Andrew Guitarte, Business Architect Wells Fargo, Founding Chairman Business Architecture Society

This week, Stephen Ibaraki has an exclusive interview with Andrew Guitarte.

Andrew Guitarte, PMP, CBAP is the AVP/Business Architect of Internet Services at Wells Fargo Bank. Mr. Guitarte is also the founding Chairman/CEO of the Business Architecture Society and a delegate to the Federation of Enterprise Architecture Professional Organizations (FEAPO). He has more than 20 years' experience as a Senior Project Manager and Business Analyst managing complex projects and teams in the US, Brazil, Philippines, and southeast Asia. His research interests include strategic issues in banking, enterprise architecture, and electronic governance. Mr. Guitarte holds an MS in Computer Science from Ateneo de Manila University and is a doctoral candidate in business administration at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He can be reached at acguitarte@basociety.com.

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

The latest blog on the interview can be found in the IT Managers Connection (IMC) forum where you can provide your comments in an interactive dialogue.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/cdnitmanagers/

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic
:00:32:		Andrew, can you overview your past roles and societal contributions and how you succeeded in each role? "....My background is mathematics and I went into the Masters program for Computer Science where I majored in Artificial Intelligence. A shift happened when I was working for IBM at the turn of the century....I thought maybe there was a way that I could bridge that gap between IT and business...."
:02:05:		What are some key sharable lessons from each of your roles? "....Being a business leader demands not only business acumen, but you also need to have a deep sense and appreciation of the technology that drives the business....The flipside of that is that we in technology tend to delegate part of running a business to the business folks, which is where the business architecture profession and discipline comes in...."
:05:23:		Can you profile the Federation of Enterprise Architecture Professional Organization (FEAPO) and its value to its members and to the external community? "....FEAPO in its vision and mission seeks to unite the different components of enterprise architecture into a holistic vision of what it is currently and what should be the target state for enterprise architecture...."
:06:56:		Andrew shares the history behind the Business Architecture Society. "....Our mantra is that this is business architects for business architects....What makes us distinct from other associations with the same kind of thrust is that we are Chapter based. We feel very strongly for us to grow at this grassroots level we need to create local chapters across North America and across the world, where fellow business architects can meet and share knowledge, success stories, best practices, etc...."
:08:26:		What are some of the goals of the Business Architecture Society for 2012 and beyond? "....One of the work streams that we are actively involved in is the creation of the Business Architecture Body of Knowledge handbook....We are also seeking greater participation in FEAPO...."
:09:39:		What is the value of business architecture? "....Business architecture is slowly but surely going into the mainstream of IT....What is happening is that there is a shift that is occurring among us, and that is for IT to be relevant in today's age it has to be strongly co-ordinated and intertwined with the business goals of an organization. Enterprise architecture should be and must be business architecture oriented...."
:11:08:		What are the key diagrams and models you recommend for business architecture and why? "....One of the key deliverables that is widely implemented here in Wells Fargo for example, is the business capability model or a business capability map...."
:12:40:		Why is there a growing need to clarify Enterprise Architecture and how would you define Enterprise Architecture? "....As I mentioned earlier there's a shift that's happening within the Enterprise Architecture world in that we've always had that stigma that Enterprise Architecture is IT, not business. That's where the concept of transforming our vision to becoming more business oriented architecture and in short, calling it business architecture. The idea is that as more of the stakeholders from business become more important in our equation, shareholders will demand more from everyone (not just from IT)...."
:15:10:		How would you clearly differentiate a Business Analyst from an Enterprise Architect? "....The main distinguishing factor is in the area of influence and scope....It's really a rebranding exercise and once the rebranding is done, people benefit from it...."
:20:11:		What are some top recommended business architecture best practices? "....Start a business architecture practice in your organization....Start aligning with a senior business executive....Grab a business book and read it from cover to cover (and I'm specifically targeting IT people)...."
:22:33:		What are some top challenges in your current role as a working business architect? "....If I propose something, a prioritization scheme for projects and ideas in our business capability model, I know that it will take years before the organization buys into that concept....Another challenge might be that 'what if' when we come out with the business architecture body of knowledge handbook, there is a deluge of demand. There's a leadership crisis I would see happening pretty soon not just with the Society but also with the Guild in terms of trying to lead an army of would-be business architects saying yes, that is what I want to do...."
:24:52:		How will you measure success? "....Success for us is not measured in terms of dollar revenues or how much we've contributed to the bottom line....However that doesn't excuse us from being able to come up with hard metrics...."
:28:45:		What are the top resources that you use? "....The toolkit that we use is an accumulation of several toolkits from other professions. One of the key professions that I found very helpful when I do my work is the business analysis toolbox...."
:31:29:		Do you have any web resources that the audience can go to? "....If you are looking for a general overview of business architecture, you can go to our resources page on our website: http://www.basociety.com and click on the Resources tab. That's a good start....Other sites that talk about business architecture; for example, the Open Group has their own section on business architecture. The Object Management Group (OMG), a special interest group that mainly deals with business architecture...."
:33:18:		What are the top disruptive technologies and how will they have impact? "....Consumerization of IT....The XAAS phenomenon (the X there is the wildcard for any application, platform, software and AAS means As A Service)...."
:37:47:		What specific challenges and opportunities should IT practitioners and businesses embrace today and into the future? "....You have to have a different tactic when you are in a recession versus when you are in a boom state. The tactic there is that we have to retool or re-skill because this is the time to prepare for the wave which is coming. Specifically it's education with more focus on business because of the consumerization of IT and more of the tasks that we do today are slowly being outsourced to the major cloud provider....Retooling, re-skilling on the language of business...."
:42:32:		What innovations should we be watching for in the future? "....User Generated Content (UGC)...."
:44:22:		What are some areas of controversy in the areas that you work? "....Just like in any paradigm shift there will be some winners and losers, especially in business architecture where there is a growing debate on what business architecture is....The main controversy there is unfortunately there can only be one definition of business architecture that can emerge as a winner...."
:47:13:		What is the value in professional associations for computing professionals? "....It's really the ability to shake hands with fellow enthusiasts, especially in a world that has gone virtual and multitasking, the value of having a face-to-face encounter with someone who is as passionate as you are in your area of interest is invaluable. That's why in professional organizations, especially in the Business Architecture Society where we are Chapter-based, we highly recommend having face-to-face meetings at least once a quarter in order to enhance this experience...."
:48:17:		What are your thoughts on computing as a recognized profession with demonstrated professional development, adherence to a code of ethics, and recognized non-licensing based credentials? [See http://www.ipthree.org and the Global Industry Council,  http://www.ipthree.org/about-ip3/global-advisory-council] "....I'm a big proponent of credentials and certification and compliance to a code of standards and ethics....I strongly believe that for us to succeed as a society we need to be accountable to one another. As you rightly mentioned, professions such as medicine and accounting have been highly successful because of that. They are able to police their own ranks, self-govern and self-regulate and that's why people are attracted because of the high level of quality...."
:52:32:		Andrew shares his deep insights on the following 5-part question. These are his candid thoughts on emerging technologies; that is from the CIO position versus the CTO position. The five parts are: technology to grow revenue versus technology to increase efficiencies; the impact of business driving the technology decisions; the technology perspectives from the customer's point of view; whether CIOs are becoming the chief innovation officer; what are some other hot topics.
:01:00:17:		Andrew shares his deep insights in another 5-part question which involves the board's point of view. He shares his candid thoughts on what boards are really thinking on the following areas: the board's top 3 concerns as it relates to the integration of technology and business; who do board members rely on within the organization; deploying an IT governance program; innovation and its impact on the organization's future success; preparing the work force for the future. "....In terms of the role of the board, it's really a check and balance for the operations team, but there has to be that distinct line drawn that by mandate that they should not demand or dictate how to implement or operationalize ideas because that is best left to the management team...."
:01:10:51:		: From your extensive speaking, travels and work, please share three stories (amusing, surprising, unexpected, amazing). "....I love to give back to society whatever I learn....I know that in the long term, my future goal is to help my fellow countryman improve their lives...."
:01:12:19:		: If you were doing this interview, what question would you ask and then what would be your answer? "....What do you enjoy doing most?...."