Enterprise Business Architect - Strategy Consultant

As an Enterprise Business Architect/Strategy Consultant, you play a crucial role in defining, supporting and governing strategic transformations.

We define it

You challenge the management (C-level) in defining the strategy and support them in making conscious architectural choices needed to realize the strategic vision. You take the lead in determining a target operating model (based on business capabilities) in which you look for a balance between autonomy of the individual business units and synergies at group level.

We change it

After developing the strategic framework and the target operating model, you will further translate this into a roadmap of changes in order to achieve the strategic goals.  

You don't do this alone, but collaborate closely with the other members of your core team, consisting of the following roles:

  • Enterprise architect

  • Business architect

  • Program manager / Roadmap coordinator

  • Business representative

  • Enterprise IT architect

  • Change manager

  • Representative of the IT Organization

In this way we guarantee a balanced roadmap which takes sufficient account of the various important  aspects such as business priority, change readiness of the organization, architectural optimization, risks, resource availability, dependencies, costs, revenues, timing... In the core team there is NO hierarchy: everyone looks at the proposals based on their expertise and the goal is to have the team members challenge each other to come up with the best solution for the organization.

We govern it

Once the roadmap is ready and approved you will remain responsible for its implementation:
You will start projects that will realize parts of the roadmap architecture, together with the program team.
In concrete terms, this is done by handing over to the mirror role at project level - the business solution architects are your mirror role at project level.

Next, you will continue to follow up on the projects (from an Enterprise Business Architecture perspective) by organizing communities and setting up reviews.

During the implementation phase, significant adjustments to the architecture may still be needed: e.g. based on feedback from the projects, changing market conditions and/or the annual review of the roadmap.

Finally, during the process, you will monitor the dependencies of your roadmap with the other strategic roadmaps of the organization.

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Why choose Myreas?

A proven methodology

Our origin: the EA context of the Colruyt Group

The Colruyt Group is the only "Architecture-driven" company in Belgium and maybe even in Europe. Decisions are not made by those who hit the table the hardest, they are made by an architectural process and architectural boards! The management takes all decisions based on an architectural foundation and rationale.

  • C-Level is being given EA training to learn “Architecturese” (the language of EA’s)

  • C-level must explain and defend the architectural recommendations to the Colruyt Group Architecture board (CEO, COO, CIO, Head of Bus. Arch, Head of IT Arch) in order to demonstrate their full commitment

Our extensive toolset

Our methodology for applying Enterprise Architecture is firmly rooted in TOGAF and ArchiMate, which we’ve been putting to work relentlessly keeping what worked well, tossing what didn’t and adding what was missing.

The result is an extensive toolset fit for the purpose of applying Enterprise Architecture. This toolset encompasses Strategy definition, Enterprise Business, Application and Technology Architecture, Program & Portfolio Management and specific deepdives in Architectural Notation, Tooling and governance.

As said, we took a lot of inspiration from TOGAF and ArchiMate, but we enriched our methodology with other tools and techniques such as the Target Operating Model framework (from Ross & Weill) or Pace Layering (from Gartner) to name just two.

Our collaboration between business and IT

The Enterprise Architects are always staffed in "duo" (an Enterprise IT Architect and an Enterprise Business Architect). Together they collect the high-level architectural requirements, translate these into different options and make recommendations to the management. Enterprise Architects are staffed in duo because each discipline has its own focus (Business or IT) and by challenging each other. they arrive at the best proposal. In addition, there are EA governance structures at Corporate Level, Capability Level and Program Level.

The mindset of a start-up

Discover one of the most important soft skills

A start-up

Myreas is a small niche company, with a flat structure and a minimum of company rules. Myreas staff are shaping their own company and all colleagues are invited to help: “We will define our future together!”.

Single focus on EA

Most EA companies start with EA, but due to customer demand and the fact that TOP EAs are so hard to find, they start hiring solution architects, project managers, analysts, test managers...Over time, the EA population within these companies is less than 10%.
At Myreas, we hire ONLY EAs (not even Solution Architects)! 

TOP Gun Spirit

It is the mission of Myreas to find the best EAs and to make them better (we call that the TOP Gun spirit!). Less than 5% of the people invited pass the tests and receive a proposal. Our mission is to grow towards 25 TOP Program Managers, 25 TOP Enterprise IT Architects and 25 TOP Enterprise Business Architects.


Effective and efficient Training and Coaching

There are no Belgian consulting companies with an EA methodology because it is extremely difficult to develop one when everybody is working for  different clients and using different methodologies, not to mention the problem of how to train/coach people effectively in such a context.

Because of the lack in methodology, it is also most unlikely that there is a decent Quality Assurance in place. Recommendations and deliverables are fully dependent on the personal experience of the EA executing the strategic mission, rather than the EA company they are working for.
 
At Myreas we do things differently: it is the mission of Myreas to train and coach our colleagues and since all our colleagues are working at the same physical location, with the same context and culture, using the same methodology, same deliverables and stakeholders, we are able to organize this very efficiently and effectively. The outcome and recommendations are not dependent on the individual, but supported by the Myreas EA community through the existing governance processes and boards.

From Strategy to Realization

At Myreas we remain responsible for the architecture: we translate the strategy into a roadmap of changes and remain responsible for the governance during the implementation of the roadmap. EAs see the results of their recommendations!

The human side of consultancy

Respect for the work life balance

This is how high we set the bar

At Myreas, we don’t expect our colleagues to work excessive hours.

No extensive traveling

At Myreas, we don’t expect our colleagues to travel each week.

NO Sales Targets

At Myreas, we don’t expect our colleagues to do business development if they want to take a next step in their career.

No “Up or Out” principles

At Myreas, we don’t apply “Up or Out” principles. We grow within.

No stressful onboarding, no client-switching

At Myreas, the client context and culture remains the same so there is no stressful onboarding each time and no continually switching clients.

Colleagues should do the things that give them energy.
We hope that all colleagues will help us to build Myreas but that is not an obligation: we believe that colleagues should do the things that give them energy.

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Tasks and responsibilities

The Enterprise Business Architect has the following responsibilities:

  • You create coherence and alignment between the various programs and projects.

  • You support the various business units and domains in the preparation of their business operating models and high-level requirements for the implementation of their strategic plans. You collaborate with Enterprise IT Architects, Portfolio and Program Managers to translate these plans into a roadmap with concrete projects.

  • You guide Solution Business Architects in defining the project architecture.

  • You review the business architecture of projects.

  • You create reference models for business architecture.

  • You develop, document and provide training on architectural methods.

The Enterprise Business Architect has the following responsibilities within a program:

  • Defining the scope of the business architecture (deliverables, approach) within the program so that the program manager can create an integrated plan and a cost estimate.

  • Collecting the drivers and high-level business requirements so that the objectives set by the program can be realized.

  • Further detailing the operating model in the target business architecture at the program level, and the transition steps necessary to evolve towards this target business architecture so that the objectives set by the program owner can be achieved in the most efficient and effective way.

  • Developing the roadmap (in terms of content) and matching dependencies with the other programs and projects, so that together they realize the objectives and operating model of the organization in the most efficient and effective way.

  • Aligning with the IT architecture at the program level so that both business and IT architecture are fully aligned.

  • Transferring (handing over) the architecture framework and architectural scope of a specific project to the Solution Business Architects.

  • Organizing project reviews to validate whether the solution business architecture and the solution business architecture deliverables are in line with the proposed business architecture at program level.

  • Reporting the enterprise business architecture evolutions, planning and points for attention during corporate gate reviews.

  • Managing enterprise business architecture evolutions due to changes such as new strategic goals, new dependencies and new insights from solution business architecture.

  • Supporting the growth in maturity of business architecture within the program and giving advice/coaching to the Solution Business Architect (at project level).

  • Developing enterprise business architecture at the organizational level enabling the enterprise wide view to be built step by step.

  • Validating the changes to the business architecture during the implementation of the program so that the objectives and target operating model are set.

  • Actively contributing to the functioning of the core team so that the program becomes a success!

  • Actively contributing to the community of business architecture so that the business architecture of the organization becomes more coherent.

The Enterprise Business Architect has the following tasks during the course of the program:

  • Fixing the scope of the program.

  • Defining a plan of action to create the target business architecture.

  • Defining the business architecture deliverables and validating them with the Business Architect Responsible for the review of the program.

  • Translating the target operating model into a concrete program business architecture in terms of process, information and organization.

  • Determining the migration strategy to the business architecture to be and defining the steps required to move from as-is architecture to the to-be architecture.

  • Defining and aligning the dependencies with the other programs and projects and documenting them in the dependencies log.

  • Coaching and guiding the Solution Business Architect(s).

  • Validating the solution business architecture deliverables and validating whether these are in line with the proposed business architecture at program level and in the roadmap.

  • Integrating the business architecture deliverables at program level in the documentation of the Enterprise Business architecture.

  • Developing/organizing the business architecture governance at program and project levels.

  • Monitoring that the realization of the program remains in line with the operating model of the domain of operating unit developed, and with the organization.

  • Taking matters to the Corporate Portfolio Board and the Architecture Board (CEO, COO, CIO, Head of Bus. Arch, Head of IT Arch) in the event of issues.

  • Balancing the business architecture concerns versus the other concerns within the core team.

  • Providing advice on all elements of the program (Program Management, Change Management, IT Architecture, Business/IT Resources ...)

  • Taking the lead with the stakeholders (business, project teams ...) on the choices made in the core and program team.

  • Being a point of contact for the program.

  • Ensuring that any concerns raised across the various disciplines are discussed in the core team and that a decision is formulated.

  • Validating the business architecture proposals in the community of Enterprise Business Architects.

  • Giving input and feedback to the colleague Enterprise Business Architects on their proposals.

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