Top 10 architecture land mines [enterprise]

IT professionals hear plenty of advice regarding enterprise architecture. Although good in theory, many of the recommendations are impractical because they are time-consuming or just plain difficult. People and organizations tend to repeat common mistakes that make a mess of their enterprise architecture. The implications of these mistakes are not immediately apparent. By the time you take corrective actions, it is often too late to undo the direct damage, much less the collateral damage. Rather than offering recipes for success, this article points out the top 10 list of land mines along the architecture roadway. The list are as follows: declaring the architecture effort done; assuming that technical people make good architects; saying no; failing to communicate early and often; speaking in tongues; mistaking standards for architecture; forgetting to assess people and process impacts; aligning (and realigning) with strategies, rather than with business goals and cultural values; crashing the party when you are not invited; and introducing technology before its time. The correct measure of success is not how fast you can introduce a new technology. Instead, it is whether you can make the correct or appropriate investment decision. Avoiding the 10 pitfalls will not guarantee your architecture program's success, but will certainly increase your profitability of avoiding failure.