Fundamentals of Enterprise Architecture

Chapter 9. Tangible Direction over Stale Documentation

The second enterprise architecture principle in the very short manifesto for effective enterprise architecture is tangible direction over stale documentation.

Tangible in the context of this principle is referring to the metaphorical meaning of having a measurable value rather than the literal meaning of being perceptible by touch. Measurable value in the context of architecture output is synonymous with business value. The architectural direction must have a clear association with business value to be effective. This association is what transforms documentation, a typical vehicle of delivering architectural direction, into tangible direction.

Documentation done well can provide several benefits:

Enable collaboration and communication

Documents and diagrams help focus conversations and accelerate getting people on the same page to talk through problem-solving. In addition, documentation preserves a historical record that can help teams avoid rehashing the same topic over and over again. It is typically easier to react to something tangible that is written down and/or visualized than talked about in the abstract.

Provide clarity

Clear documentation and diagrams facilitate efficient and effective understanding of a technology solution, an architecture domain, or interactions across domains. Clarity reduces operational inefficiency that occurs from misunderstanding or misalignment.

Identify risk-based insights

Clear documents ...