recrEAtion: Realizing the Extraordinary Contribution of Your Enterprise Architects

fruITion #2

by Chris Potts

Join Simon on a quest to uncover the value of Enterprise Architecture (and it`s not what you think it is!) Simon is a seasoned Enterprise Architect who joins a corporation in New York as their first-ever Vice President of Enterprise Architecture. On his very first day, he meets the global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who asks Simon What do you do? Simon`s reply triggers the CEO to respond in a way that our hero least expects. What follows is a journey across continents and oceans in which Simon uncovers the true meaning of Enterprise Architecture, who is doing it, and how successful they are. On his travels, Simon teams up with senior executives around the world to integrate Enterprise Architecture into their strategies and business plans, and to innovate in the architecture of their enterprise. Everyone he meets has some wisdom to offer, and is looking for his in return. Finally, Simon has to make a choice between the kind of Enterprise Architect he used to be and the one he has become. Join the characters in this sequel to the highly-acclaimed business novel fruITion, as they contribute to Simon`s journey and he makes his final choice. Share in his thoughts and experiences, and observe key messages along the journey. Potts weaves another story of drama and intrigue which is a must read for any CEO or Enterprise Architect looking to design a business to achieve sustainable performance. As Enterprise Architects continue to discover their relevance and value-add, Potts lives up to his reputation by interrupting with a dose of common sense and challenging insights which will make business leaders pause and reflect.
Chris Parker
Senior Vice President and CIO, LeasePlan Corporation Potts conveys the important message that an enterprise needs an enterprising and architecting culture to be successful as a coherent business.
Dr. John Gotze
Chief Editor, Journal of Enterprise Architecture

Genres: Business

226 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2010

Reviews

[Lester Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full book review is at https://martin.atlassian.net/wiki/spa..., but it fair to say this book made me rethink my value as an Enterprise Architect. As my review says, "I can recommend this book to senior technologists and formal technology leaders in your organizations, but would not recommend it to less seasoned and/or more narrowly focused employees".

[Vikram Patil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story and flow was interesting. I found couple of observations interesting, like,
- using structural performance indicators (ratios) as triggers of EA discussion,
- processes are owned by customers and EA has to decide about which ones to appear in and how.

Rest of the book feels connecting disparate EA dots and trying to weave them into a theme that doesn't take shape fully.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moderately good, very thought-provoking.

The main message of the book is that the term "Enterprise Architecture" can be read literally, not as an IT specialty but as a focus on "the architecture of the enterprise". In this interpretation, the CEO is the chief enterprise architect, and all his executives constitute his EA team.

The author uses a novel format to explore EA from this point of view, and makes some very interesting observations.

The main challenge for most readers will be that EA is strictly an IT function at most corporations. Unless that changes, much of what's in this book will be hard to apply.

[Ernesto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Potts en éste segundo libro orientado a las personas de TI, explica desde un punto de vista entendible, ameno y fácil de comprender los principales beneficios y las consideraciones a tomar cuando se están manejando conceptos de Arquitectura Empresarial a nivel laboral.

Este libro lo recomiendo ampliamente a todas aquellas personas que deseen conocer qué y para qué sirve la Arquitectura Empresarial aunque no se tengan conocimientos referentes al tema.

Lo mejor del libro, ésta frase: "For a professional Enterprise Architect, home is wherever the work is"...

[Paul Boal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked a lot of the messages, but felt like the story was something more akin to "fan fiction" rather than the practical business resource I wanted it to be.

[Stefan Jernberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly inspiring about how to turn the systems thinking from IT into a way of understanding and evolving corporate structure.

[E.W. Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helped me consider the concept of Enterprise Architecture in a new light. Quick & easy read.