Where do we go with Enterprise Architecture in a new world where Microservice development done in an agile manner is our path forward and as-a-Service Services are the normal for disruptive development?
I think Enterprise Architecture now needs to focus on the development of architectural frameworks that use as-a-Service functions as interleaved base building blocks and that microservices are developed in an overlapping ‘Agile’ manner.
The key is to create a broad framework that provides for multiple Microservice developments to leverage capability uplift of other Microservice development activities without building deep dependencies. The developments have to allow for failure without invalidating the full architecture. In this manner, we can rapidly grow enterprise-wide capability without spending all of the time we have traditionally spent developing the architecture across the enterprise. New development activities are easily grafted into the framework to enhance existing and in-progress developments while accommodating for a changing technology landscape.
This is the time for Enterprise Architecture to truly shine. No longer are we developing monolithic architectures from the base data centre level up. Instead we are building ecosystems driven by business outcomes. This allows rapid movement of base services in and out to allow for cost/benefits as as-a-Service functions to become available and rapid functionality development in microservices that work together without being so dependent that if one fails the whole architecture fails. This type of Enterprise Architecture enhances internal disruptions, and grows and gains from it rather than disrupting the architecture and causing rework.
It also means we need to let go of rigid structures of architecture and instead adopt ecosystem frameworks that flex and grow with the capabilities of the functions in them. This is what we can bring to the Microservice development communities, these enterprise frameworks can help them see outside of their 'Agile' developments and benefit from the wider development landscape. In this way the business will get more development in a directional way and functionality growth becomes more directed instead of system-wide disruption in fits and bursts.
#seangmuller