The One About Business Architecture: Where Do We Go?
Tue Jan 06 2026
Business architecture stands at a critical crossroads as AI-driven disruption and accelerating change challenge traditional practices. In this live recording from the Twin Cities Business Architecture Forum, four industry veterans debate whether the profession is properly equipped for the future, examining everything from framework fatigue to the irreplaceable human skills that no technology can automate. Watch for 5 things you must know about the future of business architecture...
We Discuss:
Is business architecture too rigid and dogmatic to adapt to current challenges like AI disruption? Are we overthinking frameworks and tools instead of just doing the workWill AI replace business architects? How do we manage the expectation that AI can help us when models always have inherent latency? Should we train business relationship managers (BRMs) to do business architecture instead of maintaining separate architecture practices? 5 Takeaways:
Business architecture is at an inflection point where the profession must evolve beyond documenting current state to strategically designing organizations with intent across people, process, and technology in an era of unprecedented AI-driven disruption. AI will transform the architect's role by automating artifact generation and model creation, allowing practitioners to spend more time on irreplaceable human activities like stakeholder engagement, asking the right questions, and strategic thinking. The most critical non-negotiable skills for business architects are storytelling ability, epistemic humility, and the capacity to replace judgment with curiosity while maintaining principles of systemic thinking over siloed approaches. Organizations risk failure when they eliminate dedicated architecture roles under the false assumption that "everyone should think like an architect," because without accountability and specialized focus, strategic architectural thinking simply won't happen. The profession must urgently address talent pipeline challenges by increasing visibility through university programs, hackathons, and mentorship models, as most people are familiar with building architects but have never heard of business or enterprise architects.
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Business architecture stands at a critical crossroads as AI-driven disruption and accelerating change challenge traditional practices. In this live recording from the Twin Cities Business Architecture Forum, four industry veterans debate whether the profession is properly equipped for the future, examining everything from framework fatigue to the irreplaceable human skills that no technology can automate. Watch for 5 things you must know about the future of business architecture... We Discuss: Is business architecture too rigid and dogmatic to adapt to current challenges like AI disruption? Are we overthinking frameworks and tools instead of just doing the workWill AI replace business architects? How do we manage the expectation that AI can help us when models always have inherent latency? Should we train business relationship managers (BRMs) to do business architecture instead of maintaining separate architecture practices? 5 Takeaways: Business architecture is at an inflection point where the profession must evolve beyond documenting current state to strategically designing organizations with intent across people, process, and technology in an era of unprecedented AI-driven disruption. AI will transform the architect's role by automating artifact generation and model creation, allowing practitioners to spend more time on irreplaceable human activities like stakeholder engagement, asking the right questions, and strategic thinking. The most critical non-negotiable skills for business architects are storytelling ability, epistemic humility, and the capacity to replace judgment with curiosity while maintaining principles of systemic thinking over siloed approaches. Organizations risk failure when they eliminate dedicated architecture roles under the false assumption that "everyone should think like an architect," because without accountability and specialized focus, strategic architectural thinking simply won't happen. The profession must urgently address talent pipeline challenges by increasing visibility through university programs, hackathons, and mentorship models, as most people are familiar with building architects but have never heard of business or enterprise architects.