CIOs Urged to Define Enterprise Architect Roles to Avoid Stalled Value

Enterprise architects are frequently tasked with impossible mandates, leading to a dilution of focus that stalls progress. Andrew Kum-Seun, research director at Info-Tech, notes that organizations often expect architects to be universal problem solvers, which ultimately undermines their influence. The firm’s new blueprint, Build a Better Enterprise Architect, encourages leaders to move away from generic job descriptions and instead anchor the role to specific, measurable business outcomes.

Refining the Architectural Mandate

Defining the role requires more than listing technical competencies. Info-Tech’s framework highlights that successful architects must balance deep technical knowledge with storytelling, relationship-building, and analytical communication. The firm suggests a three-phase shift: establishing a context-specific role definition, assessing skills gaps based on a chosen orientation, and mapping development milestones to clear stakeholder value. By narrowing the focus to a high-impact mandate, architects can stop chasing broad expectations and start delivering results that justify their seat at the table. Caleb Pittman, a research specialist at the firm, emphasizes that when architects abandon the urge to please everyone, their ability to drive organizational change scales significantly.