What is Enterprise Architecture (EA)?
According to Dragon1, an Enterprise Architecture (EA) consists of a set of concepts (with their principles) applied to an enterprise system or structure. Enterprise Architecture is visualized and managed in a conceptual or architecture blueprint or another integral design that uses strategy as input.
The programs and projects that carry out transition use these data-driven decision-making visualizations and views of the Enterprise Architectures (i.e., the Designs). EA, with that, directs and guides strategic change and innovation.
This page explains why the Dragon1 vision on Enterprise Architecture is Decision-Making and how Visual Enterprise Architecture, when effectively used, increases the overall Enterprise Performance.
The Bridge between Strategy and Transformation
Positioning Enterprise Architecture between strategy and (digital) transformation of the organization or business unit is increasingly accepted. The strategy states what the owners/clients and stakeholders want to achieve regarding their goals, objectives, priorities, and requirements.
Using Dragon1 Enterprise Architecture (EA), you bridge the gap between strategy and transformation to improve overall business performance.
Enterprise Architecture Diagram at Conceptual Level
Enterprise Architecture is a set of concepts applied to an enterprise system. So, an EA diagram at the conceptual level should only show the concepts necessary to be implemented in the organization because of the strategy and business model.
Visualizing and mapping diagrams at a conceptual level.
Layered Enterprise Architecture Blueprint at Logical Level
When it is clear what the essential concepts are to be implemented in the organization (as part of the architecture), every concept can be detailed into elements at a logical level. One can create and visualize concept diagrams showing the impact of change or implementation costs. One can also visualize and show all the concepts' elements together in a layered blueprint for digital transformation.
What Enterprise Architects often encounter is the necessary input they need for modeling and visualizing EA. The strategy is usually fragmented, inconsistent, has no status, is without ownership, is outdated, unfindable, is a big secret, and is inaccessible.
Example Blueprint of a Digital Twin Organization: Strategy on the left, Architecture in the middle, Transformation on the right.
It is a real challenge for architects not to become the next strategy developers but only the catalyzers of the process of increasing coherence and consistency in the strategy. If they do this process well, they will have a perfect starting point for designing and visualizing data for EA at a particular moment. After creating the EA (or other architectures), they are tasked with creating communicative and visual products that help tell the story and ensure that the enterprise architecture visualization is used in digital transformation programs to manage risk, projects, strategy, data, and change for decision-making.
One of the biggest challenges of architects is that their EA products aren't used because they are too hard to understand for project managers and project workers who don't see the enterprise architecture benefits.
Holistic Organization View with Enterprise Architecture
Dragon1, as an Enterprise Architecture method, helps you look holistically at the organization. Below is an example reference model:
Enterprise Architecture is about discovering and solving weaknesses within a Holistic organization view.
Enterprise Architecture Principles
Enterprise Architecture Principles describe how concepts (implemented in the organization) work and produce results (principles are enforced working mechanisms). Concepts are selected based on stakeholders' goals, objectives, and requirements. A principle is always true, so it guides behavior and innovation. Principles are normally translated into standards and norms.
Principles are NOT general rules and guidelines.
Principles inform and support how an organization fulfills its mission.
Principles are established on all Enterprise Architecture Domains.
Business Principles – provide a basis for decision-making throughout the business:
Business Principles
- Principle 1 – Primacy of Principles
- Principle 2 – Compliance with Statutory Obligations
- Principle 3 – Maximize Benefits to the Enterprise
- Principle 4 – Information Management is Everybody's Affair
- Principle 5 – Business Continuity
- Principle 6 – Common Use Applications
- Principle 7 – IT Responsibility
Data Principles
- Principle 8 – Data Security
- Principle 9 – Data is an Asset
- Principle 10 – Data is Shared
- Principle 11 – Data is Accessible
- Principle 12 – Data Trustee
- Principle 13 – Data will be Analyzable
Application Principles
- Principle 14 – Technology Independence
- Principle 15 – Ease of Use
- Principle 16 – Purchase rather than Develop
Technology Principles
- Principle 17 – Requirements-Based Change
- Principle 18 – Control Technical Diversity
Enterprise Performance: A single starting point of reference
The only legitimate reason to be busy with (spending time and money on) EA is to increase the performance of the enterprise, whether it is for the short term or long term. Dragon1 Software and EA Method provide us with a simple but effective framework to outline the most important subjects on this matter.
In the Enterprise Performance Framework, the two most important parts of the strategy are the objectives and goals to realize and the directions for achieving the goals.
The strategy, as a coherent whole, is the perfect input for enterprise architects to build and visualize enterprise architectures, like business architecture, information architecture, IT architecture, data architecture, and security architecture. The most important EA products are the AS-IS and TO-BE Blueprints (an integral conceptual enterprise design) and the enterprise architecture framework diagram. On top of that, a solution architecture blueprint per project, solution, or change is needed. These products are used in digital transformation or strategic change projects.
Projects use roadmaps, solution architectures and EA to create perfect-fitting solutions as a result. Changing or transforming the enterprise with these intelligent business solutions enable the enterprise to plan and realize the business goals and objectives in the defined strategic direction.
A brief Enterprise Performance example: If the goal is to become the world leader in selling bakery products online via social media, your program of change and projects will need a solution architecture and roadmap on how to embed social media as a selling platform for the enterprise. NOTE: This sounds much simpler to do than it is!
Now, we will dive into the three parts of the Enterprise Performance Framework:
- Enterprise Strategy
- Enterprise Architecture
- Enterprise Transformation
1. Enterprise Strategy - Enterprise Architecture starts with Strategy as Input
Strategic Planning can be defined as a set of coherent goals and objectives and the directions to realize these goals.
That said, one can recognize various entity classes in every enterprise that comprise the reference metamodel for Enterprise Strategy. Below, you see the Reference Metamodel for Strategy from the Dragon1 Method. You see entity classes that include a significant part of your strategy.
It is your job to ensure you create a Program of Requirements as input for enterprise architectures, solutions architectures, or business architectures. Ensure that the enterprise strategy information is included in the requirements program.
Dragon1 software platform provides you with an EA Repository tool, Visual Designer tool, Data Manager tool, and Enterprise Architecture tool with which you can administer, model, visualize, and manage all the information from various strategic documents you obtain and glue them together using this model as a reference.
You may have a different opinion about enterprise strategy. In that case, you can easily alter the model to fit your vision of enterprise strategy.
When enterprise architects ask for a coherent and consistent strategy to match the Dragon1 models, they often get a zip file with documents. They must create a cohesive and consistent version of this.
If architects do not get strategy handed over by the owner/client or stakeholder as input, they might get on a drift. This means that they start filling in the blanks, and without intending to do so, they become strategy designers.
When architects have blanks or gaps in the enterprise strategy, you should better create dynamic enterprise visualizations for the stakeholders and show them the gaps by requesting them to fill them in. As long as the stakeholders are not ready, you work with assumptions. It is all right to do this, but make sure they know it.
2. Enterprise Architecture for Agile Lean Enterprises
Dragon1 considers the total concept of your enterprise, consisting of a coherent set of constructive, operative, and decorative governance, business, information, and technology concepts. In short, Dragon1 defines Enterprise Architecture as a blueprint for your company. Architecture equals Concept!
Below is an example conceptual model: an EA overview. Enterprise architects are searching for the right concepts for the strategy.
Below is another example of a mixed conceptual & logical enterprise architecture reference model with standard entity classes in almost any enterprise. These entity classes need to be recognized and modeled by architects.
The Enterprise Architecture Reference Model should not be missing as part of your enterprise metamodel.
Architects are defined as the designers of a total concept for a structure, enterprise (EA), or solutions (SA) and the supervisors of their realizations. So, they need a specialized design tool to do the job well.
Dragon1 provides an innovative enterprise architecture tool with which architects can design, analyze, and visualize enterprise architecture and any products they need, such as landscapes, blueprints, roadmaps, visions, maps, business enterprise architecture diagrams, and matrices.
As Solutions / Business / Project / Technical / IT and Security Architects, they design total concepts for an integrated solution for the enterprise to improve its performance.
When designing an enterprise architecture, you need to use requirements from stakeholders. Architects must always use the strategy as the most important set of requirements.
These total concepts are designed at four different levels of abstraction: conceptual, logical, physical, and implementational. They are done in close collaboration with the owners/clients and stakeholders. In the model, you see common logical-level entity classes.
On this page about the EA Core Reference Model, you can read about the various levels of abstractions. You will read how architects use concepts, principles, and patterns to create building blocks to build, visualize, and implement high-quality integral solutions. We will mention that every architecture design will result in tangible data products: blueprints, landscapes, visions, impressions, and diagrams. These products communicate visual enterprise architecture to stakeholders, like project workers who build the solutions and implement change.
3. Enterprise Transformation: Solution Architectures & Enterprise Architecture Roadmap based
At this point, the strategy has served as input for EA. Solution requirements from stakeholders have served as input for solutions architecture. Blueprints, landscapes, maps, diagrams, or matrices are created to communicate the architecture designs.
It all comes down to realizing/building the solutions integrally and implementing them as change, transforming the enterprise for the better.
The Enterprise Transformation reference model shows that integral design and change are key. Finally, the projects must have deliverables as outcomes that can be placed in a business or IT plateaus.
A best practice for working on a project effectively with enterprise architectures and designs and keeping them conforming to integral ideas is to create roadmaps. A roadmap dictates what should be done when at best and when it is needed by something else.
The Dragon1 enterprise architecture platform is also your online Project Management Tool for effectively mapping, measuring, monitoring, managing, and visualizing data for digital transformation strategy solutions and projects.
You can create or even generate product-breakdown-structures and work breakdown structures from your solution architecture and provide your stakeholders with interactive click-through roadmaps so their hunger for progress information can be fulfilled any time they want.
We live in turbulent times: Heading towards Digital Businesses
New technologies like 3D printing, the Internet of Things, and smart machines are emerging and combining with recent technologies like big data, mobile devices, and the cloud.
The challenge for modern digital architects is to try to deliver new business value, with sustainability as a starting point, for their organizations in an exciting new way. The more quickly you, as an organization, apply these new technologies, the more you will be on the right side of the game-changing process in various industries.
Making your Business Model explicit becomes more critical
Digital Business is the new word, meaning your organization digitizes and virtualizes on the internet, whether you want it or not. Your competitors will do so, too!
If your business becomes more digital, it is wise to express it in models and to visualize data to gain a better grip. Creating data visualizations enables you to communicate about your new business model and accelerate data-driven decision-making.
Enterprise Architectures are created using the Data Visualization tool.
Architects Innovate Digital Twins and Digital Ecosystems
The professionals for these new types of organizations are called Digital Architects. Digital Ecosystems offer new opportunities for innovation and growth and thus offer competitive advantages. Digital architects use enterprise architecture for digital transformation and digital twins in LMEs and SMEs. For that to happen successfully, they must place EA between strategy and transformation.
Strategists and IT innovation teams are also becoming Digital Architects. Exciting times are ahead. Let us all look forward to the new ventures that will arise.
Also, read the following EA resources
Create visual EA products with our tutorials. They will help you with the first steps:
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