George Paras and Tim Westbrock featured guests on A&G Webinar Nov. 16

Join George and Tim for a webinar on November 16, hosted by A&G Magazine.  We’ll also be joined by special guest Dave Baker, a longtime friend and industry colleague from PwC.

We’ll review the findings from the A&G 2011 Year-End Survey, discuss trends we see shaping the role of enterprise architect going in to 2012, and answer listener questions.

Follow this link to the Architecture and Governance Website for more information and to register.

IASA Chicago Chapter Inaugural Event April 7- George Paras Featured Speaker

Thursday evening, April 7, marks the inaugural event for the new IASA Chicago Chapter.  The meeting will be from 6:00pm-7:30pm at Illinois Technology Association (ITA), 200 S. Wacker, 15th Floor, Chicago.  The new chapter provides a networking and educational forum for IT and Enterprise Architects from across the Chicago area.  I will be leading a session on “Changing Architects’ Conversations”, sharing tips and techniques on how architects can create and take advantage of opportunities to engage enterprise leadership in strategic conversations.

In addition to speaking at the event, I am honored to have been asked to serve on the Advisory Board for this new chapter.  Please invite your architecture colleagues to come and join us!

Event and Registration Details

Effective EA Marketing and Communication – George Paras speaking at Western PA EA Forum

Although the word “marketing” can elicit negative thoughts in the mind of a technologist, it is a necessary consideration for any EA program in order to maximize its impact on the business and establish an environment for continued contributions.  George Paras will present on this topic and lead an interactive discussion at the November meeting of the Western Pennsylvania Enterprise Architects Forum on Monday, November the 9th in Pittsburgh. 

Some topics to be in covered include:

• Who are your customers and what do they really want?  How do they know they are getting just that?
• How do define “value delivered” and what kind of measures do you take to prove it?  How can you account for short term and longer term value areas that you deliver against?
• What is effective communication and how does this relate to the deliverables of an EA program?  What kinds of EA artifacts should you use to communicate with your customers in today’s high paced business environment?
• Different styles of communication & why this matters?

The WPEAF was created in 2002 to provide opportunities for sharing best practices around the emerging field of Enterprise Architecture.  The mission of the group is to foster the sharing of non-competitive architecture processes, concepts, and artifacts in order to support business requirements.

Winnipeg IT Architects Community – George Paras Roundtable

George Paras will join the Winnipeg IT Architects Community’s October 8th meeting to share his experiences and perspectives while leading an interactive discussion on several topics requested by the Community.  Topics will include establishing and maturing an EA practice, finding and growing enterprise architects, and key strategies to establishing and operating practical and appropriate governance mechanisms to link planning and the project portfolio with EA.   He’ll also discuss his observations on the growing interest in EA by executive leadership and the higher expectations that they place upon their EA groups.  As a result he has seen an uptick in new EA programs, the renewal/re-launch of past EA attempts, and increased hiring of enterprise architects.

Contact George Paras if you are interested in more information or in scheduling a similar session for your group.

George Paras speaks on “Enterprise Alignment through Enterprise Architecture and Governance”

I am pleased to have been invited to join Ronald Ross, Roger Burlton and many other noted speakers to present at this year’s Business Rules Forum at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.  I will be presenting on Monday, November 2 during the all-day Business Alignment Symposium and also participating in a panel discussion with the rest of the Symposium faculty at the end of the day.

Use Special Code 9SPGP when you REGISTER to receive a 10% discount!

Title: “Enterprise Alignment through Enterprise Architecture and Governance” 

Achieving ambitious, large scale enterprise transformation demands unique competencies and perspectives, different from those required for day-to-day project execution and operations.  It requires an enterprise view of alignment, bridging big-picture strategy consistently into hundreds of smaller scale implementation and operational decisions.    Enterprise Architecture (EA) and effective Governance are two of those critical competencies.  This session will explore the techniques and approaches that leading organizations use to institutionalize these core management disciplines, reaching beyond the IT department to create a true partnership with business leadership. 

• How to sort out competing Business, IT and EA priorities
• Perspectives: Strategic vs. Tactical, Enterprise vs. Project, Process vs. Content
• The Enterprise View – Capabilities, Portfolios and Roadmaps
• Alignment deliverables for the executive and models for EA consumer
• The human challenge – Culture, People, Persuasion, Roles, Responsibilities

George Paras – SITPforum in Minneapolis

I will be visiting Minneapolis on August 19 as the guest speaker at the SITPforum.  This is an interactive, executive round-table session beginning with refreshments at 4 PM.  I’ll be leading a discussion on “Aligning Business and IT” with a focus on IT Strategic Planning, EA and Portfolio Management with side discussions on any aspect of those topics of interest to the group.  At previous sessions in Atlanta and New York I touched on Governance, Organizational Models, Business and Information Architecture, Capabilities Analysis, and how to be an effective IT Leader.

If you can’t attend but know someone in the area, please forward this announcement to them. 

Please send an email directly to me at gparas@EAdirections.com if you’d like to attend.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Survey: Help Us Plan New EAdirections Events

In response to several inquiries, we have created a survey to the larger community to understand your needs for high-quality, practical and pragmatic education including conferences, workshops, webinars, roundtables, etc.  Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey. 

DRAWING – At the end of the survey you will be asked if you would optionally like to enter a drawing for a complimentary one hour Mentoring Teleconference to discuss your IT Leadership, EA, Portfolio Management, Governance, IT Strategy, Alignment, Cost Containment or Transformational Initiatives.