The enterprise as story
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The enterprise as story

The role of narrative in enterprise-architecture

About the Book

Most current approaches to enterprise-architecture describe everything in terms of structure. Yet people work better with story than with structure - and people are the enterprise. As we expand the architecture towards a true whole-of-enterprise scope, we need to describe the enterprise as story. Story is everywhere in the architecture - even the enterprise itself is a story.

This ground-breaking book places story at centre-stage for the architecture, itself using a narrative structure to explore the role of narrative in enterprise-architecture. Via business story-structures such as the Market-Cycle, and genres such as We Sell Certainty, it shows how stories underpin every aspect of the enterprise - and how we can use story within the architecture to enhance overall enterprise effectiveness.

Topics covered include:

  • how to use story and narrative to assist in sensemaking for architecture
  • how to create engagement in the architecture through story
  • how to balance structure and story for better business results
  • how to identify and use business-story genres to guide overall architecture
  • how to change the organisation's relationships with its 'anti-clients' from business-risk to business-opportunity
  • how to use story-patterns to identify and resolve strategic business-issues
  • how to leverage your own experience to create stronger architecture stories

If you want to create real engagement in the architecture and the enterprise, this is one book you'll definitely need.

The Tetradian Enterprise Architecture Series presents new developments on theory, principles and practice of enterprise architecture – moving beyond IT to the whole enterprise.

About the Author

Tom Graves
Tom Graves

Tom Graves has been an independent consultant for more than four decades, in business transformation, enterprise architecture and knowledge management. His clients in Europe, Australasia and the Americas cover a broad range of industries including small-business, banking, utilities, manufacturing, logistics, engineering, media, telecoms, research, defence and government. He has a special interest in whole-enterprise architectures for non-profit, social, government and commercial enterprises.

Table of Contents

  1. The enterprise as story
    1. The role of narrative in enterprise-architecture
  2. Introduction
    1. The enterprise as story
    2. Who is this for?
    3. What's in this book?
  3. 01: Everyday enterprise architecture
    1. Application
  4. Interlude
    1. Application
  5. 02: What's the story?
    1. Application
  6. Interlude
    1. Application
  7. 03: Narrative and story
    1. Application
  8. 04: The structure of story
    1. Application
  9. Interlude
    1. Application
  10. 05: Circular stories
    1. Application
  11. Interlude
    1. Application
  12. 06: Defining the story
    1. Application
  13. Interlude
    1. Application
  14. 07: Where is the story?
    1. Application
  15. 08: When is the story?
    1. Application
  16. 09: Whose story?
    1. Application
  17. 10: Who owns the story?
    1. Application
  18. 11: Which story?
    1. Application
  19. Interlude
    1. Application
  20. 12: Finding the voice
    1. Application
  21. 13: Maintain the tension
    1. Application
  22. Interlude
    1. Application
  23. 14: Betraying the story
    1. Application
  24. 15: Start again
    1. Application
  25. 16: Start anywhere
    1. Application
  26. Interlude
    1. Application
  27. 17: Put myself in the story
    1. Application
  28. 18: The story-doctors
    1. Application
  29. Interlude
    1. Application
  30. 19: Win without the fight
    1. Application
  31. 20: Wrap up the story
    1. Application
  32. Appendix: Sources and resources
    1. Sources
    2. The Tetradian Enterprise Architecture series
    3. Other resources

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