No, EA is not wizardry, but it can be “magic” to an organization in need of structure, process, and governance.
Before implementing user-centric EA, the enterprise often looks quite disconcerting and in a state of disarray. I’ve seen organizations before EA, where they don’t know what systems they have in place, what hardware/software they are using, what information requirements they are trying to fulfill, or even what functions and outcomes they are working toward achieving — and hence the fear and panic when the dreaded “data call” comes down.
In transforming to user-centric EA, there is a lot of hard work including discovery and analysis, building structure and process, and developing realistic plans. There is also organizational resistance — a long standing nemesis of EA. In time, as the user-centric EA journey progresses, sensible change begins to overcome fear and resistance. At that point, we begin to have structure and process take root, and we learn what we have in the enterprise, where things are located, how many we have, and how old they are. With this knowledge and with a functioning governance process, we are armed to better plan for refresh, recapitalization, and modernization — and help to build an ordered path ahead.
Similarly (oh come on, it’s not that big a stretch), Harry Potter starts out a miserable and lonely boy living an upside down life — he is even forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs in his relative’s home. He is downtrodden by all. That’s until he is transformed by his learning and adventures at
