When stakeholders resist your business architecture efforts, what do you do?

I totally agree with the approaches but the main reasons from the stakeholders' perspectives are fear of change and fear of trial to see how the strategy/approach sink with budget or overlap or after the execution what are risk factors around the corner that can eat the budget. As business analysts/Project managers, we should understand their perspectives and specifications and then show them a brief on how the approach/strategy works better in real time. Make them understand the risks around them, Stakeholders are not tough or rigid but just a fear but as Project Managers we should make them understand/communicate properly.

We often forget to mention how important it is to support others as they deal with grief and loss. Change is a part of life, but it always brings some kind of loss with it. This could be a loss of certainty, comfort, routine, or trust—even when the change is something "positive" or "necessary". Loss can feel overwhelming because we naturally prefer stability and familiarity. Grief is a normal reaction to loss. When people are going through this, they might seem resistant or opposed to your business architecture efforts. It’s really just a part of their process of dealing with change and loss.

Start by having discussion to identify root causes. Then suggest how new solution can bridge those gaps Suggest one or more alternate approaches which may be similar to their existing process.

The approach is robust and workable. Finding the route cause of resistance and addressing the same in context of bigger picture would surely help. Open communication and engagement holds the key. Also highlighting a matter of fact clear picture would also help.

In my experience data, references and any statistics from past transformations can assist to build confidence and alleviate fear. This will help understanding why it is so important.

Show the customer how the new solution can benefit them. How new technologies can help them to reduce their effort in performing manual tasks which they can use to improve their overall business process.

I will get the stakeholder's input throughout the whole process. I would also communicate the benefits and values. I would actively listen to their concerns. I would ensure we are all on the same page, even if changes need to done.

It’s also really important to align the senior decision makers to the members of your team- to make sure every leader has a team member on your team- and every team member knows to keep their leader apprised of the work.

Start including the end users and customer business analysts in the architecture design phase. Ask them questions on how was their existing process and what type of solution they feel can be adaptable.

Continuously have meetings with the stakeholders and ask for their opinion if the project is going as per their expectations or not. If there are any concerns that they want us to resolve before moving forward.

Make sure to communicate clearly the risks. Every business and process has risks but also mentions ways how those risks can be minimized or eliminated by following certain guidelines.

Ultimately, it is up to stakeholders to sign off on a requirement. However, we serve as advisors to ensure the best possible solution is delivered to achieve the highest possible outcomes, within budget. I would build a business case highlighting pros, cons, risks and include a cost/benefit analysis for both solutions if possible. Discussions with key management, SMEs, system users, etc, presenting both solutions will help either solidify the business case, persuade you to go with stakeholders or meet somewhere in the middle. Throughout my career I've had a mix of decisions to deal with and as long as ideas are thoroughly explored and outcomes meet the core objectives of the requirement, we have met our brief.

Acquiring genuine sponsorship from an accountable executive (preferably up to the COO or even CEO) might remove the stakeholder resistance in a business architecture initiative. The important word here is "genuine". In the best case: 1. The sponsor executive really understands the value of business architecture and be able to express its RoI and consequences in the long run to other executives and board members. 2. Other executives embrace the practice and share the sponsorship. (my experiences are up to this point) 3. The mindset that spreads among the executives diffuses to their middle management, overcoming most of the resistance related impediments. If that does not work, crying in a safe spot would be a viable option to consider.

In large to very large organizations, the number of key stakeholders might be too substantial to convince about the benefits of Business Architecture, as their priorities and interests lie elsewhere. The optimal approach to yield results from Business Architecture is to position it within a key stakeholder role in the organization—either within the Corporate Strategy team or alongside the Corporate Portfolio Management team—to exert influence over strategic and financial decisions from the outset.

Un buen arquitecto sabe ( debiera )educar al cliente.. Pero Esta difícil . el valor de la tasa de interés aplasta la arquitectura.y genera cesantes arquitectonicos en chile