Architecture is not the Production of Models – Interview with Eric Jager

Hi Eric: Let’s kick-off our conversation like a good Enterprise Architecture (EA) project – charting the terminology landscape. How would you define the concepts of Enterprise Architecture and its management?

Enterprise Architecture is the strategic discipline that designs and explains how an enterprise creates coherent value through structure, relationships, and intentional evolution. I am not simply referring to diagrams, application landscapes, capability maps, or technology standards, even though all of those may appear as outputs. From a strategic perspective, Enterprise Architecture is best understood as the disciplined practice of describing how an enterprise is designed to achieve its purpose, how its parts interact, and how change can be guided coherently across time.

Now, when we add the words “management of” to “Enterprise Architecture”, we move from the noun to the verb. Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) is the ongoing orchestration of architectural thinking as a management capability inside the enterprise. Enterprise Architecture describes structure; Enterprise Architecture Management ensures that structure actually influences decisions. EAM is the institutional capability that ensures this design continuously informs decisions, investments, and transformation over time. One defines the enterprise’s logic; the other keeps that logic alive.

And perhaps that is the most important distinction of all: architecture is not the production of models. It is the production of better enterprise choices, repeatedly, under pressure, with incomplete certainty, while the future keeps moving.

EA is not a new discipline. Why is the thinking in structure and methodology still relevant in times of agile development, artificial intelligence and regulatory requirements?

That question goes directly to one of the most persistent misunderstandings around Enterprise Architecture: the assumption that because the enterprise moves faster, architecture should become lighter. In reality, the opposite is true. The more speed an organization acquires, the more valuable structural thinking becomes. Speed without structure does not create agility; it creates turbulence.

Enterprise Architecture is indeed not new. What changes over time is not the need for architecture, but the form in which architecture must operate. It does not stand in front of delivery saying “wait until the model is perfect”. Instead, it creates a set of stable structural conditions inside which many fast decisions can safely occur.

There is also a deeper reason architecture remains relevant: technology changes faster than institutional complexity does. All of the past and current trends accelerate execution, but they do not eliminate politics, legacy commitments, mergers, budget cycles, regulatory obligations, or conflicting incentives. The enterprise remains a human institution before it becomes a technical one. And human institutions naturally drift toward inconsistency unless deliberate structural thinking counters that drift.

That is why Enterprise Architecture still matters today perhaps more than ever. Because modern enterprises are simultaneously asked to be fast, intelligent, compliant, resilient, sustainable, and economically disciplined. Those demands do not align automatically. Someone must interpret their structural consequences. That “someone” is the Enterprise Architect.

Or put differently: agile helps you move faster, AI helps you think faster, regulation forces you to prove responsibility. But Enterprise Architecture helps ensure all three can coexist without tearing the enterprise apart.

You wrote two comprehensive books on EA. One is on the TOGAF Standard, the other on your approach called the EA Wheel. When should I take a look on which one?

The first book you should read depends on your interests and level of expertise. My first book, Getting Started with Enterprise Architecture (2023), covers the fundamentals of Enterprise Architecture. It demonstrates how to implement a basic Enterprise Architecture from start to finish using a four-stage, wheel-based approach. The Enterprise Architecture Implementation Wheel is based on the structure and flow of the TOGAF Standard, but reorganizes them into four main stages: Document, Define, Execute, and Control. Each stage is broken down into one or more steps, each of which includes key focus areas and actionable artifacts. Rather than aiming for exhaustive coverage, the EA Wheel provides a scalable foundation that organizations can build upon as they mature. It establishes a solid basis for effectively adopting and applying the core principles of the TOGAF Standard.

As the title suggests, my second book, Mastering the TOGAF® Standard (2025), is all about learning the ins and outs of the world’s leading architecture framework. It shows readers how to use the framework as a comprehensive guide to implementing Enterprise Architecture. The book includes a detailed account of TOGAF’s history and evolution, as well as in-depth descriptions of architecture governance, implementation of the architecture capability, and tailoring of the framework. The book also contains a thorough description of the Architecture Development Method, its techniques, and its application. All content is supported by clear, comprehensive visualizations.

Besides reading your books – what else could I do as an EA newbie to familiarize myself with the topic?

Reading books – including mine – is useful because they provide language and conceptual anchors. However, EA only becomes real when someone begins to notice architecture in everyday organizational behavior. Newcomers should start observing how decisions are made inside an enterprise, such as who approves investments, where priorities collide, why two departments describe the same customer differently, and why one initiative moves quickly while another stalls for months. These tensions are the living material of architecture.

While understanding frameworks such as the TOGAF Standard is useful, they should be approached as lenses, not destinations. An EA newcomer should accept that architecture is learned through ambiguity. There is rarely one correct answer. Two architects may describe the same enterprise differently, and both descriptions may be useful if they help make better decisions.

This is why the profession remains fascinating; you are never merely learning a method. You are learning how to think structurally under uncertainty.

Let’s switch the perspective. Imagine I’m a managing director of a medium-sized company. What are the quick and easy to realize benefits of Enterprise Architecture?

From a managing director’s perspective, the most convincing benefits of Enterprise Architecture are rarely the grand, long-term promises. Rather, executives usually begin to appreciate EA the moment it alleviates the friction they experience weekly.

The quickest visible benefit is clarity in decision-making. Enterprise Architecture provides a clearer view of what the company depends on, including which processes are critical, which systems are central, where duplication exists, and where change has unintended consequences. This clarity often shortens management discussions because fewer decisions are made in partial blindness.

Enterprise Architecture helps management identify accidental complexity. Once that becomes visible, small simplifications can produce an immediate economic effect. There are fewer duplicate tools and conflicting projects, approvals are faster, and there is less operational improvisation.

Let’s now take a look into the future: Where is the journey of EA heading?

Looking ahead, the future of Enterprise Architecture is not a march toward larger frameworks, but rather, toward greater embedding and data-driven processes. The old image of EA as a periodic modeling discipline is fading. The new image is closer to a strategic navigation function that operates continuously as the enterprise changes in real time.

One of the clearest trends is that EA tools are becoming intelligent rather than merely descriptive. Traditional repositories were essentially architecture libraries, which were useful but passive. Modern platforms increasingly use AI to suggest dependencies, simulate the impact of changes, and generate initial capability maps or transition scenarios. These tools are being positioned less as repositories and more as decision support environments. Architecture is becoming a living analytical layer rather than documentation stored for governance meetings.

Enterprise Architects will increasingly act as translators between technical possibility and institutional responsibility. They will need to understand application landscapes, model behavior, decision boundaries, auditability, and policy design. In practical terms, architecture is moving upward toward control and strategic design.

So, where is EA heading? Toward becoming smaller in ceremony, stronger in influence, richer in analytics, and much closer to executive decision-making than many traditional EA organizations ever imagined. Perhaps the profession’s most ironic future truth is this: the more machines help us generate architecture, the more valuable human architectural judgment becomes.

Last question: If you were to recommend a book for Enterprise Architecture, which one should it be?

Honestly, there are many books available that discuss the Enterprise Architecture profession in depth. They all contain valuable information, but which book stands out more depends on what you’re looking for. Many of these books are very theoretical. This makes most of them come off as dry.

My book, Getting Started with Enterprise Architecture, offers a fresh perspective on EA. It is written in a narrative style. Unlike other books that describe the theory of an architectural framework, this book reads like a story rather than a reference work, avoiding a static writing style.

Furthermore, the language used in the book is accessible. Difficult words and excessive jargon are avoided, and terms and definitions are explained using recognizable language. Enterprise Architecture is a field with many definitions, so it’s important to use them carefully. However, they can also be explained in a more accessible way. I have done so in the book, which is why I recommend it.

Christopher Schulz conducted the interview with Eric Jager via email on March 19, 2026.

About Eric Jager