspective —
read!
• Find a business mentor
• Build relationships
• Create a business architecture for your
organization
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25. Thank You
Jeff Scott
Email: Jeff.Scott@accelare.com
Phone: +1-704-275-1725
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/logicalleap
www.linkedin.com/company/accelare
Web: www.accelare.com
Twitter: @accelare
Blog: http://jeffscott.accelare.com (The Business Architect)
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