Strategy and architecture - Reconciling worldviews

Abstract

The relationship between strategy and enterprise architecture is troublesome in many organizations. It seems that this cumbersome relationship is similar to the more 'traditional' tension that seemingly exists between business and IT. This paper explores three underlying causes of this tension, most notably (1) overlap in domain of expertise, (2) different languages and (3) different underlying worldviews. It is argued that there is no single solution to resolving this tension. Instead, the tension should be seen as a polarity that must be managed continuously. Only by ensuring that both groups of practitioners have a shared understanding of the issues that the firm faces and are committed to resolving them together can the tension between these groups be relieved. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.