The Bare Minimum in Enterprise Architecture Content

What Do You Really Need?

Enterprise architecture (EA) is often associated with creating vast amounts of documentation, models, and roadmaps. While these outputs are essential to EA practice, it’s easy to get caught up in producing an overwhelming amount of content. The result? Teams spend more time building architecture than using it to drive meaningful change. In the worst cases, documentation becomes an end in itself.

This raises the question: what is the bare minimum EA content needed to deliver real value?

Why Less Is More in EA

More EA content doesn’t necessarily mean better results. The true value of EA lies in its ability to guide decisions, align strategy with operations, IT, and development, and support project planning. To achieve this, EA content must be focused, actionable, and accessible—not exhaustive.

When EA outputs become overly detailed or theoretical, they risk becoming “shelfware”—documentation that’s rarely used or referenced. By adopting a lean approach to EA content, you can ensure it stays relevant, practical, and fully integrated into the organization’s workflows. It also frees up time and resources for high-impact activities, such as supporting EA use.

The Bare Minimum EA Content

In my book on EA, I describe a relatively lean approach to EA documentation. Here, I’ll take it a step further and outline the absolute minimum EA content that still creates value:

1. Business Capabilities

A one-page summary of what the organization does is essential to support strategy work and link strategy to execution. The map should include both current capabilities and a vision of the required future capabilities (usually there aren’t too many).

If capabilities feel too abstract, substitute with a high-level functional overview—such as services, functions, or processes.

Pro tip: Visualize attributes like current maturity and strategic importance to make the diagram relevant to senior leadership. You can collect this data through short interviews with key stakeholders.

2. Core Applications

An application map is a classic EA deliverable—and it’s still highly useful. It helps manage application lifecycles, align IT with business needs, and provide valuable input for projects.

Enhancing the map with information flows or integrations can add significant value, though this requires more effort. These additions can also support compliance needs, such as documenting personal data flows.

Categorize applications logically and visualize attributes like lifecycle phase, technical quality, and costs. Start with the current state but also highlight known upcoming applications.

Pro tip: Link applications to relevant capabilities to strengthen connections between IT and strategic priorities.

3. Bonus: Target-State Vision

Create a one-slide summary of the target state as a high-level vision. This should focus on describing what will change, such as strategic priorities, key capabilities, shared data groups, and critical new IT functionalities.

The timeline for the vision can align with the organization’s strategic plan.

Pro tip: Refer to the classic book Enterprise Architecture as Strategy for examples of effective target-state diagrams.

Is This Truly Sufficient?

You might be wondering: is the bare minimum really enough to meet the needs of EA?

The answer depends on your organization’s priorities and maturity level. Beyond the essentials, there are many other types of EA content that can provide tremendous value. Examples include:

• Architectural Principles: High-level guidelines that help ensure consistency and alignment across projects. They act as a compass, guiding decision-making and creating a shared foundation for architects, developers, and other stakeholders.

• Data Models: Essential for organizations that rely heavily on data. These models structure and define how information is managed and used across the enterprise, serving both as documentation and a foundation for improvement.

• Technology Inventories: Catalogs of technologies in use, their lifecycle stages, and planned upgrades or replacements. These inventories support IT strategy and help manage technical debt while ensuring compatibility with future goals.

• Project Roadmaps: Detailed plans that outline initiatives, timelines, and dependencies. These are invaluable for maintaining strategic alignment and tracking progress toward the target state.

While these and other types of content are undoubtedly useful, they come at a cost: time, resources, and effort. The key is to prioritize content creation based on your organization’s immediate needs and available capacity. Think of the bare minimum EA content as the solid groundwork. These elements are manageable yet impactful and provide the clarity needed to align strategy with execution.

As your EA practice matures, and as resources and expertise grow, you can expand to include additional types of content that address your organization’s unique challenges and goals. For instance, data models may become crucial in managing distributed customer data, while technology inventories might be essential for addressing innovation and technical debt.

How to Keep EA Content Lean

Creating lean, effective EA content isn’t just about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. The goal is to strike a balance between providing enough detail to drive decision-making and avoiding unnecessary complexity that overwhelms stakeholders. By focusing on value, collaboration, and accessibility, you can ensure your EA content remains relevant, actionable, and impactful.

Here’s how to keep your EA content lean and effective:

• Focus on Value: Create content that addresses real organizational needs or solves specific problems. Stakeholders may not always articulate what they need, but the minimum EA content listed above is likely to provide value in most situations.

• Prioritize Collaboration: Involve stakeholders early to ensure content is actionable and reflects their needs. Sometimes, simple validation is enough; in other cases, content may need to be co-created with experts and leaders. When stakeholders contribute to its creation, they’re far more likely to use it.

• Iterate and Refine: Treat EA content as living documentation. Regularly update it to reflect feedback and changes in the business or IT environment.

• Make Content Accessible: Regularly publish the latest EA content on platforms or channels that stakeholders can easily access and navigate. This ensures the content is not only available but also actively utilized in decision-making and daily operations.

What Do You Think?

What do you consider the bare minimum in EA content? Have you struggled with balancing detail and practicality? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments—I’d love to hear them!

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