Enterprise Architecture Overview

Enterprise Architecture (EA)

• A comprehensive approach to planning and managing resources within an organization, considering strategic goals, business requirements, and technology.
• Emphasizes a holistic view of the entire enterprise, rather than individual systems and programs.
• Represents a structured framework for analyzing, planning, and developing all resources within the organization.

EA Equation and Framework

• EA is defined as the integration of Strategy + Business + Technology.
• This simple equation captures the essential elements of EA, focusing on the interconnectedness of these components.
• EA utilizes a "Cube" framework, which offers a multi-dimensional view of the organization.
• EA focuses on designing virtual things (like organizations and their capabilities), unlike traditional architecture that focuses on physical things (e.g., buildings, infrastructure).

EA as a Discipline

• EA is a meta-discipline, meaning that it acts as an overarching framework for other best practices and disciplines.
• EA resolves the "battle of the best practices" by providing a context for choosing, implementing, and integrating various practices.
• EA provides an authoritative reference for standards and practices, promoting consistency and avoiding conflicts.

Core Elements of an EA approach

• Governance: Defines the planning, decision-making, and oversight processes for developing and maintaining EA.
• Methodology: Outlines the steps for establishing and maintaining an EA program.
• Framework: Identifies the scope of the overall architecture and the relationships between different sub-architecture levels.
• Artifacts: Specifies the types and methods of documentation used in various sub-architecture areas, including strategic analyses, business plans, security controls, and models of workflows, databases, and systems.
• Standards: Defines business and technology standards for the enterprise in different domains and components.
• Best Practices: Provides proven ways to implement parts of the architecture, within the overall EA context.

EA Activities

• EA involves both a management program and an analysis and design method.
• These components work together to provide ongoing capabilities and insights into the enterprise's strategic direction, business services, information flows, and resource utilization.

EA as a Management Program

• EA provides a strategic, integrated approach to capability and resource planning and decision-making.
• It is part of the overall governance process, ensuring resource alignment, standardized policy implementation, decision support, and guidance for development activities.

Strategic Alignment

• EA supports strategic planning by providing macro and micro views of how resources are leveraged to achieve the enterprise's goals.
• This helps maximize resource efficiency and effectiveness, enhancing the enterprise's competitiveness.
• All development projects should be reviewed to ensure alignment with the enterprise's strategic goals.

Standardized Policy

• EA supports the implementation of standardized management policies related to IT and other resource utilization.
• It facilitates the development of policies for:
  • Identifying strategic and operational requirements
  • Determining strategic alignment of activities and resources
  • Developing enterprise-wide business and technology resources
  • Prioritizing funding for programs and projects
  • Overseeing the management of programs and projects
  • Identifying performance metrics for programs and projects
  • Identifying and enforcing standards and configuration management

Decision Support

• EA provides support for IT resource decision-making at all levels of the enterprise, from executive to staff.
• It offers comprehensive information about:
  • Strategic goals and initiatives
  • Business products and services
  • Information flows, knowledge warehouses, and data objects
  • Information systems, software applications, enterprise resource programs, and websites
  • Voice, data, and video networks
  • Supporting infrastructure

EA Analysis and Design

• EA uses a framework and method to analyze the current architecture, identify gaps, and create a future architecture.
• The current view, often called the "as-is" view, provides a baseline inventory of resources and activities.
• This information is documented and archived for comparison with the future view and to support project planning, asset management, and investment decision-making.
• The future architecture outlines new or modified components needed to address performance gaps or support new strategic initiatives, operational requirements, or technology solutions.
• The future architecture considers new directions and goals, changing business priorities, and emerging technologies.

EA Components

• Vertical components: Address the needs of a single line of business.
• Horizontal (Crosscutting) components: Serve multiple lines of business.
• Examples of components include strategic goals, processes, programs, resources (systems, data, equipment), infrastructure, and security controls.

This quiz covers the fundamental concepts of Enterprise Architecture (EA), focusing on its strategic integration of business and technology. It discusses the holistic perspective EA provides for organizational planning and the significance of the Cube framework in understanding enterprise resources.