Solution Architecture: What is It and Why It Matters?
Release Date: 02/18/2026
Solution Architecture: What is It and Why It Matters?
End-to-End Strategy Execution
Organizations that ignore, sidestep, or underfund solution architecture are missing the glue that binds the architecture perspectives that lead to successful initiative outcomes and strategy deployments. In this episode of the End-to-End Strategy Execution podcast, William Ulrich and Charles Bowman welcome guest, Dr. Michael Bardash, practicing senior solution architect with unique insights into the topic. This episode focuses on the makeup of solution architecture, attributes of the ideal solution architect, the role of the solution architect in relation to planning and execution, and how...
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Data: The Weak Link in the Strategy Execution Chain
End-to-End Strategy Execution
In their recently published book, End-to-End Strategy Execution, William Ulrich and Charles Bowman said that problematic data is one of the seven deadly patterns undermining strategy execution. In this podcast episode, they interview distinguished guests, John Bottega, President of EDMA, and Professor Peter Aiken, President of DAMA – the two leading global associations focused on data. Join the podcast as they help listeners understand and address the mounting data challenges presented by poorly architected, incomplete, redundant, and low-quality data. With data being critical to...
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Architecting & Designing the Future State
End-to-End Strategy Execution
A deteriorating business ecosystem is like an aging house, with inhabiting customers, partners, and business stakeholders abandoning it as the situation degrades. Deteriorating architecture, whether it applies to a building, a bridge, or a business ecosystem, is systemic and can’t be addressed by short-term thinking and patchwork solutions. In chapter 6 of their book, End-to-End Strategy Execution, William Ulrich and Charles Bowman identify best practices for justifying, funding, and formalizing business and IT architecture and design, which in turn form the basis for initiative planning,...
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The Strategy Impact Assessment: The Essential Nature of Feedback Loops
End-to-End Strategy Execution
Chapter 5 of our recently published book, End-to-End Strategy Execution, states that the omission of a comprehensive, well-articulated impact assessment is a major factor undermining successful strategy execution. Impact assessments serve as the focal point for dissecting, validating, and synchronizing business goals, objectives, and related courses of action. Specifically, the episode discusses why and how organizations should prioritize, justify, and fund business-first impact assessments by incorporating them into annual planning cycles that leverage built-in feedback loops. Topics include...
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Strategy Execution: A Leadership Perspective
End-to-End Strategy Execution
Getting leadership on the same page with strategy execution is often a challenge. This episode features an interview with Whynde Kuehn, strategy transformation specialist and author of Strategy to Reality. The discussion focuses on strategy formulation best practices, how to deal with executive mandates in the absence of clearly defined business objectives, and business architecture’s role in framing and interpreting strategy. The episode also looks at how siloed, unaligned strategies can be aggregated and synchronized into a shared, executable perspective. Other topics include how to deal...
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Strategy Execution: Setting Course for a Challenging Journey
End-to-End Strategy Execution
William Ulrich and Charles Bowman’s Strategy Execution podcast, is based on their new book, tackles one of the main challenges facing organizations today, successfully executing on their business strategies while maximizing the value of related technology investments. Episode one outlines the challenges facing organizations today, where two thirds of technology investments are wasted, strategies go unfulfilled, and initiatives fall short their goals or fail entirely. Ulrich and Bowman introduce the strategy execution framework, challenge the status quote, and lay the foundation for future...
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The NorthStar: Politics, Culture and Sabotage: Roadmap to Program Failure
End-to-End Strategy Execution
Every project has opponents who try to manipulate that project for their own gain. This is a well-hidden truth. As most people who have been associated with executing strategy are aware, good projects intentionally gone bad is a reality. But no one wants to be associated with a failed or underperforming project, which is why the current state of projects is often portrayed in a better light than what is happening in reality. Shading the truth of a failing project is often done to maintain or gain more power, income, and respect. Yet the industry cannot run from reality. Based on 25 years of...
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The NorthStar: Seven Deadly Patterns Leading to the Strategy Execution Blues
End-to-End Strategy Execution
Interviews with experts from a variety of fields uncovered key factors undermining successful strategy execution. Seven troublesome patterns emerged. One, the strategy execution chain is broken. Two, culture, politics, and siloes form an evil triad. Three, organizations lack holistic perspective. Four, good ideas are confined to the C-suite. Five, program delivery blues undermine strategy execution. Six, data is the weak link in the chain. Seven, business strategy is captive to technological immaturity. This episode overviews each of these problematic patterns and discusses how best to address...
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The NorthStar: Incorporating AI and Cognitive Computing into Business Strategy
End-to-End Strategy Execution
This episode of The North Star focuses on the practical role of cognitive computing and AI in organizations. Cognitive computing refers to technologies that learn at scale, reason, and interface with humans in a manner aligned with the way people naturally interact. The underlying technologies comprising cognitive computing include artificial intelligence, machine learning, rules-based solutions, state machines, neural networks, predictive analytics, and quantum computing. This episode will look at three focal points: Gamification, AI and Ethics to offer business leaders insights as to how...
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The NorthStar: The AI-Powered Enterprise: Is Your Organization Prepared?
End-to-End Strategy Execution
More and more organizations are seeking to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. AI is promoted as being able to transform every aspect of how organizations function, yet this vision is far from reality. As episode guest Seth Earley said in his recent book, The "AI-Powered Enterprise", in spite of multiple generations of investments and billions of dollars of digital transformations, organizations are still struggling with information overload, which undercuts efforts to excel at customer service, reduce costs, and maximize efficiency. The foundation of ensuring that an organization...
info_outlineOrganizations that ignore, sidestep, or underfund solution architecture are missing the glue that binds the architecture perspectives that lead to successful initiative outcomes and strategy deployments. In this episode of the End-to-End Strategy Execution podcast, William Ulrich and Charles Bowman welcome guest, Dr. Michael Bardash, practicing senior solution architect with unique insights into the topic. This episode focuses on the makeup of solution architecture, attributes of the ideal solution architect, the role of the solution architect in relation to planning and execution, and how organizations should either initiate or refine their solution architecture practice as a basis for end-to-end strategy execution.