Simplify to Amplify: Making Enterprise Architecture More Visible - and More Welcoming for Women

Enterprise architecture (EA) is often described as the blueprint of the modern organization. But for many people—women and men alike—the discipline still suffers from a perception problem. It can feel abstract, overly technical, and dominated by complex frameworks and diagram-heavy conversations.

In a recent session hosted by Christine Lervis of Value Blue and Olga Kulikova of KPMG Netherlands, the conversation cut through that fog. Instead of a formal slide-driven presentation, the two leaders held a candid dialogue about how women can enter, thrive, and lead in enterprise architecture—and how the field itself must evolve to become more visible, modern, and outcome-driven.

The result was a refreshing reality check: the biggest barrier isn’t a lack of talent. It’s a lack of clarity about what architecture truly is, why it matters, and how its value is communicated.

A shared mission: making architecture actionable

Christine Lervis, an Account Executive at Value Blue, opened by grounding the session in a simple idea: architecture must be actionable.

Value Blue positions itself as an enterprise architecture platform with a clear purpose: bridging the gap between elegant diagrams and real-world business execution. The question isn’t whether you can model an operating environment. The question is:

What do you do with that model? And how does it advance strategy?

Christine’s background adds a fascinating layer to this framing. She began her career in GIS and cartography—fields centered on mapping physical environments—before transitioning into technology sales and then the enterprise architecture and business process space. That parallel is powerful: whether you’re mapping physical terrain or a digital ecosystem, the map only matters if it enables better decisions.

Olga’s path: proof that architects aren’t “born from one mold”

Olga Kulikova, Director at KPMG Netherlands and lead of the firm’s enterprise architecture practice (internally called digital architecture), offered a career story many aspiring architects will recognize.

She didn’t study architecture at school. Her roots were in electrical engineering, followed by cybersecurity, product roles, software development, and then enterprise architecture.

This matters because it quietly pushes back on one of the most damaging assumptions in the field: that there is a single “correct” path into architecture.

In reality, architecture often benefits from multidisciplinary thinking. Systems background, security mindset, product intuition, and business fluency all strengthen the architect’s toolkit.

The visibility problem: architecture’s biggest hidden barrier.

One of Olga’s most compelling points was that lack of visibility remains a huge obstacle for women entering EA—but also for the field as a whole.

When she tries to recruit internally, the word “architecture” can trigger an immediate emotional drop. People imagine:

• dry frameworks

• complicated diagrams

• rigid methodology

• gatekeeping

  
  

But when she reframes the work through real client use cases—strategy, North Star definition, executive alignment—the energy comes back instantly.

This is one reason KPMG has adopted the term digital architecture. It signals modern relevance and shifts the mental image from “legacy bureaucracy” to “transformation leadership.”

Representation still lags

Olga referenced a commonly cited statistic: globally, women make up a relatively small share of enterprise architects. Whether the precise number fluctuates by source, the lived reality in many organizations is consistent: architecture is still behind broader tech in gender representation.

And that leads to a simple but profound truth:

It’s hard to be what you can’t see.

The more women lead visible architectural work—internally and in public communities—the more the next generation will imagine themselves in those roles.

Mentors, sponsors, and the power of external community

A standout part of the conversation was the practical approach to mentorship. Sometimes the problem isn’t that you lack ambition. It’s that your organization simply doesn’t have senior women architects to mentor you.

Christine shared a market example of a highly capable business architect who is the only one of her kind in her product organization. No internal mentor exists. So the solution must be broader than the firm.

Both speakers emphasised the value of:

• women-in-architecture communities

• cross-company networks

• quarterly gatherings

• informal peer mentorship

• 
  

Olga described Women in Architecture in the Netherlands, where senior leaders—including chief architects from major banks and insurers—connect and share insights. Those relationships can become real mentorship and sponsorship channels even if your internal ecosystem is still maturing.

Christine echoed this from her own career experience, especially through networks like Women in Revenue—a reminder that mentorship doesn’t have to be limited to your exact job title. Strategic thinking, confidence, deal-making, influence, and cross-functional navigation all transfer directly into architecture leadership.

A turning-point story: leading architecture in the Ministry of Defence

The most memorable moment of the session came when Olga shared a turning point project with the Ministry of Defence in the Netherlands.

The assignment: design a new strategy for an architecture department of roughly 80 architects across domains. Olga was:

• the only woman on the project

• the project lead

• working with a mostly male team

• interfacing with many military men

She expected hard technical scrutiny, and she got it. But what she learned was more important:

The breakthroughs didn’t come from diagram perfection.

They came from soft power applied with precision:

• reading the room

• navigating conflict

• building bridges between architect groups

• political awareness

• humility

• aligning people around practical value

The team focused less on “pure architecture theory” and more on how architecture stops being perceived as a bottleneck and starts enabling movement.

Her takeaway is one that deserves to be repeated in bold:

You don’t need to be a five-star ArchiMate person to be a great architect. Systems thinking is essential—but so is the human side of transformation.

Making architecture attractive by making it strategic

A recurring thread across the session was that architecture becomes more attractive—especially to women—when it is positioned correctly.

Not as an internal modeling function.Not as data collection.But as a strategic discipline that:

• shapes investment decisions

• clarifies priorities

• reduces waste

• aligns business and technology

• accelerates transformation

  
  

This isn’t just a messaging shift. It’s a real operational shift in how architecture teams choose their work and prove value.

The simplest accelerator: prove value with one clear win

As the session closed, a crisp, tactical recommendation emerged:

Pick one project where the value is obvious.

Olga highlighted application rationalization as a classic example. It’s measurable, financially tangible, and easy for executives to understand. When you can show how architecture reduced:

• operational costs

• licensing costs

• redundancy

• complexity

you stop having to justify your seat at the table. The table starts inviting you in.

Christine reinforced the same philosophy through Value Blue’s lens:

Tie architecture to strategic projects early.

Make your role visible.Prove outcomes.

Avoid becoming “the diagram team.”

What this means for women entering architecture

The combined message from Olga and Christine is both encouraging and actionable:

1. You don’t need a traditional background.

   Architecture welcomes systems thinkers from cybersecurity, engineering, product, software, business, and beyond.

2. Visibility is a career tool.

   Seek projects that connect architecture to strategy and outcomes.

3. Your soft skills are not secondary.

   They are often the differentiator that turns architecture into a real business enabler.

4. If internal mentorship doesn’t exist, build external mentorship.

   Communities aren’t optional—they’re a growth strategy.

5. Start with a focused win.

   One high-impact project can unlock the next five.

   
   

Closing thought

Olga’s phrase—“Simplify to amplify”—works beautifully as both a philosophy for architecture and a quiet rallying cry for women stepping into the field.

Simplify the narrative of what architecture is.

Simplify the path into it.

Simplify the way value is demonstrated.

Because when clarity grows, confidence grows. And when confidence grows, representation follows.