From Exams to Practice: A Manifesto for the Professionalization of Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture

Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture are at the same inflection point that software engineering has reached.

Literature
July 9, 2026
Samuel Holcman
From Exams to Practice: A Manifesto for the Professionalization of Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture

Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture are at the same inflection point that software engineering has reached. When a field confuses vocabulary for competence, titles for capability, and exams for professional readiness, it creates a class of certified people who can describe the work without being able to do the work.

That model is no longer good enough. The next era of Enterprise Architect and Business Architect certification must move away from exam-centric credentialing and toward practitioner-based professionalization grounded in evidence, judgment, and demonstrated delivery.

From Exams to Practice: A Manifesto for the Professionalization of Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture

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