Decision Paralysis: Too Many Options

Hello, fellow architects!
This week on Enterprise Architecture: The Struggle is Real, we tackle a terrifying force in every EA’s life — choice. Not just any choice — framework-forking, cloud-platform-juggling, technology-roadmap-breaking choice.

The Main Story: Welcome to the Buffet of Despair

Meet Carla, our well-meaning enterprise architect who simply wanted to modernize a single business capability. Simple, right?

Enter the “Options Meeting.”

• Ten cloud providers (each “best-in-class”)

• Four integration styles (REST, GraphQL, semaphore-based telepathy…)

• Six stakeholder opinions (and one that just said “blockchain” and left)

• Two contradictory data governance frameworks

• A partridge in a legacy system tree

Three hours later, Carla had seventeen competing diagrams, a migraine, and exactly zero decisions. Someone suggested using an AI decision assistant — which promptly crashed after reviewing the SharePoint folder structure.

Meanwhile, the dev team built a workaround in Notion. Again.

TOGAF to the Rescue (Sort of)

Ah yes, the TOGAF standard. While it won’t eliminate decisions, it does provide a lovely antidote to the chaos:

• Architecture Vision (Phase A) helps define what really matters

• Requirements Management forces prioritization (and keeps things honest)

• Opportunities and Solutions (Phase E) reminds you not every shiny thing belongs in your architecture

TOGAF doesn’t stop the flood of options — it gives you a filter, a framework, and the occasional sanity check.

Educational Twist: Surviving the Option Avalanche

• Start with Principles – Define your enterprise architecture principles before vendors show up with cupcakes.

• Decide on Decision Criteria – Cost? Time to value? Integration complexity? Write it down and hold the line.

• Use Capability-Based Planning – Focus on what needs to change, not just what can.

Humor in Diagrams

Reader Engagement

What’s the most absurd set of options you’ve had to choose from as an architect?
Reply with your best “decision paralysis” story — the winner gets a fictional TOGAF Medal of Bravery 🏅.

Next Week’s Tease

"Frameworks on Trial: Which framework is guilty of architect abuse?"
(Bring your buzzwords and your best cross-examinations.)