Enterprise Architecture

Explaining the What, and Why of the Enterprise Architecture Frameworks

Enterprise Architecture Framework

The phrase Enterprise Architecture was first used in 1987 by John Zachman in an IBM Systems Journal article titled A Framework for Information Systems Architecture, which is all pretty academic. Intended to address two problems System complexity - organizations were spending more and more money building IT Systems Poor business alignment - organizations were finding it more and more difficult to keep increasingly expensive IT systems aligned with business needs

What is an EA Framework?
Dictionary: framework: n. 1) A structure for supporting or enclosing something else, especially a skeletal support used as the basis for something being constructed; 2) a simplified description of a complex entity or process (syn: model) EA Context: An EA framework is a model or outline that provides the logical structure within which EA deliverables will be created and related to each other Intent of EA Framework: Provide a simplified context for the scope, analysis and structure of an enterprise and its components Examples: Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture, TOGAF, DODAF, MODAF, FEAF

But where do you start?

There are many successful Enterprise Architecture Frameworks in use today can we benefit from this accumulation of knowledge? Can we examine in detail the EA Frameworks of others? Do we have to reinvent the wheel? What reference materials are available? This is why TOGAF exists and is freely available. TOGAF is a framework a detailed method and set of supporting tools for developing an enterprise architecture.

What is an EA Framework?
We use the framework to view and understand the enterprise.
This view is actually made up of several views, (Business, Data, Application, and, Technology views. Our view of the enterprise is shaped by our perspective, as viewed from the role we play within the enterprise.

The Value of Enterprise Architecture is in the Relationships

Enterprise Architecture is more than a collection of the constituent architectures (Business, Data, Application, and Technology). The interrelationships among these architectures, and their joint properties, are essential to the Enterprise Architecture.

Enterprise Perspective

I see the enterprise as a.

Business Manager or User an organizational structure collection of business services/processes Software Developer set of application functions collection of software systems or components Design or Build Engineer collection of infrastructure components and interfaces

Enterprise Perspective
So who is right? They are all right!
EAs role is to organize all the views against a common EA framework so everyone can understand each others perspective. Providing the common language between the business and IT.

Where does TOGAF fit?

TOGAF is a mature EA framework that provides organizations with a step by step method of creating an enterprise level architecture. It defines placeholders for defining things common to all organizations delivering services in an enterprise environment . Business architecture The strategy, governance and business processes governing how the business goes about its work Data architecture A definition of the organizations logical/physical data stores, meta data and management resources Application architecture Blueprints for how software systems interact with each other, are deployed and their relationships to business processes (mapped in the business architecture) Technology architecture The assets of an organization used to deliver its IT capabilities. Logical software models, hardware resources, support requirements, data/application capabilities etc. Includes things like network topologies, comms, standards etc.

Putting it all together

Or maybe this.

Benefits of Adopting TOGAF

There are many benefits in adopting a standardized architecture framework rather than rolling our own, here are but a few:
reduced costs to maintained shorter ramp-up times readily available trained technical resources available ecosystem of standardized artifacts, and automation tools

What if
Another approach to evaluating the importance of EA Framework is by asking the question, What if we didnt have EA Framework?

Questions?

Ok here is the TOGAF framework