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IN THIS SECTION, YOU WILL: Get a summary of the articles about doing architecture.

In the following sections, I will introduce several resources that I use as inspiration for running the Grounded Architecture practice in complex organizations. I focus on several topics not typically covered in IT architecture literature, drawing inspiration from different sources, including social sciences, economics, behavioral sciences, product management, and political sciences:

  • The Culture Map: Architects’ Culture Mindfield Compass: In multinational organizations, architects will work with many different cultures. The work of Erin Meyer, The Culture Map, is a beneficial tool for architects to work harmoniously with people from various cultures and backgrounds.
  • Managing Organizational Complexity: Six Simple Rules: Six Simple Rules emphasize that, in xtoday’s complicated business environments, you need to set up organizational structures based on cooperation. To deal with complexity, organizations should depend on the judgment of their people and on these people cooperating to utilize the organization’s capabilities to cope with complex problems.
  • Understanding Product Development: When it comes to product development, I generally recommend two resources for architects: “Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value” by Melissa Perri and “The Discipline of Market Leader,” by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema.
  • Architecture Governance: Mandates, Taxation, Nudge: I promote a technology governance model combining three governing styles: nudging; taxes (economic incentives); mandates, and bans.
  • Economic Modeling: ROI and Financial Options: I sketch two answers to the question of the economic value of technology investments and architecture: the return on investment metaphor and the financial options metaphor.
  • Decision Intelligence in IT Architecture: Decision intelligence is the discipline of turning information into better actions. The future of IT architecture will be closely related to decision intelligence.
  • The Human Side of Decision-Making Decision-making is a human activity subject to human biases and limitations. Fundamental biases influencing decision-making include outcome, hindsight, and confirmation biases.
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