My first introduction to anything resembling Enterprise Architecture was in the bowels of a large telecommunications company in Hong Kong, A new boss of the IT engineering group had arrived and was trying to get his head around the significant scale and scope of the kit he was responsible for. Can you create for me ‘A simple diagram showing everything’ was the request he gave to me. Given this was the early 1990s a non trivial request. ...
On Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise Architecture is a complex abstraction. It’s not easy to define or explain. Ironically explanation is at the heart of its function. Its purpose is to holistically shine light on how enterprises work and then use that information to guide decision making. However a poorly understood function emanating from information technology purporting to have the ability to guide business decisions may not be well received. Enterprises often lose touch with how or why they do what they do. The more humans involved the wider the diversity of activity. The longer an organisation exists the more IT detritus (sorry systems and processes) gathers. ...
The inevitability of algorithms
I remember queuing to pay for parking one time. It was taking longer than usual as for this particular car park they had a different way of paying. While completely digital it was manual, new and required thinking about. The growing length of the queue indicated the effectiveness of the algorithm. Algorithms affect our daily lives. They implement rules determined locally, regionally and nationally. From surcharges on financial payments to taxes on sales. ...
Background
I was bitten by the computing bug at the age of fifteen. Like many others of my generation it started with an Apple IIe in my computing class. It grabbed my attention with such intensity that I was often late for following classes. I remember being confused by the statement i = i + 1. How was that mathematically possible! Fortunately I wasn’t able to take it home otherwise my school work would have been severely impacted. ...