Steve Nimmons

And a very special ‘good evening’ to all my friends in Northern Ireland

In the dying days of John Major’s government, there was a wonderful, satirical programme Spitting Image, which ruthlessly lampooned political and cultural figures. At the end of every show, a puppet of Major would pop up and “wish all of his friends in Northern Ireland a particularly good evening.”

Major’s government was in serious trouble and his ‘only’ viable survival option was to solicit support from the Ulster Unionists under Jim Molyneaux.

Major had many challenges:

• To get through any key legislation before the end of the Parliament
• To avoid the government falling due to a ‘lack of confidence motion’
• To ‘go to the public’ for re-election at a time of his choosing, rather than being driven by New Labour’s timetable
• To keep the Ulster Unionists on-side, at a time of secret (and not so secret) talks with Irish republicans
• To fight off internal division and attempted coups

Major’s position was not enviable, and to some extent many Enterprise Architects will recognise (metaphorical) similarities with the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis, for example:

• Coalitions, some of which are toxic and based on self-interest
• Lobbyists – I jokingly equate the ‘data architecture lobby’ (warehouse is king) as having all of the vigour, influence and tactical sophistication of the tobacco lobby
• Side deals – ‘agreed and minuted in one meeting’, changed in the corridor with no communications as to what, why, when, where and by whom
• ‘No confidence’ votes – I don’t like the decision, therefore I don’t like/trust the decision maker, therefore he/she must be removed
• Three line whip – in the dying days of a weak government, enforcing the whip is complex. If the writing is on the wall and the decision may affect single constituencies (or business domains), re-election will not be aided by siding with (perhaps laudable, yet) unpopular policy
• Defection and floating voters – as confidence evaporates, defection and ‘flip-flopping’ fuels confusion and stifles any potential for progress
• You may also see leadership challenges, and what I refer to as the “Two Degrees of Separation Anti Pattern”, where ‘next least senior person’ is the villain – i.e. blame it on the Junior Minister, or better still an expendable advisor.

What conclusions can be drawn from these observations?

• Enterprise Architecture functions should operate like strong, confident governments
• There should be an Enterprise Architecture manifesto
• Successful delivery of manifesto pledges should be communicated
• Failure to deliver manifesto pledges should be explained
• There should be a ‘programme for government’ – i.e. what will be delivered and when
• There should be regular surgeries with constituents (i.e.business stakeholders)
• You should not ‘go to war’ on the basis of a ‘dodgy dossier’ (the definitive Blairite Anti Pattern)
• You should have a thought through domestic policy (internal EA) and foreign policy (partners, suppliers etc.)
• You should recognise austerity challenges and work with others in innovative ways

The Anti Pattern Codified

Anti Pattern Name: [Weak government, weak governance.]

Type: [Management, Leadership.]

Forces: [Organisational politics, resistance to change, weak leadership, poor communications, toxic coalitions.]

Context: [Governance of architectural decisions, setting direction, ensuring subordinate functions apply policy appropriately.]

Resulting Context: [Factions, deferred decision making, unpopular policy ignored, individualism, defensiveness, coalitions built on “my enemy’s enemy is my friend”, take-over bids, ‘retreat to the bunker’ mentality from those under threat, nose diving communications and trust.]

Solutions: [Appoint the ‘right lead architect’, set-out clear policy statements, communicate regularly with constituents and opinion formers, publish simple and clear manifesto, highlight successes and explain why policies have not been delivered or are not delivering.]

Related Posts:

• Enterprise Architecture Principles: The First Principle
• Enterprise Architecture Anti Patterns: The Perfect Principles Fallacy
• Enterprise Architecture Principles: Why Metrics Matter
• Future Proofing your Enterprise Architecture Principles
• Anti Pattern: Below the Radar