Presentation for Integrated-EA 2015 (enterprise-architecture conference, London, March 2015) Every enterprise-architecture needs to address not only the visible elements of the context, but also its invisible elements - information, connections between people, and purpose. (The focus of the conference is enterprise-architecture for the Defence context - hence the decidedly military flavour of the overall slidedeck and some of the visual-jokes. There's also some new work on complexity and the SCAN sensemaking/decision-making framework, around the importance and interdependence of 'commander's intent' and real-world information-flows.)

1. Invisible armies
information, purpose and the real enterprise
Tom Graves, Tetradian Consulting
Integrated EA Conference, London, March 2015
the futures of business

2. This one’s
about a ladder…
CC-BY-NC-ND shannonmary via Flickr

3. a spiky thing…
CC-BY-NC-ND jhardy1 via Flickr

4. and invisible armies
CC-BY-NC-SA anne-ostsee via Flickr
(you can’t see them, but they’re always there…)

5. but first, two words…

6. auftragstaktik!
fingerspitzengefühl!

7. I’m not swearing at you
– honest!

8. they’re German military terms…
CC-BY-SA ooocha via Flickr
(probably typified by this guy?)

9. “auftragstaktik”
translates as
“order-tactic”
or, more loosely,
“commander’s intent”

10. “fingerspitzengefühl”
translates as
“finger-tip feeling”
or, more loosely,
“everything at the finger-tips”

11. …both of which we need
in business and elsewhere

12. So how does this work,
in an architectural sense?

13. An army has lots of things…
CC-BY armymaterielcommand via Flickr

14. lots of stuff…
CC-BY-NC 20bdephotographer via Flickr

15. always more
stuff…
CC-BY armymaterielcommand via Flickr

16. and people too
– the visible army
CC-BY-NC marine_corps via Flickr

17. but all that stuff can’t
stand up on its own
– it needs more to
support it
CC-BY-NC-SA 39825511@N08 via Flickr

18. Information is part of this,
of course…

19. (“Every business is
an information business”)

20. audible information…
(source not known)

21. visible information…
CC-BY-ND funfilledgeorgie via Flickr

22. not-so-visible information…
CC-BY-NC-SA owenhurrell via Flickr

23. invisible information
CC-BY-SA timo_w2s via Flickr
(an invisible army of information)

24. made visible (sort-of…)
CC-BY-NC-ND US DoD via Flickr

25. That invisible army
of information
may create new possibilities
for ‘secret weapons’…

26. German secret weapon, WWII
CC-BY-SA ooocha via Flickr
(actually not this guy…)

27. (…US attache in Cairo using a broken codebook)
(via Keith Lockstone)

28. British secret weapon, WWII
(source not known)

29. British secret weapon, WWII
Medmenham Collection

30. US not-secret weapon, WWII
CC-BY-ND caveman_92223 via Flickr

31. US secret weapon, WWII
CC-BY-SA ooocha via Flickr

32. British secret weapon, today
CC-BY-NC defenceimages via Flickr

33. different senses,
different data…
CC-BY-NC defenceimages via Flickr

34. but there’s also
misinformation…

35. “…someone had blunder’d”
order from Lord Raglan to Lord Lucan, Balaklava, 25 October 1854

36. “…someone had blunder’d”
William Simpson, ‘A Detailed Depiction of the Charge of the Light Brigade’, from ‘The Seat of War in the East, 1855-6’

37. and deliberate
disinformation…

38. How do you fake one of these?
(source not known)
(Operation Taxable,
D-Day, 6 June
1944)

39. Answer: use a handful of these...
CC-BY-SA nick_1301 via Wikipedia

40. a bunch of these…
CC-BY-ND caveman_92223 via Flickr

41. and these…
(source not known)
with some
of these.

42. Information is important, yet
stuff plus information
is still not enough
to stand on its own…

43. (two nails)
CC-BY-NC-SA w-tommerdich via Flickr

44. We need four dimensions
CC-BY-NC-ND jhardy1 via Flickr

45. Four dimensions:
• stuff
• information
• relations
• purpose

46. Four dimensions:
• stuff (content)
• information (context)
• relations (connections)
• purpose (clarity)

47. Four dimensions as tetradian
Purpose
(clarity / 'Business')
Relations
(connection / 'People')
Stuff
(content / 'Technology')
Information
(context / 'Knowledge')
Integration
(rotate between
the views)

48. Tetradian in tangible form
CC-BY-NC Tom Graves

49. To support our visible stuff
and invisible information,
we also need those other
invisible armies…
relations and purpose

50. Relations provide
connection…

51. between team members…
CC-BY-SA westmidlandspolice via Flickr

52. relations and
roles within
a unit…
CC-BY-NC-ND defenceimages via Flickr

53. relations between ranks…

54. relations between units…

55. relations between peoples…

56. across language-barriers…
CC-BY thenationalguard via Flickr

57. relations with others…
CC-BY-NC defenceimages via Flickr

58. connections…
(source not known)

59. connections…
CC-BY soldiersmediacenter via Flickr

60. connections
CC-BY expertinfantry via Flickr

61. but there’s also
misrelation
and/or disrelation…

62. otherwise known as a mess…
CC-BY Diego Fernández via Wikimedia

63. Purpose provides clarity…
(and clarity provides purpose)

64. Clarity: “I know why I’m here”
CC-BY-NC defenceimages via Flickr

65. each unit creates its own story…

66. each has its own identity…
CC-BY Tom Graves

67. its connection with place.…
CC-BY Tom Graves

68. rituals are important…
CC-BY-NC defenceimages via Flickr
“Queen’s Birthday”

69. xxx
CC-BY stirlingcouncil via Flickr

70. Loss of connection to purpose
will destroy morale…

71. Celebrated for a century…
via Vectis Auctions

72. what happens to morale…
Public-domain via Wikimedia

73. …when a unit is disbanded?
Public-domain via Wikimedia

74. What happens
when units are merged?
“they’re all technical folks,
don’t worry, they’ll get on
like a house on fire!”

75. they did…
CC-BY-NC-SA nrwilson via Flickr

76. be careful about
what you change,
how, where and why
– don’t mess with morale!

77. To make it work,
link all the dimensions
together…

78. Tetradian in tangible form
CC-BY-NC Tom Graves

79. Tetradian in tangible form
CC-BY-NC Tom Graves

80. Tetradian in tangible form
CC-BY-NC Tom Graves

81. Tetradian in tangible form
CC-BY-NC Tom Graves

82. Every business has
all manner of things,
or physical, tangible ‘stuff’

83. Every business is
also an information-business

84. Every business is
also an information-business
Every business is
also a relations-business

85. Every business is
also an information-business
Every business is
also a relations-business
Every business is
also a purpose-business

86. Every business is
also an information-business
Every business is
also a relations-business
Every business is
also a purpose-business
All of these, together, always

87. Information is important,
but it’s not the only thing
that’s important…

88. beware of
info-centrism!

89. None of this
is really new…
Fougasse, 1940

90. security was
everyone’s
responsibility…
Fougasse, 1940

91. security is everyone’s responsibility…
MoD ‘Think Before You…’ (‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’) campaign, 2011

92. mail maintains morale…
Imperial War Museum via Google

93. work with the real world…
CC-BY-NC marine_corps via Flickr

94. honour your secret weapons…
CC-BY-NC marine_corps via Flickr

95. everything depends
on everything else
– visible and invisible

96. Which is where
we come back to…

97. auftragstaktik!
fingerspitzengefühl!

98. and that ladder…
CC-BY-NC-ND shannonmary via Flickr

99. Remember SCAN, from last year?
NOW!
certain uncertain
‘Simple’
(ENACT)
‘Not-known’
(EXPLORE)
edge of
panic
‘Complicated’
(EVALUATE)
‘Ambiguous’
(EXPERIMENT)
edge of
uncertainty
edge of
innovation
edge of
action
before

100. with all those feedback-loops?
NOW!
certain uncertain
‘Simple’
(ENACT)
‘Not-known’
(EXPLORE)
edge of
panic
fears
options
‘Complicated’
(EVALUATE)
‘Ambiguous’
(EXPERIMENT)
edge of
uncertainty
questions
answers
news
principles
edge of
innovationrealitie
s
rules edge of
action
before

101. Let’s use this in another way
NOW!
certain uncertain
PRACTICE
THEORY
fingerspitzengefühl
(realities)
auftragstaktik
(guidance)
edge of
action
before
PLAN
ACTION

102. Plan versus action
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
What we plan to do, in the expected conditions
What we actually do, in the actual conditions
ACTION
edge of
action

103. Responsibilities: plan and action
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN: Officers?
ACTION: Other Ranks?

104. “No plan survives first contact
with the enemy”

105. Feedback for plan and action
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
(we need
feedback loops
between plan
and action)
fingerspitzengefühl
(realities)
auftragstaktik
(guidance)
(depends on
personal connection,
personal trust)
(depends on
sensing, feeling,
an often-literal
‘being in touch’)

106. John Boyd’s ‘OODA’
(The same type of feedback-loop,
but with more-specific detail)

107. Without connection to
purpose, what we get is
POSIWID – ‘the purpose of
the system is what it does’
which could be anything…
Why auftragstaktik?

108. Without connection to reality,
decisions are made on
assumptions and
guesswork
Not A Good Idea…
Why fingerspitzengefühl?

109. keep things real
– don’t mistake
‘policy-based evidence’
for evidence-based policy…

110. information about a thing
is not the thing itself
information about a connection
is not the connection itself
information about purpose
is not the purpose itself

111. information
is only information
– don’t confuse it
with anything else!

112. One person, one layer…
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision

113. Two layers…
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision
concrete world
abstract world

114. Three layers…
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
concrete world
abstract world
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision
intent /
decision
observation /
interpretation
information world
(abstract + concrete)

115. Four layers…
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
concrete world
abstract world
information world
(abstract)
information world
(concrete)
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision
intent /
decision
observation /
interpretation
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision

116. Five layers…
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
concrete world
abstract world
information world
(abstract)
information world
(concrete)
information world
(disconnect…)
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision
intent /
decision
observation /
interpretation
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision

117. Army has seventeen layers!
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
concrete world
abstract world
information only?
(disconnect…)
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision
intent /
decision
observation /
interpretation
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision
observation /
interpretation
intent /
decision

118. How can a mid-rank officer
stuck behind a desk in a city
know and understand
what’s happening
and what needs to happen
out in the field?

119. – as architects,
it’s our task to identify
the support that’s needed
to make that happen…
not just ‘possible to happen’,
but as probable as possible
for it to happen

120. Which information?
In an ecology,
the crucial interactions
will often be visible
only at the edges…

121. Information as unified whole…
NOW!
certain uncertain
before
(structured data
embedded within
unstructured
nuances)

122. …with the crusts cut off…
NOW!
certain uncertain
before
(unstructured
nuances)
(structured
data)
(unstructured
nuances)

123. …and split apart
NOW!
certain uncertain
before
fundamental
disconnect
chaotic mess?
simplistic delusion?
(structured data
without context)
(unstructured nuances
without continuity)

124. Big-data = big-noise
how will your architecture
make it easier
to find the signal?

125. Nuances matter!
how will your architecture
support and maintain
– the human connection?
– the subtle details?

126. “In an insurgency,
every action and inaction
by any soldier
will be interpreted as
a political statement”
Nuances matter!

127. If nuances are carried through…
NOW!
certain uncertain
before
PLAN
ACTION
fingerspitzengefühl
(realities)
auftragstaktik
(guidance)
political awareness
intended impacts

128. information heard…
CC-BY isafmedia via Flickr

129. creates connections…
CC-BY usasoc via Flickr

130. and shared-purpose…
CC-BY-NC marine_corps via Flickr

131. …which is what
we want and need.
But…

132. without those nuances…
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
POSIWID
muddled chaos…
‘inexplicable’ political impacts
(garbled
simplification)
(garbled
simplification)
(imaginary world
of sanitised info)
fingerspitzengefühl
(realities)
auftragstaktik
(guidance)

133. key information may be missed…
order from Lord Raglan to Lord Lucan, Balaklava, 25 October 1854

134. intended
meanings
may be
misunderstood…
(source not known)

135. things get bent out of shape…
(source not known)

136. then you’re everyone’s target…
CC-BY Diego Fernández via Wikimedia

137. “In an insurgency,
every action and inaction
by any soldier
will be interpreted as
a political statement”

138. Nuances matter!
How will your architecture
support and maintain
– the human connection?
– the subtle details?

139. Relations + purpose
Hierarchy of command
may not be as simple
as it might seem…

140. ‘Command and control’
NOW!
before
certain uncertain
PLAN
ACTION
(top-down, one-way
only, feedback is
‘insubordination’)
“command
and control”

141. Vice-Admiral
Sir George
Tryon
(1832-1893)
Public-domain via Wikipedia
“a sometimes
overbearing
personality…”
“when officially
engaged, a very
brusque and
dictatorial man”

142. HMS Victoria, 1893
Public-domain: James Alexander Collot via Wikipedia
“Even then, they still waited for
permission to take the action which
might have prevented the collision”

143. insuperordination
can be as much of a risk as
insubordination…

144. Same risks of ‘over-control’
still exist today,
though often in new forms
– the flood of new information
does not always help in this…

145. The camera
sees all…
CC-BY soldiersmediacenter via Flickr

146. real-time
information
back to base…
CC-BY-NC defenceimages via Flickr

147. …but who decides, on the ground?
CC-BY soldiersmediacenter via Flickr

148. “auftragstaktik”
does not translate as
“every move you make,
we’ll micromanage you”

149. “Even then, they still waited
for permission to take the
action which might have
prevented the collision…”
Micromanagement
can be lethal!

150. but also…
does not translate as
“ignore HQ, I’ll Do It My Way”
“fingerspitzengefühl”
(aka ‘Agile’?)

151. So, architecturally,
what can we do
about this?

152. one answer:
cake
CC-BY-SA navasurfaceforces via Flickr

153. “freshly made,
freshly baked,
personal”
CC-BY-NC compacflt via Flickr

154. Normal: Chain of Command…

155. During action: Any-to-any…

156. In hierarchy/flat structure:
ranks represent
roles and responsibilities
everyone is
different and equal,
both at the same time

157. an everyday concern…
CC-BY-NC slieschke via Flickr

158. use it to bond relations as a crew
CC-BY-SA navalsurfaceforces via Flickr

159. relations and purpose
are crucial to making this work
– don’t leave them out
of the architecture!

160. Affordances
Thinking architecturally
about capabilities
may afford support for
new uses, tasks, options

161. ‘Defence of the Realm’
increasingly implies
a much broader meaning…

162. From warfighting…
CC-BY-NC-ND defenceimages via Flickr

163. to peacekeeping
CC-BY-NC-ND un_photo via Flickr

164. disaster-recovery…
CC-BY civmilcoe via Flickr

165. and disaster-relief…
CC-BY dvids via Flickr

166. to response against pandemics
CC-BY-NC-ND dfids via Flickr

167. or all of these roles, together
CC-BY-NC-ND un_photo via Flickr

168. Affordances arise
from noticing the real world
if sometimes not
what we’d usually expect…

169. affordances can be unexpected…
CC-BY-NC-SA 29997533@N03 via Flickr

170. To wrap this up…

171. if we’re not careful
about our architecture,
it could,
through its own structure,
create…

172. a certain lack of awareness…
CC-BY-NC-ND robnwatkins via Flickr

173. instead, we need to ensure
that our architecture
will support all elements
and affordances for
the context, including…

174. visible things
visible action
invisible information
invisible connections
invisible purpose

175. invisible information
CC-BY isafmedia via Flickr

176. invisible connections
CC-BY usasoc via Flickr

177. invisible shared-purpose
CC-BY-NC marine_corps via Flickr

178. Use your architecture
to support all of
your invisible armies

179. “What’s the story?”
Thank you!

180. Contact: Tom Graves
Company: Tetradian Consulting
Email: tom@tetradian.com
Twitter: @tetradian ( http://twitter.com/tetradian )
Weblog: http://weblog.tetradian.com
Slidedecks: http://www.slideshare.net/tetradian
Publications: http://tetradianbooks.com
Books: • The enterprise as story: the role of narrative in enterprise-
architecture (2012)
• Mapping the enterprise: modelling the enterprise as services
with the Enterprise Canvas (2010)
• Everyday enterprise-architecture: sensemaking, strategy,
structures and solutions (2010)
• Doing enterprise-architecture: process and practice in the
real enterprise (2009)
Further information: