I am often asked to describe the role of the Business Architect; the role is new enough that most Resource Managers do not have a job description on file. Of course, the answer depends on the context within which the question is asked. Sometime I describe what the Business Architect “does.” Other times I describe what the Business Architect “accomplishes.” Yet other times the inquirer really wants to know what “skills” the Business Architect should possess.
When asked recently, I decided to take a shot at creating a job description. There is no new information or creativity included in the description. In fact, most of it is borrowed from three resources available on the internet:1. The overview of Business Architecture found on the OMG Business Architecture Working Group’s web site (http://bawg.omg.org/), 2. An article I authored earlier this year for the Business Architecture Institute entitled The Transition to Business Architect,3. And an article by Bill Ulrich entitled The Business Architect Must See the Forest for the Trees.
Following is that job description.
The Business Architect plays a key role in structuring the enterprise in terms of its governance structure, business processes, and business information. This person aligns strategic goals and objectives with decisions regarding products and services; partners and suppliers; organization; capabilities; and key business and IT initiatives. The primary focus is the business motivations, business operations and business analysis frameworks and related networks that link these aspects of the enterprise together. The Business Architect works to develop an integrated view of the enterprise using a repeatable approach, cohesive framework, and available industry standard techniques.
The Business Architect reports into business management and works closely with a counterpart in IT to align technical solutions with business needs. The Business Architect may have supervisory responsibility, possibly acting as coach and mentor to junior members of the Business Architecture Center of Excellence. In addition, the Business Architect works though others at every level of the organization soliciting strategic imperatives from senior leaders and executives, and supporting business unit managers as they leverage business architecture artifacts to create their business plans. Finally, the Business Architect may provide direct input into the governance cycle that supports the achievement of key goals, planning and execution of various business scenarios, and delivery of bottom line business value.
There you have it – my attempt at a job description for the Business Architect. Please feel free to use it as a starting point; I encourage you to work with your Resource Manager and adapt it to fit your organization. As always, comments are welcome.
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Very useful job role
I first thought about
This was spot on and a great
Very well described, this is
My background is continuous process improvement and a Business Architect plays a pivotal role in an organization with a desire to be more effective and efficient.