Enterprise Architecture Document
In the EA community, there is a lot of interest and need for a plain Enterprise Architecture Document example available as a PDF or Word download.
The Dragon1 users are going to provide that using the open method for Enterprise Architecture.
Together with everyone who wants to help or participate, we will publish here the Enterprise Architecture Document Use Case.
A new version will be released here every month. We will provide the data for the example EA document in XML, Word, PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint formats. In this way, we make it as easy as possible for everyone to create their own Enterprise Architecture with it.
Architecture Diagrams
We will place various architecture diagrams in the Enterprise Architecture document. Architecture diagrams show mainly concepts, principles, building blocks, key elements, and components. Architecture diagrams help to communicate structures, dependencies, progress, choices, and impact much more clearly than text, even if you have a simple architecture.
The example Enterprise Architecture Diagram for the SARAH, the Demo Company, in the EA document.
In the EA document, this diagram will be present, and all the building blocks, principles, rules, key elements, and components derived from this diagram. Once the Enterprise Architecture is implemented, SARAH, the demo company, will be a modern Smart and Green company.
Note: It is interesting to see that modern concepts are technology-driven and reflect society's trends, issues, and concerns.
The Dragon1 open EA method
Dragon is a true open Enterprise Architecture method. On www.dragon1.com/resources, you will find the official specification of the method, framework, and modeling language. For all the topics, models, views, and visualizations created in the example EA document, you will find the theory here at www.dragon1.com/resources.
Use Case-Based EA Example
As you can read on this Enterprise Architecture benefits page, EA done correctly leads to 7 benefits. Doing this correctly means not seeing EA as UML modeling, IT architecture, mapping processes, and applications. By EA doing correctly, we mean seeing the organization as a holistic whole and creating a current and future state conceptual blueprint, with various views for many stakeholders and projects so that decision-making is supported and projects are guided towards the realization of the future organization.
The Value of EA
This example will focus on the five benefits of working with EA. This will make sure you and other stakeholders can see and copy the added value of working with EA.
The 7 EA Benefits
The seven benefits EA leads to are:
- Creating Common Insights and Overviews
- Analyzing and Managing Impact of Change
- IT Cost Reduction and Rationalization
- Standardization and Risk Mitigation
- Process Improvement
- Strategy Realization
- Innovation Enablement
In the EA example, these seven benefits will be the use cases' outcomes. The EA example will clearly show how things work.
Read here all about Enterprise Architecture
Current Table of Contents
The EA example will focus on the application of theory and not on reiterating theory. The EA example will contain an EA dossier in a single document. So, it might be that the document will grow to a significant number of pages.
Dragon1 as a method defines a standard for an Enterprise Architecture Dossier with at least 20 to 30 documents/visualizations. If we create a single document to contain a minimum viable Enterprise Architecture, many of these dossier documents will be included.
The Contents
| Chapter | Title | Description |
| 1. | Management Summary | A one page description of the EA of demo company SARAH |
| 2. | Introduction | Introducing this Example Enterprise Architecture Document for the demo company SARAH. SARAH provides Smart, Green, and Health services to organizations and individuals. (NOTE: this is a fake company) |
| 3. | Strategy and Business Model | Description and visualization of the strategy and the business model of the company, with the challenges with competition on the market and internal restructuring in the organization. This chapter will at least have a Strategy Map and Business Model Canvas. |
| 4. | EA One Pager and Big Five | The complete EA in one A0-sized infographics picture, focussing on communicating the top 10 Architecture Principles and their impact, and five blueprint posters |
| 5. | Architectures | The chapter containing the actual architectures that are part of the EA |
| 5.1 | Business Architecture | A description and visualization of the concepts, architecture principles, architecture design decisions, building blocks, patterns, rules and standards that together form the current and future state business architecture. the business architecture is described and visualized in four layers of abstraction: conceptual, logical, physical, and implementational. |
| 5.2 | Information Architecture | Aka as Data Architecture |
| 5.3 | Application Architecture | A.k.a. (Information) Systems Architecture |
| 5.4 | IT Infrastructure Architecture | A.k.a. Technology Architecture or Technical Architecture |
| 6. | EA Process and Procedures | A description of how the team works and how stakeholders and projects make use of the EA products |
| 7. | EA Framework and EA Meta Model | A description and visualization of how all EA products are connected. |
| 8. | Stakeholders and Requirements | This chapter contains the requirements and needs (including the strategy and new business model). It issues the stakeholders have, which the architectures are a response or answer. |
| 9. | Solution Architecture and Projects | Description and visualization of a solution architecture that has been made compliant with the EA and how to use it in a project. The solution architecture is a description and visualization of the concepts, architecture principles, architecture design decisions, building blocks, patterns, rules, and standards that form the current and future state solution architecture. the business architecture is described and visualized in four layers of abstraction: conceptual, logical, physical, and implementational. Here, you will see how EA supports decision-making and guides projects. |
| 10. | Models, Views, and Visualizations | This chapter contains a list of all the models, views, and visualizations in this document. |
| 11. | Document References | This chapter contains a list of all the external documents that are referenced. |
| 12. | Index | Index of words. |
Mail content suggestions to specs@dragon1.com
EA Example Downloads
On Dragon1, we do not work with click baits, so you can download the documents below just by clicking on the link.
Download version 0.1 draft 21 dec 2018
Version History
| Date | Version | Note |
| 21 dec 2018 | 0.1 draft | Creation of page and document contents list |
Who Participates?
If you participate in creating the Enterprise Architecture Example, your name will be listed here with a backlink to your website.
How to Join?
If you want to help or participate in creating a Use Case-Based Example for Enterprise Architecture, mail to specs@dragon1.com with the subject PARTICIPATE. Next, you will be part of the community group for this and be inserted into the email communication. It is as simple as that.