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In an interesting blog post1 Dr. Alexander Peters, BPM industry analyst at Forrester Research, noted the increasing prominence of business architects in the enterprise. Dr. Peters points out the importance of the growing trend of such a profile. It is also important to point out that as organizations rise to meet modern IT challenges, much attention has also been (rightly) placed on measuring organizational and employee performance with advanced analytics and business intelligence.
It is equally crucial for organizations to acknowledge the human element when implementing these practices because these business processes are what provides the data to be measured and what drives the business as well. A technology is only as strong as the people—and processes—behind it.
Enter the business architect.
While a myriad of definitions have existed over the years, the role of the “business architect” can best be boiled down as such: they oversee the implementation of unified processes and establish proper governance methods to streamline efficiency. In so doing, they convert business practices into repeatable processes. Their primary responsibility is to align the strategic initiatives from the business side of an organization with their IT priorities and realities.
The overarching idea for the business architect is developing an integrated view of the enterprise using a repeatable approach in a cohesive framework—and doing so with industry‐standard techniques. Typically, they are business acumen and experts in process optimizations methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma, as well as in particular compliance initiatives such as Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) or Basel II.
