9. Outcomes
As a direct outcome of the LeanEA project the next
phase of the MWE programme will capitalize on
some of the practical experience of undertaking
the TOGAF ADM so that migration from MWE 1.x to
MWE 2.0 will benefit directly from an architected
approach.
Having said this, the reality of the year-long
LeanEA project was that it was proposed,
promoted, and carried out by a small group of
people from the Directorate responsible for IT,
not those in the organisation who really make
decisions about the business. None of those
leading on the project were established members
of any of the university’s key decision-making
committees, and therefore the work of the project
was never recognised or considered in the context
of existing university business. In the longer term
we recognise that the solution is to concentrate on
educating business and IT stakeholders about EA,
what investments are required (particularly where
project management and internal communication
is concerned), and what benefits can really be
achieved if best practice is followed.
Whilst the opportunity to participate in this project
was welcomed and has been an immensely
educational experience, it has not been without
considerable challenges. Those who have
participated in the project have acquired a strong
belief and commitment to realising an EA, and with
recent changes within the IT Directorate, the ability
to do so may be much more achievable.
The key challenge, therefore, in any organisation,
is to enable EA to be understood and owned at
the highest level. Otherwise, the ‘architecting’
activities will happen either on the periphery of the
organisation, or too low down in the hierarchy