The latest Open Group member spotlight focuses on Judith Jones who is CEO of Architecting the Enterprise which has been a member of The Open Group for 6 years. Judith's personal association has been for much longer.

1. How long have you been involved with The Open Group?

I have been associated with The Open Group since the beginning but really started getting involved in 1997.

2. What spawned your personal involvement in the organization?

I was working with a client who needed to do some business and IT architecture for their organization. I looked around for a method to use, and came across TOGAF, which sparked my interest and involvement.

3. Why did Architecting the Enterprise become a member of The Open Group and what does its involvement look like?

Architecting the Enterprise has been a member for six years and we are very active, especially in the Architecture Forum. We formed the company with the primary purpose of consulting and training people in TOGAF and enterprise architecture standards, and to continue to develop and provide leadership for the EA community.

4. What key forums/initiatives are you personally involved with at The Open Group?

I have been primarily involved with the development of TOGAF specification and certification services. I was the editor of the current version of TOGAF 8 and also led development programs for the upcoming version.

In addition, we spawned some of the projects that have been happening in the Architecture Forum, such as the initiatives for TOGAF and DODAF and also TOGAF and ITIL; leading the TOGAF case studies; the TOGAF localization projects; and ADML. I also helped bring ArchiMate into The Open Group through the ADML project.

5. How has membership in The Open Group benefited you, your organization and the industry at large?

The benefits are tremendous – and there are several levels of them. At a working level, you meet other people with similar interests who are dedicated to developing standards or capabilities for architects. The Open Group Architecture Forum has been an absolutely tremendous asset in doing that.

For the industry at large, The Open Group provides a forum for customers in various parts of the industry to come together to meet and discuss their needs and requirements within the industry. It’s not only about developing standards—standards are an end product—but more importantly, it is the thinking and the understanding of what is needed that this forum provides. As a result of that, the quality, competence and professionalism of architects within the industry have definitely increased.

Personally, I’ve been able to establish Architecting the Enterprise as a center of excellence in the TOGAF marketplace. The networking, support and encouragement from members of The Open Group have enabled us to develop and open up the TOGAF market.

Exposure to the way others do their work puts everything in perspective for you. That’s the way I describe The Open Group: it gives you the opportunity to look into the clouds, but you’ve got to keep your feet on the ground. Be practical and visionary at the same time.

6. What contributions to The Open Group are you most proud of?

I am most proud of my involvement in TOGAF. Developing specifications is one thing, but developing the people and the competencies for the marketplace is also very important. I am interested in the end result in the industry and delivering value as a result of the work that we do.

7. Why is it important for other organizations to join The Open Group?

I believe there’s a two-level benefit. If you are an end customer of the industry, The Open Group gives you a strategic opportunity to direct the industry’s thinking and development of its outcomes to the benefit of your company.

The real tactical benefit is that the people of the organization who are involved develop their knowledge, understanding, skills and competencies very much more rapidly by their participation. This adds value to the work they do within their organization.

Sharing and understanding also has immediate tactical value. The Open Group embraces that and helps to answer questions, particularly where it is at the forefront of thinking in that area.

8. Has there been any crossover between your personal and professional life in relation to your involvement in The Open Group?

As a swimming referee in the UK, I have an understanding of sports, competitive rules and behaviors, which has been tremendous in understanding the development of professional skills in adults. Understanding that environment has helped me to assist in development of the certification programs.

The other area is I am keen on is the development of women in IT. Since it is a very male-dominated environment, I would like to see more women in the architecture space, but we need to have enough women to grow and develop that network. There are signs that this is starting to happen.

9. Any last thoughts?

The Open Group has played a tremendous role in the industry and still has a bigger role to play in changing the thinking in the industry and working with other groups to create a better environment for everybody to work in. That’s why I remain involved - to help others and create a global community of enterprise architects.

The Open Group enables members to put intellectual property into the industry - to let the industry mull over it, develop it, think on it, add their bit, and what should come out at the end is a better quality world. It is fundamental to have universal understanding across the industry, and there is inherent value in the sharing of ideas and knowledge so that the world as a whole can benefit from.

About Judith Jones

Judith Jones, the CEO of Architecting the Enterprise, the global market leader in TOGAF Training and Consultancy is an experienced Business Manager and IT Consultant. Judith's prime experience includes business re-engineering, business architecture, enterprise architecture and governance, architecture practice management, business value engineering, IT strategy and management. Judith has worked with many Fortune 100 and Government agencies to develop architecture competencies and capabilities. Her background experience includes more than 20 years as a business manager with ICL, now Fujitsu Services.

Judith is a champion and practitioner of Enterprise Architecture standards, including TOGAF and TOGAF certification, for over 20 years and was instrumental in the development of ICL’s OpenFramework. Judith is an active member of The Open Group and is a major contributor and an editor of TOGAF 7, 8 and 9 as well as leading TOGAF projects for localisation, case studies, ADML, synergy and collaboration projects.

Judith is co-author of the TOGAF and DODAF alignment paper.