On Complexity and Enterprise Architecture

COMPLEXITY: INTRODUCTION

COMPLEXITY: COMPLEXITY AND CHAOS

Order, unorder and effectiveness

On chaos in enterprise-architecture

Control, complexity and chaos

Control, complex, chaotic

Obliquity, serendipity and purpose

Uniqueness and serendipity in enterprise-architecture

Uniqueness and coincidensity

Requisite-variety and stormy weather

Requisite-fuzziness

Rules, principles and the Inverse-Einstein Test

Complex, complicated, and Einstein’s dice

Enterprise-architecture is wicked

1. Tame-problems and wicked-problems
2. Designing for wickedness

Not so wicked

COMPLEXITY: COMPLEXITY AND SENSEMAKING

Sensemaking and the flocking of Boyds

Sense, make-sense, decide, act

Sensemaking – modes and disciplines

1. Four modes and seven sins
2. Emphasis and tactics within each mode

Sensemaking: Into the void

Making sense in disruption

Against fragmentation

Down the rabbit-hole with ‘evidence-based’

Viable System Model and Group Dynamics cycle

Mapping architectures to the Viable System Model

COMPLEXITY: COMPLEXITY AND METHOD

Which complexity?

Same and different

On mass-uniqueness

When identical is not the same as equal

Checklists and complexity

1. Plain sailing in stormy weather
2. Shaping a checklist
3. Implications for enterprise-architecture

The fourth checklist

Causal Layered Analysis, SCCC, and Cynefin

1. On Causal Layered Analysis
2. Context-space mapping with domains of Causal Layered Analysis
3. Causal Layered Analysis, time-compression and social stress
4. A practical summary

Sinan Si Alhir on antifragility

Fractality in Five Elements method

Documenting the Not-known

Dotting the joins (the JEA version)

1. Dotting the joins: the adverse effects of specialization
2. Joining the dots

COMPLEXITY: COMPLEXITY AND SCAN

“Let’s do a quick SCAN on this”

Using SCAN: some quick examples

1. Requirements definition
2. EA reference-framework

A simpler SCAN

1. Between sameness and uniqueness
2. From plan to action
3. Summary

Problem-space, solution-space and SCAN

Two SCAN notes - 1: Edges

1. Overview
2. Edge of action (Simple :: Complicated)
3. Edge of uncertainty (Complicated :: Ambiguous)
4. Edge of innovation (Ambiguous :: Not-known)
5. Edge of panic (Simple :: Not-known)
6. Linking it all together

Two SCAN notes - 2: Causal Layered Analysis

Quick SCAN examples

1. #1: ‘SCAN in two minutes’
2. #2a: The toddler’s tantrum (N>A>C>S>N)
3. #2b: The scientist’s story (N>A>C>S (>N))
4. #3a: The trainee’s tale ((N>) S>C>A>N)
5. #3b: The quality-manager’s quest (S>C>A>N)
6. #4: The surgeon’s story