Louis G. Arias
In Motion Special
The Project Management Institute’s Central Florida Chapter held its second annual meeting at Daytona State’s News-Journal Center last month, highlighted by a presentation by the father of enterprise architecture, John Zachman.
Zachman — whose highly sought worldwide seminars on the “Business Agility Manifesto” are as prerogative of top-level professionals — was a guest of the PMICFL Daytona Beach Satellite Chapter.
His insights were made available to DSC students at no cost, courtesy of the satellite chapter, a joint initiative that helps promote the college’s Advanced Technical Project Management Certificate. In addition, the event connects students with future employers in Volusia and Flagler counties and establishes a scholarship fund to help offset the considerable costs of certification testing.
Zachman challenged the 100-plus attendees with sophisticated concepts of vital importance to professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners, who face the challenge of surviving our current information revolution. The takeaway from the keynote speaker’s presentation was that digital transformations, innovation through digital technology, only succeed within organizations that understand and embrace the concept of “Enterprise Architecture.”
Manufacturing or making the conceptual a reality, he said, must follow design and architecture. In other words, software and information systems must follow design. They must be defined within a set of pre-existing specifications. Enterprise Architecture is the framework in which information must flow. Switching the order of those elements equals placing the cart before the horse.
According to Zachman, our information revolution is not a technological but a business issue: How can businesses remain relevant in continually and dramatically changing, complex and uncertain operational environments?
To deal with this new reality, Zachman together with Roger Burlton of Process Renewal Group and Ronald Ross of Business Rules Solutions, formulated the Business Agility Manifesto. This document encompasses a set of general management essentials formulated to give Enterprise Architecture the capacity to dynamically reconfigure all of its models so that business operations continue as constant changes are being formalized. More information on this solution can be found at agilebusinessmanifesto.com.
Asked how Artificial Intelligence might affect Enterprise Architecture, Zachman said, “The basic concept of design before manufacturing does not change. Advanced machines and programs, no matter how sophisticated they may become, still need a set of engineered, pre-designed guidelines by which they will operate within an enterprise.”
David Siegel, President of Central Florida’s PMI Chapter, lauded DSC’s program and noted that similar efforts within our state come at significantly higher costs, but often yield lower success rates. Supporting PMI-CFL’s effort is a no brainer, Siegel said, “It is a unique combination of the right expertise with the right program.”
Grady Meeks, Associate Professor of DSC’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management, also made a brief presentation during the program. He began with an overview of challenges project managers face daily and humorously compared their jobs to cat herding.
So why would anyone in their right mind want a job as a cat herder? The two-fold answer is as powerful and simple: With proper certification, jobs are plentiful and wages are catapulted into six-figure territory.
On SimplyHired.com in October, 34 jobs were listed within 25 miles of Daytona Beach, 220 openings within 50 miles, and 2,683 statewide. Just another year of education can make a huge difference. Annual worldwide compensation for PMP Certified Professionals averages $130,966 in Switzerland, $118,000 in the U.S. and $108.593 in Australia.
Chris Dunham, who is currently enrolled in this program, works at Halifax Hospital and expects to return to management upon completion.
“It was a lot of information to take into all at one time,” he said of the meeting.
Another attendee, Edith Greene, who has a master’s degree but does not hold a PMP certification, worked as a Project Manager for 10 years in Atlanta. She is currently employed in logistics, after realizing that in Central Florida, certifications are practically pre-requisites for employment in project management.