Architecture Catalyst Role

Content owner: alex.weigel@roche.com

The Architecture Catalyst plays a key role in connecting their respective area (capability or domain) with the Architecture Group. This role focuses on facilitation, alignment, and continuous feedback, helping ensure that enterprise architecture guidance is understood, adopted, applied effectively, and stays adaptive to emerging needs.

While Enterprise Architects (EA) remain accountable for architecture strategy, standards, and guardrails, and Solution Architects are responsible for solution design, the Architecture Catalyst helps bridge strategy and execution. The role does not typically make architecture decisions independently. Instead, it supports alignment across teams, accelerates adoption of architectural direction, and contributes to the ongoing refinement of EA artifacts such as the CSCOE Playbook.

Role Purpose and Characteristics

Member of the Architecture Council; nomination endorsed by the respective area and Head of EA, the goals of the catalyst are:

  • Acts as the primary liaison between their department and the Architecture Group.

  • Aligns departmental needs and priorities with enterprise architecture direction.

  • Provides feedback and endorses the architecture council decisions on behalf of their respective area (capability or domain).

  • Brings expertise and perspective from their domain/capability into architecture discussions

  • Communicates architecture strategy and decisions back to their department.

  • Ensures that architecture principles, guardrails and processes are consistently adopted.

  • Active contribution to Architecture Decision Records and time-bound Architecture Workgroups.

To strengthen accountability and recognition, the role should be formalized in Workday as either a core responsibility or part of the individual’s career development goals. It should also be assessed as part of the standard performance review process, including feedback requests from one or more members of the EA core team.

RACI table

Key roles

  • Architecture Catalyst (AC)

  • Enterprise Architects (EA). Defines enterprise architecture strategy, standards, and target reference architecture. Owns architecture strategy, principles, and standards

Goals Activity Catalyst Architect

Contribution

Define enterprise architecture direction, principles, and standards

C

A/R

Liaison

Represent departmental priorities in architecture discussions

A/R

C

Adoption

Drive the adoption of enterprise guardrails within the department

R

A

Feedback

Participate in Architecture Council deliberations and decisions

R

A

Contribution

Participate in time-bound Architecture Workgroups

R

A

Contribution

Improve shared EA assets (e.g., CSCOE Playbook)

R

A/R

Adoption

Formalize the role in Workday and support performance review input

R

A

Communication

Promote architecture patterns and platforms

R

A

Contribution

Prepare architecture review inputs

R

A

Contribution

Approve architecture decisions and exceptions

R

A

Contribution

Provide architecture coaching to the department

C

A

Legend: R - Responsible (Doer); A - Accountable (Owner); C - Consulted (Advisor)

Guidelines for Progression

Every catalyst is on a personal journey and the indicators below can be used by a catalyst to assess their personal progress. The relationship of the indicators to the catalyst goals, and how they can be measured, can be found in the document Architecture Catalyst Guidelines for Progression.

  • The first point of contact for questions, new solutions, and significant changes to existing solutions

  • Follow up on questions, new solutions, and significant changes to existing solutions to ensure they are addressed

  • The non-conformities to the playbook are kept to a minimum

  • Ensure that topics that are current in the council are shared back to their respective organisation

  • The relevant aspects of the playbook are known by themselves and their colleagues

  • Actively inform the team of the need to review with the architecture council

  • Proactively look for opportunities for architects to have an impact, in particular in emerging areas

  • Actively participate in architecture reviews

  • Influence changes in architecture for their departments/domains in all areas, e.g., reviews, implementation, and council meetings

Become an Architecture Catalyst

The Architecture Catalyst team is continuously growing. If you would like to join and become a Catalyst, please contact the CS-CoE Enterprise Architecture group.

catalyst call