a very common tragedy (chapter 17)

Although the tragedy of the commons is best known in economics, ecology, and other sciences, I think we can observe such behaviour in technology strategy and architecture, it is just harder to notice it for what it is. We can also look at some principles from Elinor Ostrom on how collectives successfully manage this problem…

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the 7 wastes of architecture

The concept of the seven wastes comes from lean thinking. Lean is based on the Toyota Production System (TPS). Lean thinking has provided significant benefit to many people through its impact on manufacturing, service provisioning (including healthcare), and technology development, along with many other industries. Importantly, these people benefits have been to customers, shareholders, and…

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enterprise architecture as philosophy

By Michael D. Stark. The Discipline of Enterprise Architecture – How EA Can Leverage Philosophy to Mature. Could it be that case that when we are doing enterprise architecture we are actually engaged in a philosophical activity? If you look at the history of philosophy there is a case to be made. It is hard…

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what nature can teach us about target state architecture

By Michael D. Stark.  As Enterprise Architects we talk a lot about the mythical target state.  But do we ever get to this target state, and would we actually want to be there if we did.  Perhaps nature can teach us much about how we ought to think about the target state.  We return to…

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you can’t get an ought from an is

By Michael D. Stark. You can’t get an ought from an is.  This famous concept from the great Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711–76) has interesting implications for Enterprise Architects.  Hume observed that people seem to derive what ought to be done by citing facts about what is, yet logically there seems to be a gap,…

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