Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise Architecture

Topic 1: Enterprise Architecture Overview & Structure and Culture of Enterprise

Objectives
 Understand the purpose of EA
 Understand the elements of an EA management program and an EA documentation method
 Understand the structural and cultural aspects of an enterprise and tie them to the architecture
 Become familiar with models of organizations and enterprises

Role of Enterprise Architecture (EA)
 Organization may develop individual technology solutions to meet particular organizational requirements
o Developing without an enterprise architecture may lead to duplication and inefficiency in resource
 Organizations are faced with the challenge of deciding which best practices to adopt, how to do it, and what
overlaps, contradictions, and gaps are produced.
 Organization may have dozens of best practices created in isolation
 EA can be the architecture of the enterprise and cover all elements and aspects
o EA is holistic and serves as an umbrella for all other management and technology best practices
o EA creates abstract views, analyses, and models of a current and future enterprise to help make better
plans and decisions
o EA framework can help organizations make rational decisions about which best practices to adopt, what
they will cover, and how they can relate to each other.
 Try to avoid individual projected created in isolation

EA Formula
 Enterprise architecture (EA) = Strategic (S) + Business (B) + Technology planning (T) Strategy → goal ------->
business process will be adjusted to the goal ----> IT projects
 System analysis design → technology (only focus on tech) with the aid of project development

,EA approach
 Six core elements of an EA approach
o Governance
 Identifies the planning, decision-making, and oversight processes and groups
 Determining how the EA is developed and maintained (who will plan)
o Methodology
 Specifies steps to establish and maintain an EA program
o Framework
 Identifies the scope of the overall architecture and the type and relationship of sub-architecture
levels and threads
o Artifacts
 Identify the types and methods of documentation to be used in each sub- architecture area
o Standards
 Identify business and technology standards for enterprise in each domain, segment and
component of the EA
o Best practices
 Proven ways to implement parts of the architecture or sub-architectures




EA as a Management Program
EA provides the following:
 Strategic alignment
o Connect goals, activities and resources
 Standardized policy
o Resource governance and implementation
 Decision support
o Financial control and configuration management
 Resource oversight
o Lifecycle approach to development/management

,EA as an Analysis and Design Method
EA analysis and design are accomplished through six basic elements
 An EA documentation framework
o Identifies the scope of the architecture and establish relationships between the architecture’s areas
 An implementation methodology
 Current Views
 Future views
 An EA management Plans
 ‘Threads’ (areas common to all levels of the framework)
 EA components: changeable goals, processes, standards and resource




EA as an Analysis and Design Method (Cont.)
 Current architecture:
o Those components currently within the enterprise
 Future Architecture:
o New or modified components needed to close a gap or suppose new solutions; is driven in three ways:
 New directions and goals
 Changing business priorities
 Emerging technologies

, EA as an Analysis and Design Method (Cont.)
 EA Management Plan:
o Articulates the EA program and documentation approach.
 Also contains current and future views, as well as a plan of transitions
 Threads: refer to common activities present in all levels of the framework include
o IT-related security
o Technology-related Standards
o Skills




Reference Architecture (RA) / Segment Architecture (SA)
 RA is the part of an EA providing standards and documentation for a particular type of capability
 SA focuses one or more particular business units or functions

Fitting the Architecture Elements
 Communication is supported through the EA Management Plan and the EA repository
 The management plan determines how information fits within a specific level
o Strategic ‘Goals and Initiatives’ level
o Business ‘Products and Services’ level
o ‘Data and Information’ level
o ‘Systems and Application’ level
o ‘Network and Infrastructure’ level