Expedite Requirements by Unlocking Enterprise Architecture

Image created by Ray Siguenza

System owners face an uphill battle when preparing requirements. Did you know according to Forrester [3] and Gartner [2] industry insights, that poor requirements and lack of Enterprise Architecture (EA) alignment delay time-to-value, and increase technical debt and delivery risk? Finding the right people with detailed system knowledge is difficult. The available documentation is often outdated, overly wordy, and lacking clarity. And to make things more complicated, many system owners don’t have the skills to write structured, comprehensive requirements. Yet, there’s an untapped resource that could transform this process: Enterprise Architecture (EA) models.

The Hidden Value of Enterprise Architecture Models

“EA improves traceability, consistency, and stakeholder alignment.” Forrester.

EA provides a structured representation of an organization’s systems, processes, and data flows. However, many businesses fail to recognize its full potential, especially when it comes to defining system requirements.

Instead of scouring outdated documents or chasing down SMEs for insights, a system owner could reference EA models that already capture essential system relationships, dependencies, and functionality. The problem? Most organizations don’t realize these models exist, let alone that they can accelerate decision-making and solution designs.

The Real Challenge: Unawareness and Misuse

Organizations invest in EA but fail to integrate it into daily operations. Often, EA is perceived as an abstract discipline reserved for high-level strategists rather than a practical tool that can streamline technical documentation.

This leads to common inefficiencies:

• Redundant efforts | Teams waste time creating documents that EA models have already captured.

• Disconnected stakeholders | System owners struggle to gather information from various teams who don’t realize EA models consolidate these insights.

• Slow decision-making | Without a clear, visual representation of systems, dependencies, and business processes, requirement gathering becomes sluggish.

Turning Enterprise Architecture into a Strategic Asset

Image created by Ray Siguenza

For EA to become a strategic asset rather than an overlooked framework, organizations must bridge the gap between architects, system owners and Requirement practices. Here’s how:

1. Embed EA Models into Requirement Elicitation Processes | EA should not exist in isolation. It must be an integrated resource for system owners, helping them draft accurate requirements without unnecessary guesswork.

2. Make EA Models More Accessible | Many EA models sit within specialized tools that are unknown to non-architects. Organizations must ensure easy access, whether through dashboards, collaboration platforms, or executive summaries that translate technical details into actionable insights.

3. Educate Teams on EA’s Practical Benefits | A shift in mindset is necessary. CIOs must actively communicate that EA is not just theoretical content, it is a powerful enabler of efficiency, decision-making, and streamlined solution delivery.

4. Create a Feedback Loop | System owners should be encouraged to use EA models and provide feedback. Are the models understandable? Do they align with their needs? Continuous refinement ensures EA remains relevant to business priorities.

7 Questions a CIO should consider to leverage EA to support requirements

The dark and light blue sections in the diagram below depict industry frameworks and thought leadership that highly recommend the alignment of AE into the requirements phase of various Enterprise Change Management frameworks. What follows is a set of questions to help a CIO determine how well aligned their EA practice is to the Requirements practice to improve value delivery.

Image created by Ray Siguenza

Based on a review of CIO, Gartner, Forrester and other industry thought leadership [1] [3][2], here are 7 key questions a CIO should consider to improve requirements and solution delivery time and cost. They shed insight to ensure their EA team is aligned with Requirements efforts across Enterprise Change Management (ECM), SDLC, Agile/SAFe, DevSecOps, strategic planning, and financial planning (e.g., FISMA, CPIC, PPBE).

1. Does EA have a champion or executive sponsor who bridges strategy and customer value delivery?

   1. Leadership visibility ensures EA is aligned with business outcomes and change initiatives.

   2. Drives faster decisions and business and technology resource alignment.

2. Are EA services aligned with business value and change outcomes (not just technical completeness)?

   1. Helps demonstrate EA’s impact on value, speed, cost, and quality.

   2. Encourages customer value-driven architecture work.

3. Is EA embedded in the SDLC and Agile/SAFe delivery pipelines?

   1. Ensures architecture is not an afterthought but a continuous enabler.

   2. Reduces requirements rework and accelerates delivery.

4. Are EA models actively used to inform and validate requirements during change initiatives?

   1. Helps system owners and product teams avoid redundant discovery work.

   2. Reduces time spent eliciting and validating requirements.

5. Is there a Center of Excellence (CoE) or governance body that integrates EA with Project Management (PMO), Business Analysis, DevSecOps and Agile practices?

   1. Promotes reuse, consistency, and architectural guardrails across teams.

   2. Reduces technical debt and accelerates compliance and solution delivery.

6. Are EA artifacts accessible and understandable to non-architect stakeholders (e.g., product owners, business analysts)?

   1. Improves collaboration and speeds up alignment between business and IT.

   2. Reduces miscommunication and delays.

7. How is EA integrated into strategic planning and annual budgeting (e.g., CPIC, PPBE, FISMA)?

   1. Ensures architecture supports investment decisions and compliance.

   2. Supports Portfolio management and reduces budget overruns and misaligned projects.

The Bottom Line

System owners struggle with requirements preparation because they lack structured guidance, wrestle with outdated documentation, and don’t realize EA can provide most of the information they need.

• Standish Group CHAOS Report shared that only 29% of IT projects succeed (on time, on budget, with required features)

  • 52% are challenged (over budget, late, or missing features)

  • 19% fail completely

  • Time overrun: 63%, Cost overrun: 45%

  • 1-10-100 Rule: Fixing a requirement error costs 100x more in maintenance

• IEEE / Davis & Boehm Studies Estimated the cost to fix a defect increases exponentially over time

  • Average cost ratio: 14:1 (requirements vs. maintenance)

  • Worst-case cost ratio: 200:1

This disconnect highlights a broader issue: many organizations don’t understand the true value of EA. By embedding EA into requirement-eliciting processes, making models accessible, and fostering collaboration, businesses can transform EA into a strategic tool that accelerates decisions and optimizes solution designs.

The result? Less frustration. Faster outcomes. And a more connected, intelligent approach to enterprise-wide planning.

References

[1] 8 change management questions every IT leader must answer

[2] Five Questions the CIO Should Be Asking About Enterprise Architecture

[3] Forrester – Change Management Insights