EA is in the eye of the beholder

I've started a new project recently with a government entity. I'm joining a team in progress, and this team has already prepared an EA approach for this department ("the client"). The client likes what they see so much that they want to slowly deploy it across all lines of business.  What I'm finding interesting is that the scope of EA in this context differs significantly than the scope of EA in other environments.  This goes back to the Foundations I course and getting alignment on what is EA anyway.  It seems that any environment is going to fall prey to once of Gartner’s “Thirteen Worst EA Practices”:

1. No Link to Business Strategic Planning and Budget Process
2. Confusing "IT Architecture" With "Enterprise Architecture"
3.  Lack of Governance
4.  Overstandardization
5. Focusing on the Art or Language of EA Rather Than Outcomes
6. Strict Following of EA Frameworks
7. "Ivory Tower" Approach
8. Lack of Communication and Feedback
9. Limiting the EA Team to IT Resources
10. Lack of Performance Measures
11. Picking a Tool Before Understanding Your Business Needs
12. Focusing on the Current State First and Primarily
13. "We're Done"

The previous client focused heavily on IT architecture, had limited communication, and lacked performance measures.  So far, this new client is focused on a more robust definition of EA but we already have a sense that they will lean to overstandardization (there are many lines of business and a very large number of employees) and also educating the new users on how to tie EA to outcomes will be a great challenge.  A third organization is allowing for me to facilitate their EA structure, which hopefully will mean a holistic EA, but I get a sense that once the current state and future initiatives are mapped, they’re may think “we’re done.”  For them, EA is just strategic planning, and that once the direction is set, then it’s value is minimal. Each client had a different need, perspective, and future expected use of EA.  These are just examples from client perspective.  Even training and readings, based on the provider, present slightly different slants on what EA is.

So with this in mind, when viewing the template presentation posted for Discussion 1, it seemed curious that the template was framework neutral.  Does it follow an EA framework or is this a template for any type of IT-relevant strategic plan?  What makes it “EA” versus any other CIO planning brief?  All of this leads to the final question: What is EA and who defines it?  I don’t have an answer, unfortunately, but as a future practitioner, I would find it helpful to see and use material that concisely and accurately defines EA in a way that breaks myths and tells the story in an easy-to-understand manner.

“Give us back the eye!” -The Stygian Witches from Clash of the Titans (Harryhausen, 1981), 

a sentiment which resembles how I currently feel about EA as discipline.

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References:

Burton, B. (2011). Thirteen Worst EA Practices. Gartner. G00214881.

Harryhausen, R. (Producer), & Davis, D. (Director). (1981). Clash of the Titans [Motion picture]. USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Retrieved 1/24/2016 from https:www.pinterest.com/pin/176695985354643392