How Agile and Architecture can work together
I headed in parallel the Architecture and Innovation team when I was with Zurich. This was more an interim solution than a thought long-term strategy.
Over the years I learnt this ‘accident’ was, besides all the problems we faced, a lucky chance.
Architecture, as I knew and practiced before, was typically more an independent and often isolated governance discipline. It was neither a delivery unit nor was it bound and connected to business development and innovation.
Managing both disciplines empowered architecture in an unknown way. This new mix provided a different way of understanding business and innovation. Supporting the implementation of ideation and incubation directly payed back into the enterprise continuum and increased acceptance.
![](http://deliverythinking.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/flo-300x225.jpg)
Yes, we could have done better. From a retrospective view our activities haven’t been synchronised with this kind of thinking and strategy. But our experiences now can be.
Possessing this knowledge now I would directly start from scratch with this mix. Provided the upper management also believes in this story like I do now.
This
referenced white paper about Agile Architecture addresses a comparable approach.
Nice read by the CIO magazine.