Maturity and effectiveness of enterprise architecture

Abstract

Because of the need for continuous change, many organizations face an increasing complexity in their information systems portfolio. One of the answers to this increase in complexity, is the introduction of enterprise architecture (EA): the development and application of a consistent set of principles and models to guide the design and realization of processes, information systems and technological infrastructure from a holistic perspective. The application of a holistic view is expected to make complexity manageable and to prevent further increase in complexity. Though organizations are becoming progressively aware that they need EA to manage the complexity of their processes and IS, there are still many questions as to how to implement an effective EA practice. This research aims to contribute to the knowledge about how to achieve an effective EA practice. First of all, the research focuses on how to determine the effectiveness of an EA practice. Effectiveness of an EA practice is defined as the extent to which the EA practice contributes to the achievement of the business goals of the organization. Using a design-science research approach, a model is developed with which organizations can chart the intended contribution of their EA practice to their business goals. The model can be used by organizations to set coherent priorities for their EA practice and to define key performance indicators for measuring its effectiveness. The next question to be answered is how the activities, responsibilities and actors concerned with defining and applying EA can be developed to achieve the desired contribution. To answer this question a maturity model for EA practices is presented. The maturity model is used to assess EA practices and define improvement paths. Application of the maturity model to 56 organizations provides insight into common strengths and weaknesses. This may help focus future research efforts. The underlying structure of the maturity model presented, is precisely defined and described making it applicable for other researchers and other functional domains. Organizational factors like organizational culture and size may influence the techniques architects can use to achieve effectiveness. By using both case studies and statistical analysis of survey data the impact of such contextual factors is investigated. From the case studies it appears that especially the cultural dimensions of central control versus autonomy, extent of collaboration, and process or result orientation, influence the use of EA application techniques. Case studies also show the importance of interaction between architects, especially at the domain or tactical level. The survey shows that EA techniques used and EA benefits experienced differ among economic sectors. This dissertation looks at the EA practice from several perspectives, thus extending the overall knowledge about the use of EA in practice. It provides both instruments for developing the EA practice, like the architecture effectiveness model and the architecture maturity model, and insights in the influence of contextual factors. Practitioners can use the results to better focus their EA efforts. Researchers can use the results to better understand the field of EA, but also to study other functional domains.