Enterprise Architecture

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An Enterprise Abstraction Approach: Viewing Enterprise Architecture Through Natural Language Constructs

This article introduces an approach to define an Enterprise Architecture (EA) that aims to get closer to the abstraction level of the business side of an organization. Named as Enterprise Abstraction Aproach (EAA), the approach stems its roots from ontology engineering, business rules approach and business process engineering and aims to define business view of EA through natural language contructs. The approach also suggests to define domain ontology of the information view of an EA. By extending the business ontology definition towards information and technology views of EA, the approach aims to define a semantic mapping accross self-contained domain ontologies that pertain to different views of an enterprise, achieving a 360-degree view of the enterprise through a unified language.

Geographic Information Systems in Public Sector Enterprise Architectures: Issues and Challenges

Geographic information systems (GIS) are widespread at the federal, state and local levels. Data sharing is important because the ultimate power of a GIS is its ability to graphically present layers of data from multiple unrelated disciplines to create new information that allows people to answer questions. GIS have traditionally been built on standalone, stove-piped systems that present considerable difficulties to enterprise architects for several reasons. Although there are standard exchange formats for individual data types, there is a lack of federally-mandated standards for overall GIS data sets. This paper will discuss the efforts and associated challenges at federal, state and local levels to develop and implement GIS enterprise architecture frameworks, standards and enterprise architectures in order to better manage geospatial data. It presents the U.S. Census Bureau as an example of how the federal government is pursuing data sharing efforts with local government agencies, and provides examples of state and local government organizations that are implementing GIS into their enterprise architectures. It also discusses the impact of web technologies on the GIS industry and the differing opinions of the GIS industry on these technologies.

When Enterprise Architecture Meets Government: An Institutional Case Study Analysis

This study investigates the systemic challenges facing enterprise architecture programs in government. Drawing upon the institutional theory lens from the political science field, a Danish case study is used to explore why public agencies implement enterprise architecture programs and the challenges they face when governing these programs at different levels (vertically) and different functions (horizontally) of government. The analysis shows that enterprise architecture is not just a technical issue, as economic and political facts are equally important when establishing interoperable e-government services. The findings suggest that implementing enterprise architectures in government challenges the way information systems are organized and governed in public agencies. Interoperability challenges in government arise because there is no overall coordination of different information systems initiatives in the public sector and because public organization have no economic and/or immediate political incentives to share data and business functionality with other organizations in their enterprise architecture programs.

Providing Deep Business Value: A Supply Chain Case Study

Enterprise Architecture (EA), born in the private sector under fractured proprietary process methodologies, has matured into a serious discipline thanks to the funding strengths of the Federal Government and the dedication of many practitioners. Application of this systems engineering discipline has come about under the shadow of a federally-induced mandate, but with mixed results. The United States Office of Management and Budget’s primary focus on Information Technology (IT) has results in an inappropriate association of EA as an “IT thing” and has caused EA to lose credibility among business leadership. The author argues that EA can be about more than IT and more than a necessary evil. It can actually provide deep business value and provide a structure for breaking down and managing complex problem. From personal experience in applying EA to a private sector e-commerce solution for supply chain management, the author presents elements of an e-business approach that others can leverage to help craft an operational EA that generates more than expensive shelf-ware. EA can become crucial in day-to-day operations and can be used within executive ranks to drive business decisions.

Assessment of a Government Agency’s Enterprise Architecture Program

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the Enterprise Architecture (EA) program for an Anonymous Federal Agency (AFA), a title chosen because actual situations from a federal agency EA program are used in this article, some of which are sensitive in nature. The evaluation methodology used in this article is based of the United States Government Accountability Office’s EA Management Maturity Framework (EAMMF) and its five stages of EA program maturity. In 2005, AFA’s current capability to utilize their EA received the lowest EAMMF rating (Stage 1) overall, with only some EA areas being at Stage 2. The AFA could improve their EA program by (1) avoiding Anne Lapkin’s “seven worst EA practices”; (2) involving stakeholders from throughout the AFA enterprise, not just from information technology; (3) education, involving, and requiring leadership’s participation (business and technical); and (4) remembering that developing EA documentation is an important aspect of the EA program, but may not be the best way to affect cultural change and use of the EA in planning and decision-making. Involving stakeholders is the most important element in using EA to improve agency performance.

A Principles-Based Enterprise Architecture Framework

The increasing importance of Enterprise Architecture is driven by requirements for seamless inter-operation between business, rapidly changing market, and ever-changing information and systems technologies. Enterprise architecture defines the overall design structure of the business and the information and technical infrastructure that supports the business, based on defined principles and models that guide the planning and designing, building and operating the enterprise and its strategic choices. This article highlights the importance of a principles-based enterprise architecture framework as a design imperative for business service groups, information management teams, and application and technology solution groups; as as a foundation for achieving interoperability, integration, and alignment of an organization’s systems (business, information, technology) across an enterprise.