Enterprise architecture ‘no longer optional’ for state tech offices, claims new report
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers on Thursday published the third part of its enterprise architecture report, urging state technology leaders to adopt a set of organizational practices it says are “no longer an optional discipline.”
“A deliberate, well-documented and continually updated enterprise architecture ensures that state governments can navigate their evolving landscapes effectively, aligning strategy, investments and outcomes,” the report reads.
The latest report continues the job of the first two parts of the report, published last March and May, to prepare state CIOs with a blueprint for matching business objectives to outcomes, prioritize spending and eliminate dreaded silos, the isolated technologies and teams that can impede organizational goals.
NASCIO’s latest report urges leaders to implement enterprise architecture, or EA, to ensure that goals are aligned with day-to-day activities, take stock of their technology portfolios and manage change. The report notes that EA provides a “continually refreshed roadmap for managing” a state government’s ongoing evolution.
The report’s author, Eric Sweden, writes that EA’s ability to help manage change is one of its most compelling selling points.
“The state government enterprise is one of the most complex organizations, integrating human dynamics with intricate systems,” writes Sweden, a NASCIO program director. “Managing this complexity requires the principles of a design-first approach, systems thinking and engineering disciplines—the same principles used to design advanced creations like spacecraft, a factory or cities. Before any of these things are actually built, there is a design – an architecture.”
