Service-Oriented Architecture Governance for the Services Driven Enterprise

10.11. PLAN FOR THE STRUCTURAL ACCORDION: CENTRALIZED TO DECENTRALIZED TO CENTRALIZED AGAIN

There are two things that are certain: death and taxes. Add a third item to this list: IT organizations inevitably transition from centralized to decentralized back to centralized structures over time. As these accordion-like structural shifts take place, you must understand the dynamics and organizational tensions that accompany these transitions. Exhibit 10.2 depicts the structural continuum from a centralized to a distributed IT organizational model. See Chapters 4 and 7 for detailed discussions of this concept.

Figure 10.2. Central to Distributed IT Continuum

If your organization is decentralized and the IT organization is also decentralized, there will be political tension from centralizing funding and decision authority for aspects of IT that used to be under decentralized control. Another aspect of this transition tends to be the implementation of chargeback schemes, which add to the organizational angst about transitioning from decentralized to centralized IT structures. Similarly, the transition from centralized to decentralized IT structures is fraught with similar political organizational dynamics.

As you implement your governance model, consider a long-term view of how you might adjust certain governance and management processes to accommodate either a more centralized or more ...