[Cartoon]

Ok, we all know that when we fail we are to learn from our mistakes. But, is that really the positive side of failure or should we expect more? I believe there is more.

Failure is determined by an event missing its objectives. The objectives missed could be a schedule, competitors may do better, or a product may simply not work. The key is to recognize that the results may actually be something of potential value if given different objectives.

This is where creativity pays off. It’s the old saying, “When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade.” So if the objectives were missed, the positive-minded individual will examine the results and look for other opportunities. Other opportunities might be to find another application for the results or to apply the knowledge gained to produce new results.

Enterprise Architects live on the edge of potential failure. Part of their charter is to understand the business and new applicable technologies. With this knowledge, they advise senior management on corporate direction in the use of technology. Helping to determine when or if the corporation should take advantage of changes in Information Technology can result in failures. Some technologies fail, sometimes the technology is not mature enough to adopt, and sometimes the success of a competitor using the technology may indicate a delay in action. All of these failures are personal to the Enterprise Architect.

There are so many stories we have heard about projects coming out of an R&D effort that resulted in a completely different outcome than expected. One of those stories is how the programming language Java came about. This language was originally designed to support embedded systems communications. Then, due to the explosion in the use of the internet, Java became the backbone language for building high-performance internet applications.

The trouble with failure is that there is an emotional toll that can turn off the creative juices. This is to be expected. It was the creative juices that drove the initiative that failed. Why should anyone trust those juices again?

The true measure of failure is when someone can’t recover emotionally from the failure. Those that do recover will find ways to take advantage of their efforts and move on to greater things.

The real positive of failure is the discovery of who we are. Are we one that feels like a failure or one that feels like a winner taking steps towards great success?

Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.

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[Cartoon]

It seems as though every device in a home is becoming wireless. It started years ago with wireless phones and now even your printer can receive input over WIFI.

In the early days of wireless phones, it was not uncommon to pick up a neighbor’s phone call on your television or radio. Now that has been solved, but you can’t take the phone off the hook to stop annoying phone calls. There is no hook.

With WIFI having security with encryption there is prevention from information being passed to a neighbor or any unauthorized individual. It provides a secure means of allowing network communications in your home.

With local home communications reduced to a small chip in a device, the sky is the limit. Every electronic device in the home can be in the network. Clocks can stay current, security systems can have cameras anywhere, and status updates can be captured by a home computer or one in the cloud for signaling alerts and monitoring usage.

Now reach for the future. Robots can move about with the full knowledge of the world available to help guide them to perform domestic tasks. The home of the future that has often been described by science-fiction writers is about to be a reality. Everyone will have a perfectly organized and clean home. The dishes and cooking tools will all be washed and put away. The windows, floors, and bathrooms will be clean. All the clothes will be washed, ironed, folded, and put away. Even those on the lowest of incomes will have robot assistants that will make them feel like millionaires.

Currently, there is a large percentage of homes that have WIFI with high speed internet access. This market has already driven smartphones, tablets, laptops, and printers to include WIFI access as a standard. So what is next?

As the cost continues to go down for the electronics needed to communicate over WIFI and the innovations go up, we will see some fantastic ideas. Today’s homes are a dramatic change over the homes of 100 years ago due to the conduits for moving electricity, water, air, and sewage. We can expect to see an even greater change due to the conduit of WIFI. Only this change won’t take 100 years.

The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City

Closing the Business / IT gap.

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[Cartoon]

Do you know anyone who does not have a cell phone? Do you know anyone that does not have a smartphone? Chances are that almost everyone you know has a smartphone and consequently more power in their hand than the astronauts had when they landed on the moon. The folks you know are just like your customers. This means that your customers have great power. This, in turn, means that your organization has a great responsibility.

Your great responsibility is to meet your customers on their terms. They are connected and eager to stay current. They want the pictures and the videos. They want to know what is happening all over the world, especially if they’re affected. So, some of that is your responsibility. You must recognize the importance of your customer relationship and keep them informed in an entertaining manner.

For Enterprise Architects it is easy to recognize the value of the technologies that have expanded the opportunities to communicate with customers. It is not so easy to determine how to creatively use the new technologies.

For many organizations there is a movement towards applications to run on smartphones and tablets. This is seen as a way of meeting the responsibility of a business to step up to the new methods of communications with their customers.

But so far, most applications have a strong resemblance to a corporate web site. The designers are taking a successful model of an internet browser function and transferring it over to smart devices.

It is time for the Enterprise Architects to show their value to the business and help to better define how this new and fantastic change in human behavior can benefit a business organization. This is a tough challenge for those that have primarily come from a technical background.

My reflection on the best way to move forward is to first recognize that the change where everyone is connected has had a much greater impact on society than did landing a man on the moon. Now everyone has access to the enormous amount of accumulated knowledge on the internet and the vast numbers of social contacts available on the internet.

Each organization needs to determine how they are plugged into the lives of their customers. It may be different for each customer. Then they need to provide the delivery that is best suited for each customer. This is much more than simply determining what services can be delivered. This delivery boarders more on maintaining a conversation where both parties in the conversation are engaged in the subject matter and both gain from the experience.

Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.

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[Cartoon]

Every structure in the Universe is complex and perfect. Some believe that it took billions of years for this complexity to develop and become so perfect. Some believe that a perfect master architect is responsible for the creation of the Universe. Either way, what chance does IT have when they produce a complex system? There are certainly no perfect system architects and we don’t have billions of years to test. There must be some other way to deliver complex systems.

There is another way. It is based on the idea that complex systems are the result of combining components and composite components to create complex systems. By using components that have been proven through testing and usage, there is some hope for building complex systems.

Architects often describe complex computing systems in layers. At the base is the operating system, a composite component of other components that manage system resources. At the next layer, in large systems there is usually an infrastructure of components to support data storage, messaging, business services, and scheduling. Applications are then built upon the infrastructure.

With all of these layers, each one being a composite of components, it is almost unbelievable that anything actually works. It also appears that building complex structures has been resolved by building layers of technology. The layers will not be tested over billions of years, but they will have billions of transactional usage to prove their reliability. When problems do occur, the not-so-perfect architects will analyze the situation and apply modifications to make the system more perfect.

All of this sounds as though the complex structures challenge in developing large information technology systems has been solved. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The demand for systems to be developed and delivered sooner than they can be fully tested is always the problem. It often results in the use of duct-tape solutions to meet deadlines.

The real answer is to collect the knowledge that defines the complex structure’s data and processes in a machine-readable form. By doing this, a complex structure can be validated by analyzing the axiomatic description for any erroneous outcomes. This may sound like some mathematician’s pipe dream, but it is slowly becoming a reality.

Industries such as medical research are finding that the complexity of information can be recorded using ontology languages and used directly in computer systems. Some of these applications will be presented at this year’s Ontology Summit with the theme “Big Systems”. This is the seventh annual summit.

At Ontology Summit 2012 there are four tracks: Large-scale systems engineering, Large-scale engineered systems, Challenge: ontology and big data, and Large-scale domain applications. Each of these tracks will address the complexity of information systems.

There is hope for delivering complex systems. We may be able to shorten the creation path by building upon the science of ontology. We may be able to move towards a perfect architecture by utilizing the “wisdom of the crowd” as knowledge is recorded for reuse. The kind of crowd gathering to attend the Ontology Summit 2012 is an excellent beginning.  

Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.

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[Cartoon]

There is an alternative to SOPA and PIPA. It is an alternative that upholds the freedom of information sharing while providing a remedy for violators of copyright laws. This alternative takes the approach of extending the freedom of the internet rather than the proposed approach of restricting freedoms.

Architects and engineers will often know that something is wrong without being able to identify the problem. They will say that something is “just not right.” It doesn’t pass the smell test. In this case, the basic concept of government having the control to block internet activity just does not smell right. It seems to violate the whole purpose of having the internet.

At the same time, the problem of piracy is real and costly to those that are the targets of the pirates. Solving this problem is the primary motivation behind the creation of SOPA and PIPA. Consequently, there is little argument that the intent behind these bills is good. Something must be done to solve this problem.

So what is the root cause of the problem? Is it rogue web sites that distribute copyrighted materials that government needs to have the authority to shut down as the two bills support? Or, could the root cause have more to do with how these web sites are allowed to stay in operation?

The problem is bigger than individual web sites and should be addressed by clarifying the charter of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). In the Memorandum of Understanding that set up the relationship between ICANN and the U.S. government, ICANN was given a mandate requiring that it operate “in a bottom up, consensus driven, democratic manner.” Clarification of the “democratic manner” needs to be provided.

ICANN is responsible for accrediting the organizations that are allowed to register domain names and assign numbers within geographical regions. Some of the accredited organizations are government-run and most of the governments are not democratic. These governments control the internet as a means of controlling their own people’s access to information. This is clearly a violation of the intent of the internet.   

The clarification that should be given to ICANN is that they cannot accredit any organization that is sponsored by a state government. These organizations must be public, open for scrutiny, and most importantly be subject to lawsuits at the international level. If the organizations do not abide by these rules, they will lose their accreditation resulting in no connection to the rest of the internet.

So why pursue shutting down individual web sites when the problem is caused by governments that do not embrace the freedoms available on the internet? Shut down the government-sponsored registrars. Stop letting governments use the internet to control their own people and start having a free and open environment where those that break the law can be reached by the law.

The internet is about democracy. All governments must accept this if they are to have access to the world outside of their borders. The enforcement for this would come from ICANN. They should shut down government-controlled registrars. Rather than build a fence around the U.S. as proposed by SOPA and PIPA, let’s tear down the fences that exist around non-democratic countries.

The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City

Closing the Business / IT gap.

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[Cartoon]

As the semantic web creeps closer, our computing systems are nibbling on the apple of knowledge. Each bite has been in a slow and steady maturing in the concepts and standards of capturing ontology. With the current standard of using the OWL language, knowledge in almost every field of science and business has been transferred to machine-readable form. Thousands of OWL documents exist and are being used.

It is as though software systems development has reached a stage where it has become more complex for those developing them than they can fully understand. Nowhere is this more of an issue than at the enterprise level of an organization. It is due to this complexity that Enterprise Architecture has become so critical to so many organizations.

One of the biggest difficulties with large complex systems is in testing. These difficulties exist because the quality of testing is only as good as the knowledge of those who build the test cases. Their knowledge must include an understanding of testing to prove the accuracy of a new or modified system. Their knowledge must also include a thorough understanding of the business functions being automated.

Componentization using Object-Oriented concepts or Service-Oriented infrastructure was to help by hiding complexity. Under a strong business-oriented design led by Enterprise Architects, the hiding of complexity has shown some significant benefit. However, for most organizations this benefit has not been achieved due to the technical orientation of most of the components developed.

Componentization is the key to hiding complexity and allowing for the structuring of large systems. The challenge is to build components from a business perspective rather than from a technical perspective. This is where ontology components enter into the design and development of software.

Ontology components contain the basics of well-defined information and are consistent with the concepts of logical modeling. Unlike logical modeling that is used to derive a physical model, the ontology model is the physical model. Behind the ontology there will be some sophisticated facility for storing and retrieving the information, but the complexity is hidden.

Ontology components also contain axioms. These axioms validate any changes to the data and have many of the traits of rules-based systems. This is a very powerful capability. Even though the knowledge is hidden in the ontology component, it will throw exceptions to any requestor attempting to make changes that violate any axiom.

Using ontology components transfers the knowledge once only held by developers into the realm of computer understanding. With this understanding, complex systems can be built as composites of components that understand their reason for existence.

Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.

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Do we need all those updates? Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops seem to be hungry for updates. They interrupt us while we’re working. They reboot our systems while we’re sleeping. They are downright irritating.

We have the option to allow the updates to occur whenever they want. This means that updates can be applied on their own initiative. We may go to use our computer and find that the work we had open has all been closed. If we have logon security, our computer will be waiting on us to enter our access codes so it can complete the reboot while we wait.

The other alternative is to require updates to get our permission before applying. This gives us an opportunity to finish our work before we must give up our computer. The only downside is that we must put up with annoying reminder messages until we are willing to succumb to the demands for the updates.

It is extremely rare that anyone is waiting eagerly to apply an update. Most of the time, our software is performing just as we prefer or at least just as we have learned to use it. The last things we want are updates that will require us to unlearn and relearn a software tool.

But what are our options? We are bombarded with messages letting us know that updates are available. This is code to say that the basic functionality has changed and we are due for additional training. Or, we are told that “critical security updates are required”. This is code to tell us that there are evil doers lurking on the internet that could harm our computer. But we know about the evil doers. That’s why we pay for security software. Do the update providers know something that our security software doesn’t know?

Every day we read about changes we could make in our lives to improve our existence. Most of these suggested changes we ignore. Most simply do not apply and many that do apply are more costly to do than the benefits we might gain. Why can’t we do software updates the same way?

Our software knows our habits better than we do. Why not let the software evaluate the need for an update based upon the features we use? If we use the feature, then apply the update. If we do not use the feature, hold on the update until we attempt to use the feature. Apply this same approach to critical updates for security and most of the updates would not be needed.

So, do we really need the updates? Yes, we need the updates if we actually use the features of the software being updated. Since we can’t know the relationship of the features and the updates, the software must make this determination on a personal usage basis. We should be treated as the individuals we are rather than having our time stolen by the developers of massively distributed software.

The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City

Closing the Business / IT gap.

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Social change can be rapid or it can be slow. For 3D movies, it has been slow. The earliest movies were made in the 50’s and didn’t set any trend. Now, due to the fantastic advances in graphical rendering and projection, 3D has finally found an artistic expression.

In the early movies, the directors were not sure how to use the technology. Often the audience would see something thrown or fall towards them. This could be quite a shock for the audience. Suddenly they would find that they were part of the action as a flaming arrow came flying at their head.

The intent of most storytellers is to take their audience somewhere they have never been before. In the movies, this can be done by going to exotic locations and using music to set the mood. Having 3D available gives the storyteller another way to enhance the experience for the audience.

There is much less of the flaming arrow type of action and more use of 3D to tell the story. When playing a computer game, the story is actually written by the audience. The game provides the scenery for the exotic location and the actors. For games, 3D has become a requirement to provide the scenes and the animation of the actors.

In business, 3D has found a home in architecture and engineering. Structures can more easily be modeled and shared than ever before. Even though physical models are still constructed for very large and expensive projects, the models are first produced using computer-aided tools.

As an Enterprise Architect, I see the social acceptance of the 3D as an opportunity to better tell the story of information technology. This is because information technology can be visualized in 3D. Even something as boring as an accounting or payroll operation can be experienced at an exciting and exotic location.

Not only could someone enter into the world of information technology like a gamer, they could participate. They could see how things work by taking any visual perspective. They could see the components that make up a system and examine them as solid, three-dimensional objects. They could make changes and see the outcomes.

The social acceptance of 3D is at the point where Enterprise Architects must recognize that they are falling behind. Diagrams in 2D are still beneficial, but the story they tell is motionless and removed. The story can be better told in 3D with the power of motion, depth, and participation.

Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.

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Suddenly there was the iPad and suddenly the world of information technology was changed forever. And, like all change, there are unexpected consequences.

These consequences have emerged as the iPad has become the real personal computer. Oh, there are other tablet computers that compete with the iPad. But, it has been the iPad revolution that brought about the social acceptance of the tablet as the true personal computer.

As the true personal computer, the demand for PC notebooks and PC desktops have for the first time begun to decline in sales. This decline will continue as more innovative applications are developed for the iPad and other tablets.

Organizations can no longer build their information security upon the premise of never allowing an employee or consultant to use their own personal computing hardware within the secure walls of the organization. They must accept the personal equipment as an extension of the employee. They must provide the bridge so the employee’s personal access can be done using their own computer. They must provide this bridge to reap the benefits the organization gains by having more productive and socially involved employees.

Due to the iPad, organizations must find how this new social change can enhance their customer’s experience. They must understand and support their customers that use iPads. This is a growing segment of their customer base with unique expectations. This may require specialized iPad applications or enhanced web site capabilities.

Enterprise Architects see the iPad revolution as more than a technical change. They see it as a major social change. Social change versus technical change has a much more significant impact on architectural direction. The introduction of the PC and the internet are two technologies that resulted in major social change. The introduction of the iPad falls into this same category.

Organizations that recognize the significance of the unexpected consequences of the iPad will be able to more quickly adjust their direction and take advantage of the benefits. Enterprise Architects are a great source for organizations to employ to understand and recognize the significance of this change, the change the iPad has set off in the form of unexpected consequences.

The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City

Closing the Business / IT gap.

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Many organizations are realizing that smartphone and tablet technology is a key to providing their customers with a quality experience of their services. Even those organizations that have already begun providing their customers with some functionality are challenged by the continuing change in the capabilities available on newer devices.

For larger organizations with an IT development organization, the CIO is the one put on the spot. Chances are the current CIO was originally brought in due to some other major shift in the use of information technology. They were brought in because they had led successful projects for another organization in the technology needed then. Now the CIO may be on the way out as the organization is again seeking someone with a strong track record in the new technology. The current CIO probably has no track record in the new technology.

It is unfortunate for CIOs that they are primarily measured by their ability to lead in technology change. This is unfortunate, because those that are strong in technology are often not strong in project management. The success of a CIO is in their ability to manage multiple overlapping projects. This is very different from being a project manager. Project managers focus on schedules, delivery, and customer satisfaction for a single project. The CIO focuses on the same issues, but must do it for all active projects and at the same time keep the current operation running successfully. The CIO’s job requires significant skills in resource management and political awareness.

Where management should be looking when challenged to add or improve their smartphone and tablet offerings is to the Enterprise Architect. This role should be separate from the central IT group and consequently takes the CIO off the hook for leading technology change. The leadership is shifted back to the organization’s management. Like legal counsel, Enterprise Architects are there to guide and recommend with the management who is making all ultimate decisions. When embracing a new technology is viewed to be beneficial for an organization, the organization’s Enterprise Architects can provide insight and alternatives.

For smartphone and tablet usage, the Enterprise Architects may recommend whether to move forward or to wait based upon industry measures. They may recommend outsourcing versus creating a development group. The organization’s decision-makers can then select the outcome they believe is best for their organization. If a project is initiated, then the CIO would provide the IT resources. This would include project managers and might include development and production resources.

The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City

Closing the Business / IT gap.

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