Hi Tony,
That's an interesting question. The role of an enterprise architect is often loosely defined by organisations. When I look at hiring EAs, they all come from different backgrounds (e.g. solution architects, infrastructure architects, information architects, business architects, business analysts etc). The one unifying thing that I find that enables them to transition to EA is a common language and concepts of portfolio management and capability design. The two most common frameworks for these are TOGAF and Zachman. Others are used in specific industries (e.g. FEAF, DODAF). They all try to break down the concept of business capability in a way that can be catalogued, decomposed, analysed and designed. I see some certifications for products or domains (e.g. SABSA for security, ITIL for service management) sometimes listed in relation to EA. In my view these are reference models for specific capabilities, which an EA should be able to adopt and weave into the more general capability framework they use.
To me, any generalised EA framework is fine, as the concept of abstraction is what is important, not the specific certification/framework. If a person has demonstrated the application of a structured approach to capability analysis and design, that indicates they have the abstraction and analytical aptitude to be an EA. They should be able to adopt whatever framework happens to be used in any specific industry/organisation, and not be tied to just one practice. This reflects my personal approach to EA, which is to use whatever works for the specific organisation I am trying to assist, and to fit the EA practice to their maturity level and culture.
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Geoff Manning
Lead Enterprise Architect
Australian Federal Police
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-01-2023 01:20 PM
From: Tony Mills
Subject: Enterprise Architecture Certifications
What do people recommend as certifications for Enterprise Architects ? Thanks.
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Tony Mills
Solution Architect
IP Australia
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