Air Force architects receive leadership excellence award

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  The Air Force Enterprise Architecting Division was recognized for excellence in leadership and results during the EA 2010 Conference and Exhibition at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center here Sept 8.

Air Force EA Division Chief Col. David Geuting accepted the 2010 Excellence in EA Award from the Federated Enterprise Architecture Certification Institute, which, in partnership with the California State University at East Bay and the National University in San Diego, is the premier certification institution for Enterprise Architects.

"The award is a huge honor for all who are involved in driving forward the use of architecting in the Air Force," Colonel Geuting said. "Bobby Smart, the Air Force's chief architect, directed us to focus our efforts on making architecting understandable and relevant, and that is what we have been concentrating on for the last 12 months."

Competing against all Department of Defense agencies in this category, the Air Force EA Division was one of four government and civilian EA teams honored for their leading role in using architecting as a means of delivering real business benefit, the colonel said.

One of the key components of the Air Force EA Division's Architecting Transformation Project was the December 2009 publication of a concept of operations that outlined a vision for architecting in the Air Force.

Since the CONOPS was published, the Air Force EA Division has received positive feedback from international partners, academia and DOD officials, but Colonel Geuting noted that being recognized by a prestigious body such as the FEAC has "been the icing on the cake."

Architects from across the Air Force helped develop the CONOPS, Colonel Geuting said, adding that the document was essentially written by committee, where ideas and content were collated and filtered through a series of collaborative workshops.

"It really demonstrated the power of great teamwork," the colonel said.

Colonel Geuting explained the Air Force's overall Architecting Transformation Project, which included the CONOPS, gives Air Force users and the Air Force architecting community a clearly articulated description of the benefits and concepts of architecting.

"It is this specific focus on the use of architecting, coupled with some innovative processes to improve the quality of architecture, which has made this work unique in the wider architecting community," the colonel said. "People can see how architecting can help them."

He also stressed the importance of EA in modern business.

"When we look at how interconnected the world now is, we'd all agree the environment both within the commercial sector and within the federal government is hugely complex, and arguably much more complex than it has ever been," he said. "So the challenge of dealing with complexity and interdependence is one that leaders in all organizations face."

The colonel acknowledged that leaders face the ongoing challenge of providing maximum business output at optimal cost.

"I am convinced that using enterprise architecting as a decision-support tool can help leaders make better decisions in today's complex world," he said.