Enterprise Architecture has been developed in order to optimize the alignment between business needs and the (rapidly changing) possibilities of information technology. But do organizations indeed benefit from the application of Enterprise Architecture according to those who are in any way involved in architecture? To answer this question, a model has been developed (the Enterprise Architecture Value Framework) to organize the benefits of Enterprise Architecture. Based on this model, a survey has been conducted among the various types of stakeholders of Enterprise Architecture, such as architects, project managers, developers and business or IT managers. In the survey the respondents were asked to what extent they perceive various benefits of Enterprise Architecture in their organization. The results of this survey (with 287 fully completed responses) are analyzed and presented in this paper. In all categories of the framework benefits are perceived, though to different extent. Very few benefits are perceived in relation to the external orientation of the organization. Few statistically significant correlations were found in relation to the background of the respondents: the overall view on benefits of Enterprise Architecture appeared independent of the role of the respondents, the economic sector and the number of years of experience with architecture.
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With the development of Enterprise Architecture (EA) as a discipline, measuring and understanding its value for business and IT has become relevant. In this paper a framework for categorizing the benefits of EA, the Enterprise Architecture Value Framework (EAVF), is presented and based on this framework, a measurability maturity scale is introduced. In the EAVF the value aspects of EA are expressed using the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard with regard to the development of these aspects over time, defining sixteen key areas in which EA may provide value. In its current form the framework can support architects and researchers in describing and categorizing the benefits of EA. As part of our ongoing research on the value of EA, two pilots using the framework have been carried out at large financial institutions. These pilots illustrate how to use the EAVF as a tool in measuring the benefits of EA.
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The importance of sustainability is rapidly increasing and by now has an increasing impact on the operations of organizations. In modern organizations many of the business processes are supported by IT, which makes the relation between sustainability and IT an important subject. However, how to integrate business strategy with IT operations in relation to sustainability is unclear. In this paper we focus on the role of Enterprise Architecture in this process and try to answer “How Enterprise Architecture may contribute in the traceable transformation from sustainability principles towards requirements on Green IT in the field of higher education.” Based on a literature study and qualitative research at different organizations we adapted the Sustainable Information Systems Management (SISM) model of Erek et al (2012). The SISM Revisited model not only guides organizations in identifying areas of interest for aligning the sustainability strategy of an organization with its IS/IT activities, but we expect it will be useful to implement sustainability in organizations as well.
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Abstract Healthcare organizations operate within a network of governments, insurers, inspection services and other healthcare organizations to provide clients with the best possible care. The parties involved must collaborate and are accountable to each other for the care provided. This has led to a diversity of administrative processes that are supported by a multi-system landscape, resulting in administrative burdens among healthcare professionals. Management methods, such as Enterprise Architecture (EA), should help to develop and manage such landscapes, but they are systematic, while the network of healthcare parties is dynamic. The aim of this research is therefore to develop an EA framework that fits the dynamics of network organizations (such as long-term healthcare). This research proposal outlines the practical and scientific relevance of this research and the proposed method. The current status and next steps are also described.
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Business Rule Management (BRM) is a means to make decision-making within organizations explicit and manageable. BRM functions within the context of an Enterprise Architecture (EA). The aim of EA is to enable the organization to achieve its strategic goals. Ideally, BRM and EA should be well aligned. This paper explores through study of case study documentation the BRM design choices that relate to EA and hence might influence the organizations ability to achieve a digital business strategy. We translate this exploration into five propositions relating BRM design choices to EA characteristics.
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Dit artikel beschrijft onderzoek naar de rol die Enterprise Architectuur kan hebben bij het verduurzamen van een organisatie van hoger onderwijs. Hierbij zijn de volgende producten opgeleverd: - Een overzicht van relevante literatuur met betrekking tot Enterprise Architectuur en Duurzaamheid. - Een overzicht van de rol die Enterprise Architectuur speelt in geselecteerde organisaties en instellingen voor Hoger Onderwijs. - Een validatie van de beschreven ‘best practices’. - Lesmateriaal over de rol van Enterprise Architectuur en Duurzaamheid. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de rol van Enterprise Architectuur bij het behalen van duurzaamheidsdoelstellingen op dit ogenblik nog gering is. Wel zien de geïnterviewde architecten en duurzaamheidscoördinatoren op termijn een grotere rol weggelegd voor Enterprise Architectuur.
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Author supplied: Based on the Enterprise Architecture Value Framework (EAVF) - a generic framework to classify benefits of Enterprise Architecture (EA) - a measurement instrument for EA benefits has been developed and tested in a survey with 287 respondents. In this paper we present the results of this survey in which stakeholders of EA were questioned about the kind of benefits they experience from EA in their organization. We use the results of the survey to evaluate the framework and develop a foundation for the measurement instrument. The results of the survey show a moderate support for the assumptions underlying the framework. Applying ordinal regression, we derived sets of questions for ten out of the twelve classes in the framework. These sets constitute the first step in defining a final EA measurement instrument for establishing actual benefits in the classes of the framework.
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Author Supplied: In the last decades, architecture has emerged as a discipline in the domain of Information Technology (IT). A well-accepted definition of architecture is from ISO/IEC 42010: "The fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and the environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution." Currently, many levels and types of architecture in the domain of IT have been defined. We have scoped our work to two types of architecture: enterprise architecture and software architecture. IT architecture work is demanding and challenging and includes, inter alia, identifying architectural significant requirements (functional and non-functional), designing and selecting solutions for these requirements, and ensuring that the solutions are implemented according to the architectural design. To reflect on the quality of architecture work, we have taken ISO/IEC 8402 as a starting point. It defines quality as "the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated requirements". We consider architecture work to be of high quality, when it is effective; when it answers stated requirements. Although IT Architecture has been introduced in many organizations, the elaboration does not always proceed without problems. In the domain of enterprise architecture, most practices are still in the early stages of maturity with, for example, low scores on the focus areas ‘Development of architecture’ and ‘Monitoring’ (of the implementation activities). In the domain of software architecture, problems of the same kind are observed. For instance, architecture designs are frequently poor and incomplete, while architecture compliance checking is performed in practice on a limited scale only. With our work, we intend to contribute to the advancement of architecture in the domain of IT and the effectiveness of architecture work by means of the development and improvement of supporting instruments and tools. In line with this intention, the main research question of this thesis is: How can the effectiveness of IT architecture work be evaluated and improved?
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From the article: Agile ways of working have become mainstream, with many organisations practising a form of agile. Agile maturity among those organisations differs. In a research conducted by VersionOne Inc. (2016), 82% of the participating organisations stated to be at or below the level of ‘still maturing’. Existing agile and architecture methods have begun to incorporate some aspects of each other, with agile methods including architecting, such as the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), and architecture frameworks such as TOGAF (the Open Group Architecture Framework), adding agile elements (Poort, 2014). This study addresses the question how to shape the architecture function to effectively achieve compliance with architecture regulations, of solutions realised in an agile environment. To answer this question a multiple-case study was done, studying three different organisations. The findings are translated into seven propositions.
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With the development of Enterprise Architecture (EA) as a discipline, measuring and understanding its value for business and IT has become relevant. In this paper a framework for categorizing the benefits of EA, the Enterprise Architecture Value Framework (EAVF), is presented and based on this framework, a measurability maturity scale is introduced. In the EAVF the value aspects of EA are expressed using the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard with regard to the development of these aspects over time, defining sixteen key areas in which EA may provide value. In its current form the framework can support architects and researchers in describing and categorizing the benefits of EA. As part of our ongoing research on the value of EA, two pilots using the framework have been carried out at large financial institutions. These pilots illustrate how to use the EAVF as a tool in measuring the benefits of EA
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