Enterprise Architecture Model – A Quick Overview of the Basics

What is Enterprise Architecture?

Our experience tells us to focus on purpose and the definition will follow. What is enterprise architecture? An enterprise architecture is developed to guide effective change. The DODAF definition says that an enterprise architecture is “a set of abstractions and models that simplify and communicate...”

So, an enterprise architecture is developed as one or more models. Each enterprise architecture model helps answer questions - questions like, what is the source of rigidity and cost? Together, the enterprise architecture models show the many facets of an organization to pinpoint required changes. Enterprise Architecture models are often at the heart of digital transformation.

Enterprise Architecture has a well defined method for undertaking enterprise analysis, design, planning, and governing implementation. Enterprise Architecture uses architecture best practices and concepts to lead businesses through the technological, business, and informational transformations required to implement their strategy.

Enterprise architects analyze the organizational structure and business processes. They are frequently asked to draw conclusions from the data they have gathered in order to address the objectives of the organization, which include efficiency, overall agility, and endurance of complex business operations. Enterprise Architecture Models provide the insight to answer these questions.

How Does an Enterprise Architecture Model Work?

An enterprise architecture model works by representing the subject in a form that enables reasoning, insight, and clarity concerning the essence of the subject.

TOGAF looks to IEEE 42010 for guidance about building enterprise architecture models. The image to the right is the outline used in TOGAF.

This tells us that:

• a model kind provides conventions for an architecture model
• one or more architecture models are used to generate an architecture view
• architecture views address stakeholder concerns about the architecture in question

This technical underpinning highlights several things for us.

First, you create a model to answer questions. The correct model depends upon what your stakeholder is needs to understand about the current or target architecture.

Second, you may need more than one model to answer a stakeholder question.

Third, a good enterprise architecture framework will help you know what information you need to create the models to answer expected questions. The Enterprise Architecture Leader's Guide strongly recommends that the EA Team's Leader work backwards from expected question and build the entire set of

Each of the three types of enterprise architecture framework (comprehensive framework, industry framework, domain frameworks) will provide different guidance.

As a general rule the EA Leaders needs to align to their enterprise architecture use cases.

• comprehensive framework will have broader model kinds very focused on traceability
• industry framework will have model kinds focused on standard industry problems
• domain frameworks will have very specialized model kinds

You need a framework that supports your EA use case and answers the questions your team faces.

Using the right number of models to create an enterprise architecture model makes it easier to understand how an enterprise structure affects a design. How to incorporate architectural decisions and principles. Every architecture includes a fundamental element that shapes the company and greatly affects how it functions and the experiences people have with it.

Requires Many Different Types of Architecture Models

Let's be clear. You will not have one unified end-to-end enterprise architecture model.

Consider the following models:

• transformation model
• enterprise information component model
• value chain model
• risk model
• process model
• acquisition motivation model

It is impossible to have these seamlessly fit together into one unified enterprise architecture model. What you need to do is stitch them together so that you can understand your organization to find the source of a deficiency and fix it.

Through the use of enterprise architecture domains, you will find it easier to link models within a domain than between domains. Control the touch-points across domains and use the touchpoints to stich together your end-to-end model.

Example Enterprise Architecture Models

Great, we have the theory - depending on the question you need to answer will require different models. Models are used to simplify and understand different parts of your organization.

Below, I summarize different models and questions.

• Where to focus attention on required improvements - Capability Model (Capability Model) and Capability-based Plan
• How the IT portfolio enables value capture – Application Development Model, Infrastructure Service Model
• Where cost is injected into the IT Portfolio - Application Functional Model and Infrastructure Interface Model
• Where rigidity is injected into the IT Portfolio - Integration Model and Lifecycle Model
• What the IT portfolio is – Physical Software Model and Physical Infrastructure Model
• Constraints on acquiring and using Technology – Standards Catalog
• The complete activities an infrastructure does grouped to show how they relate to each other – Service or Product Model
• How the business captures value - Business Model, Operating Model, and Value Chain
• What activities your organization performs - Process Model
• How authority, accountability, and resources are divided and managed - Organizational Model
• What information is required and where it needs to flow to create more Information - Information Model

What Makes a Good Enterprise Architecture Model?

A good Enterprise Architecture model helps you understand how your organization works, and the source of a deficiency you would like to correct. A great Enterprise Architecture model lets you exercise change and see the impact of change.

Let’s consider an analogy to better illustrate our point. A budget spreadsheet will breakdown spending down to rent, power, heat, investments, etc. Then, if you wanted to increase spending on other things, such as a house, you can see what options your have in your spreadsheet. Enterprise architects do the same thing to look at things like changing digital customer engagement, integrating an acquisition, or upgrading major enterprise software. Really poor models are often static, as they simply “show” something. Bad models don’t let you see the impact of possibility. Really strong models let you focus the purpose of change on stakeholder for decision-maker concerns like agility or other standard EA use cases.

Core criteria for assessing different enterprise architecture models

• answers a useful question
• is backed by industry practice
• has minimum information needs
• either
  • fits together with adjacent models
  • provides an answer that will feed into a different model

Why Should Enterprise Architecture Models Be Used?

Frankly, no high-functioning Enterprise Architecture team can sustain itself without formal enterprise architecture models.

The complexity of the real-world is overwhelming. Models are required to simplify for understanding. Models are required to support re-use and labor productivity. Models are required to answer hard stakeholder questions.

In the past, Enterprise Architectures produced lengthy multi-year plans with a lot of one-time analysis, a slow pace, and rigid conceptual frameworks. These outdated Enterprise Architecture mindsets have been rendered obsolete by the requirements of modern management best practices.

The supporting technologies for Enterprise Architecture have developed along with the discipline. Scalable, supporting complicated modeling, corporate collaboration, useful connectors, simplicity of use, and improving data integrity and quality are all features of specialized Enterprise Architecture-focused technologies. A wide range of use cases, including cloud transformation, data compliance, standards governance, integration architecture, and others, are covered by professional Enterprise Architecture Model tools.