6 Ways to Measure Your Enterprise Architecture Practice
How to start measuring enterprise architecture effectively – even when it feels hard
In over 15 years of working with enterprise architecture (EA) in various roles and organizations, one thing has consistently stood out to me: EA rarely gets measured. This is surprising—especially considering how thoroughly most other organizational functions are tracked and evaluated.
Yet measurement is foundational to good management. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it—or even know if it is beneficial. You also can’t show progress, drive improvements, or build credibility with decision-makers.
While measuring the actual, organization-level benefits of EA can be tricky (given their indirect nature, as discussed in a previous article), there are still plenty of things you can start measuring right away. And if you approach it with focus and simplicity, measuring EA is not only possible, it’s also practical.
Start Small and Stay Focused
The first step is to get clear on what you want to measure, how to measure it, and why it matters. You don’t need a complex framework or a huge data collection effort. A lightweight plan—woven into your EA operating model—is usually enough to get started.
Here’s what I’ve found works in practice.
1. Maturity Assessment
Begin by evaluating the maturity of your EA practice. Are you doing the basics well? What’s working and what’s not? Use a simple, established maturity model to highlight gaps and improvements. Don’t overthink it: your EA lead’s informed view—tempered by some honest self-criticism—can go a long way. If you’re stuck, an external consultant can also help.
2. EA Outputs
Measure what the EA team actually produces and at what cost. Be careful here—counting the number of diagrams or slides can encourage pointless busywork. Instead, track tangible deliverables: finalized architecture content types (like capability maps or target state views) and produced services (like consultations with projects, architecture reviews, and support for decision-making).
3. Quality of Outputs
Next, ensure those deliverables meet your standards. A quick check against your modeling guidelines or other internal quality criteria will do. Are diagrams clear, consistent, and usable? Are they tied to real business or IT needs?
4. Stakeholder Satisfaction
Ask the people who use EA content—project managers, solution architects, IT leaders, business strategists—if it’s helping them. Even lightweight surveys or informal interviews can reveal a lot. Tailor your questions: for example, project teams might care about solution architecture support, while executives want to see how EA shapes strategic priorities.
5. EA Outcomes
Try to measure how EA influences day-to-day decisions and planning. Are projects more aligned with strategic goals? Are there fewer surprises in delivery? Is collaboration improving across teams? These effects can be tricky to capture directly, since hard data on EA’s immediate impact is often lacking. But even anecdotal feedback and project-level observations can be telling.
6. Organizational Benefits
Finally, look at EA’s longer-term impact on the organization’s agility, resilience, and cost-effectiveness. This might include reduced duplication, smoother integrations, or faster time-to-market. While hard to quantify precisely, you can gather evidence from IT assessments and development initiatives—and even compare similar efforts with and without EA support.
A Final Note: It’s Not Just Numbers
Ultimately, measuring EA isn’t about endless KPIs or flashy dashboards. It’s about showing that EA isn’t just theory—it’s an enabler of real outcomes. And it doesn’t have to be complicated: start with what’s easiest and most essential.
Begin with maturity assessments, track how stakeholders see EA’s value, and measure your own team’s work. These first steps give you a clear baseline and help you refine your approach over time.
And remember: if EA isn’t measured, it risks becoming invisible—just another dusty library of diagrams. Keep it lean, keep it honest, and tie it back to real organizational impact.
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