Part III of a presentation for IT-University in Copenhagen. Describes the authors EA practice in Nordea, the largest bank in the Nordic region.

1. Part III
Practice
Being in Charge without being in Control

2. Source: Nordea, Annual Report 2017, nordea.com Investor Relations
Nordea simultaneously responds to change and innovate
Together, we lead the way, enabling dreams and everyday aspirations for a greater good
2

3. Nordea’s adoption of Scaled-Agile Framework
This is a work in progress – roughly 50 % of development is done in a SAFe (“inspired”) structure
• Nordea has split our total investment in change into 7 portfolios
• Initiatives in a portfolio are sized according to investment level (essential, large, full)
• Cadence is common 4*12 weeks PI’s (+3+1 weeks of vacation) = matches fiscal year & quarters
3Source: https://scaledagileframework.com/

4. Group Business Support
Nordea Organisation, simplified
No split between IT and Business, nor Silos; just Run the Business and Change the Business
Group
Functions
Personal Wholesale
RUN THE BANK
CHANGETHEBANK
Group Functions Portfolio
Personal Portfolio
Commercial Portfolio
Commercial &
Business
Wealth
Wealth Portfolio
Wholesale Portfolio
Change Execution Initiatives funded by Portfolios
Product (not Project) funding i.e. ≈ Stable Burn Rate
Architectural Governance is a mix of Investment Gates and
Solution Architects assigned into Hubs
Group Data Portfolio
Group Tech Portfolio
Group
Architecture
CEO
4

5. Budgets&Guidelines
Controlling&Reporting
Henry Mintzberg, 1983, Structure in Fives, Designing effective organizations, Prentice-Hall 5

6. Sunshine
6James C Scott, 1992, Domination and the Arts of Resistance, Yale University Press

7. Architecture Board
Includes COO’s and CIO
Head Architect
Dual competent
Solution Architect
Dual competent
Developer
Cross-functional teams
trust
trust
trust
7Steve Jobs: The people that really create the things … are both the thinker and doer in one person.

8. Architecture provides StrategicSteer and governs Alignment of Execution to Strategy
8
80 %
Solution Architecture
20 %
Strategic Artefacts
Steer Governance
Solutioning

9. 9
Architecture
Embedded into Management and Solution Design
Gartner (G00450389): Enterprise Architecture Must Evolve Into an Internal Management Consultancy
Strategic
Steer
Architectura
l
Governance
Solution
Design
Portfolio Architecture
Governance
-
Strategic
Architectural
Alignment
Delivery
Architectural
Alignment
Artefact
Adoption and Use
-
Technology
Adoption and Use
WHAT
Portfolio Architecture supports management by providing proposals for
strategic steer of change execution initiatives and architectural
governance of the portfolio of change execution initiatives.
Solution Architecture leads build teams’ realization by participating in
day-today leadership of change execution initiatives and by transforming
strategy and target architectures into concrete solution High-Level
Designs and Low-Level Designs.
HOW (5 pillars of Architecture Governance)
Portfolio Architecture Governance
​Demonstrate that the annual and quarterly review of budget is optimally
balanced by taking into account strategic and architectural priorities, as well
as tactical and operational demands. Provide a level of assurance that
funded initiatives are architecturally aligned, that critical dependencies are
identified and reconciled. and that meaningful prioritization exists.
Strategic Architectural Alignment
Demonstrate that the highest cost and/or impact initiatives have optimal
architectural/strategy alignment and executive support
Delivery Architectural Alignment
Demonstrate that initiatives (whether project or agile-based) have their
scope/epics aligned with approved artefacts, and are consuming IT
standards
Technology Adoption and Use
Demonstrate that a minimal set of operationally supportable technology
standards exist to meet business objectives, that obsolescence and security
risks are mitigated through robust lifecycle management, and that cost,
complexity and risk is reduced through service-based delivery of technology.
Artefact Adoption and Use
Demonstrate that artefacts have been approved by accountable persons
from architecture, business, functions, technology, data, security and
risk/compliance areas/domains, in an inclusive manner.

10. 10
Management
Agile iterative cadence extends to senior leadership

11. 11
Strategic Steer
Example deliverable from Architecture
Optional content
examples
Problem Statement
Scope
Artefact Summary
Cost
(& Performance impact)
Target state and changes
• Define solutions covered and enabling solutions
(only integration/interoperability is covered for enabling solutions)
• Define business which is enabled by covered solutions
• Summarize business imperative for approving this strategy
• Summarize the strategy and business impact
• Reference supporting material
• Describe current problems and challenges / desired outcomes and outputs
• Demonstrate (quantify if possible) that problem has a significant business impact
• Demonstrate (quantify if possible) how strategy/resolution will improve the situation
• Quantify one-time development cost of executing strategy
• Quantify the expected impact on run-the-business cost (and momentum)
• Describe other intended effects
• Define on vision/strategy level what the desired target state is
• Define on vision/strategy level which changes have to be made
• Specify for build teams what is required to adhere to vision and strategy
Executive Summary
• Declare alignment with group architecture principles and guidelines
• Declare degree of support from relevant business areas and group functions
• Specify main consequences of approving and rejecting the artefact
Vendor / Solution selection
Value Stream assessment

12. Escalate to create transparency into the actual state of affairs
Portfolio Governance ensures that the Balancing Act is done by Senior Decision Makers
12
Ambition Level
Scope
Calendar Time / Deadline
Prioritization
Epics / Features
Architecture – Business Needs
Capacity
Budget / # of Teams
Consultants / Sourcing
Do you want to
invest more money in
change execution to
become more aligned?
Should we do more
enablers and fewer
business features
to become more
aligned?
Should we lower the
ambition level
to become more
aligned?
(or just wait)

13. 2018 © Nordea Digital Company confidential
Customer Statement
“I will trust a bank that guides me when I
feel lost, comforts me when I feel
frustrated, and encourages me when I need
motivation.” Take my hand
and I will trust
you
Customer Statement

14. Enterprise Architect toolbox
Processes rarely work as intended, but tools can be useful if you know when & how to use them
14
Enterprise Architecture
(and Technology)
Tools, Methods, and
Understanding
Business and
Change Management
Tools, Methods, and
Understanding
Leadership and
Psychology
Tools, Methods, and
Understanding

15. • Find out what you are architecting
• Find out who is building / making decisions on what you are architecting
• Find out which questions the builders / decision-makers have
• E.g. how to build in a desirable, viable, feasible (, …) way
• Find out who also wants to supply such answers
• Find out which of these could be allies and which are opponents
• Do whatever it takes to provide the needed answers / guidance
Universal Architecture Method