2017

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The Failure of Success Factors: Lessons from Success and Failure Cases of Enterprise Architecture Implementation

Many Enterprise Architecture programmes fail to meet expectations. While much has been written about the factors influencing the success of EA programmes, there are few empirical investigations of the role of critical success factors (CSFs) in the success of EA programmes. This study condensed the very broad literature on CSFs for EA identifying six key CSFs that share a broad consensus in the literature. A qualitative case study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the six key CSFs would distinguish between the successful and the unsuccessful programmes. Analysis of the case study data reveals that three key CSFs associated with the use of EA tools did not distinguish between successful and unsuccessful cases while three key CSFs related to the process of EA programme implementation did so. The study concludes that success in EA programmes comes more from how architecture is practiced than what is practiced. The findings have important implications for EA suggesting that the methodological skills of architects need to be supplemented with an understanding of practice.

Systematic literature review on enterprise architecture in the public sector

Enterprise architecture (EA) is an approach to improve the alignment between the organization’s business and their information technologies. It attempts to capture the status of the organizations’ business architecture, information resources, information systems, and technologies so that the gaps and weaknesses in their processes and infrastructures can be identified, and development directions planned. For this reason, EA has become a popular approach also in the public sector to increase their efficiency and ICT utilization. Yet researchers have largely ignored this context, and it seems that quite little is known about how EA is developed, implemented, or adapted in different countries and in the public sector. We thus conducted a systematic literature review to identify the major research topics and methods in studies focusing on public sector EA. We analyzed 71 identified articles from the past 15 years. Our analysis shows that the development viewpoint, case studies in developed countries, and local settings seem to form mainstream EA research in the public sector. Taken together, it seems that public sector EA is scattered, and there is no strong, single research stream. Instead the researchers conduct local case studies. This means the knowledge on EA development, implementation or adaptation, their challenges and best practices does not accumulate. There is consequently a need for more research in general, and targeted research in some specific segments.

Towards a Visual Language Approach for Modeling Business Ecosystems

Enterprises develop, produce, and distribute their products and services nowadays in complex and increasingly digital business ecosystems consisting of business partners, suppliers, competitors, start-ups, public institutions, and costumers. These business ecosystems exhibit a high dynamic: new actors enter and leave the ecosystem continuously. Thus, for enterprise business and IT strategy the knowledge about and active design of the business ecosystems are gaining more relevance. Various stakeholders within the enterprise need to collaborate to achieve a holistic understanding of the ecosystem, all with different requirements towards the ecosystem model. As visualizations have proven to support stakeholders in fulfilling their ecosystem related tasks, the aim of this research project is the modeling and visualizing of business ecosystems addressing the identified challenges.

The Next Production Revolution: Implications for Governments and Business

This publication examines the opportunities and challenges, for business and government, associated with technologies bringing about the “next production revolution”. These include a variety of digital technologies (e.g. the Internet of Things and advanced robotics), industrial biotechnology, 3D printing, new materials and nanotechnology. Some of these technologies are already used in production, while others will be available in the near future. All are developing rapidly. As these technologies transform the production and the distribution of goods and services, they will have far-reaching consequences for productivity, skills, income distribution, well-being and the environment. The more that governments and firms understand how production could develop in the near future, the better placed they will be to address the risks and reap the benefits.

The People Problem: A Primer on Architecting the Enterprise as an Enterprise Architect

Your business is solving the wrong problems. The nuclear triad of People, Process and Technology has been foundational to solving business problems for decades. Entire frameworks and methodologies have grown up around the simple concept that getting each of these three areas correct and functioning in concert will ensure smooth business operations and cross-enterprise alignment. Billions of dollars have been spent on people in the management consulting industry who have ‘mastered’ the art of alignment and offered definitive solutions to the biggest, wickedest business challenges out there. And yet… our businesses continue to encounter the same well-known and seemingly well-solved problems, spending massive sums to fix them. How can this be? It is said that modern business is one part innovation and one part marketing. Innovation is often mistakenly equated with technology and marketing with ‘digital’. Success in business therefore becomes a chase for digital capabilities and the latest technology to enable them. And yet… the latest technology continues to give us problems, create headaches and doesn’t always give our businesses the edge they need to compete, despite costing us huge amounts of money. How can this be? The reality, of course, is that businesses are chasing the wrong buzzwords, buying the wrong solutions, solving the wrong problems. The People Problem tackles this topic from the perspective of Enterprise Architecture. For newcomers and open-minded old-timers who practice EA, architecting the enterprise is all about asking the fundamental question ‘what business problem are we trying to solve?’ When practitioners pay close attention, they’ll recognize that business problems are infrequently solved by a new tool. That is, Technology isn’t the answer to the problem. They’ll also notice that the most efficient process in the world, made popular by the flashiest buzzwords in the industry, is insufficient to answer the fundamental question. In other words, Process is not the answer to the problem. Human beings are at the root and core of our businesses. They define the processes and operate the technology. Only by recognizing that solving business problems requires solving problems with (and caused by) people will we get close to the right solutions. The People Problem aims to help new entrants to the field of enterprise architecture (and anyone interested in solving difficult business problems) navigate in an era of particularly rapid business and technological change. Based on over 17 years of experience consulting with companies large and small, Fortune 500 to local startups, The People Problem is a collection of accumulated knowledge presented in easily digestible vignettes.

Next Generation Enterprise Reference Architecture For Connected Government: Enterprise Architecture in Government

The objective of the book is to provide practical guidelines to an Architect/consultant who is the part of the Enterprise Architecture Definition Team for Government Transformation initiatives. The consultant need to follow the steps described in the book and adopt them fairly to achieve the EA enablement of Government. It emphasis on the interpersonal skills and techniques for organizing and directing the EA definition, buy-in from management commitment, leading the transition from planning to implementation. It also showcases the steps to be followed for performing the Government Reference Enterprise Architecture. This book defines the methodology to be adopted for EA Reference Architecture for various domains and also provides the value through the practical advice on how to make the Governments to achieve EA adoption and establish a connected Government. We documented our own methodology without excluding other methodological possibilities. This book helps any Enterprise Architecture Planning Team to shorten the time of planning and execution, since most of the time is utilized in agreeing the common approach and work towards the goal. This book demonstrates practical views of an enterprise architect in improving the success rate of EA across the Governments. There is no hard and fast rule that Governments should adopt to one particular framework or standard or approach. They can choose to adopt any industry specific framework, however it can be customised as per the needs of the Government. The book takes a holistic view of the Government Enterprise Architecture, while also giving specific guidelines on how to establish and roll out future-state Government Enterprise Architecture based on the methodology and approach documented in this book. The book aims to: • Demonstrate importance of enterprise architecture in elevating the effectiveness of Government transformation programmes • Disseminate current advancements and thought leadership in the area of government enterprise architecture in the context of Connected Government • Provide initiatives with evidence-based, credible, field tested and practical guidance in crafting their respective architectures (Business, Application, Data, Technology etc) • Showcase innovative use of Enterprise Architecture in enhancing Government transformation initiatives