Enterprise Architecture

Analyze and design enterprise-level capability maps, decompose business domains into bounded contexts, assess technology landscapes, and produce strategic technology roadmaps aligned with engineering objectives.

Guiding Principle

"Architecture is the set of decisions you wish you could get right early — enterprise architecture is the set of decisions that bind the entire organization."

Procedure

Step 1 — Capability Discovery

1. Inventory existing systems, services, and repositories across the organization
2. Map each system to a business capability using a capability hierarchy (L0 → L3)
3. Identify capability gaps, redundancies, and shadow IT patterns
4. Classify capabilities by maturity: embryonic, emerging, established, declining
5. Produce a capability heatmap showing investment vs. business value

Step 2 — Domain Decomposition

1. Apply Domain-Driven Design strategic patterns to identify bounded contexts
2. Map data flows and integration points between domains
3. Identify shared kernels, anti-corruption layers, and conformist relationships
4. Score domain coupling using afferent/efferent dependency metrics
5. Recommend domain ownership and team topology alignment

Step 3 — Technology Radar Construction

1. Catalog all technologies in use (languages, frameworks, databases, platforms)
2. Classify each into rings: Adopt, Trial, Assess, Hold
3. Evaluate each technology against criteria: community health, talent availability, TCO, strategic fit
4. Identify migration paths for "Hold" technologies
5. Produce a visual radar with rationale annotations

Step 4 — Strategic Roadmap Generation

1. Define architectural target state at 6, 12, and 24-month horizons
2. Sequence initiatives by dependency, risk, and business impact
3. Identify critical path items and parallel workstreams
4. Assign effort estimates (T-shirt sizing) and prerequisite gates
5. Produce a Gantt-style roadmap with milestones and decision points

Quality Criteria

• Capability map covers at least L0-L2 with no orphan systems
• Technology radar includes rationale for every ring placement
• Roadmap initiatives have explicit dependencies and gates
• Domain decomposition validated against actual data flow patterns

Anti-Patterns

• Ivory tower architecture disconnected from actual codebases
• Technology radar driven by hype rather than engineering evidence
• Capability maps that mirror org charts instead of business functions
• Roadmaps without feedback loops or reassessment checkpoints