Ross is Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research. Weill is director of CISR and Senior MIT Sloan Senior Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Robertson is professor at IMD International (Lausanne, Switzerland).
How can research and executive education make a breakthrough in understanding and improving IT architecture efforts? According to Ross, Weill, and Robertson, the focus of initiatives needs to be on enterprise architecture, “the organizing logic for core business processes and IT infrastructure reflecting the standardization and integration of a company’s operating model.” Enterprise architecture boils down to these two concepts: business process integration and business process standardization. “In short, enterprise architecture is not an IT issue–it’s a business issue.” In this volume, Ross, Weill, and Robertson explain what top-performing organizations do and how they do it so that other organizations can be guided and informed in their efforts to improve their own performance. They respond to questions such as these:
There must be effective leadership at all levels and in all areas of a given organization while creating a foundation for business execution. Everyone involved must be committed to the foundation, help to identify and remove barriers to progress, “feed the core” with continuous experimentation, use the architecture as a “compass and communication tool,” and collaborate with others while proceeding through each stage. In the final chapter, Ross, Weill, and Robertson explain why companies which have learned how to implement and manage standardized and integrated processes are best prepared for the realities of the marketplace. “A foundation for execution allows a company to automate predictable processes so management can focus on higher-value tasks like innovating, partnering, and identifying new opportunities. The foundation empowers employees and enriches jobs by reducing redundant and tedious tasks while providing the information needed to innovate and customize.”
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