nach oben

2011 | Buch

Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

Architecture Principles

The Cornerstones of Enterprise Architecture

verfasst von: Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Buchreihe : The Enterprise Engineering Series

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Über dieses Buch

Enterprises, from small to large, evolve continuously. As a result, their structures are transformed and extended continuously. Without some means of control, such changes are bound to lead to an overly complex, uncoordinated and heterogeneous environment that is hard to manage and hard to adapt to future changes. Enterprise architecture principles provide a means to direct transformations of enterprises. As a consequence, architecture principles should be seen as the cornerstones of any architecture.

In this book, Greefhorst and Proper focus on the role of architecture principles. They provide both a theoretical and a practical perspective on architecture principles. The theoretical perspective involves a brief survey of the general concept of principle as well as an analysis of different flavors of principles. Architecture principles are regarded as a specific class of normative principles that direct the design of an enterprise, from the definition of its business to its supporting IT. The practical perspective on architecture principles is concerned with an approach to the formulation of architecture principles, as well as their actual use in organizations. To illustrate their use in practice, several real-life cases are discussed, an application of architecture principles in TOGAF is included, and a catalogue of example architecture principles is provided.

With this broad coverage, the authors target students and researchers specializing in enterprise architecture or business information systems, as well as practitioners who want to understand the foundations underlying their practical daily work.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

This chapter offers an introduction to the field of enterprise architecture in general, and to the role of architecture principles in particular. We start with a discussion of the challenges confronting modern day enterprises. These challenges fuel the need for enterprises to use enterprise architecture to gain control over their evolution, from the definitions of products and services offered to their clients, via the business processes delivering the products and services, and the information systems needed to support these processes, to the underlying IT infrastructure.

We continue with a brief summary of the role of architecture principles within enterprise architecture. Various alternative approaches for enterprise architecture exist, and most of these approaches recognize the need for architecture principles. Unfortunately, however, they do not agree as regards the specific role of architecture principles, while providing only scanty assistance for their formulation and actual use. This provides the core motivation for creating this book.

At the end of this chapter, we will also discuss the goals and structure of the remainder of this book. In doing so, we provide an overview of the issues touched upon in each of the chapters and appendices, as well as the offered contributions.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Chapter 2. The Role of Enterprise Architecture

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to identify the role of enterprise architecture, and more specifically, the role of architecture principles. It starts with an exploration of the concept of enterprise transformation, including the enterprise engineering perspective. The purpose of enterprise architecture is to align an enterprise to its essential requirements. Its meaning is that it provides a normative restriction of design freedom toward transformation projects and programs. Key elements of enterprise architecture are concerns, models, views, architecture principles and frameworks. Enterprise architecture addresses the properties that are necessary and sufficient for it to be fit for its mission. Architecture principles are the cornerstones of enterprise architecture. They fill the gap between high-level strategic intents and concrete designs. They provide an anchor in a sea of change.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Chapter 3. A Conceptual Framework for Principles

Abstract

This chapter provides the theoretical core of this book. It is concerned with a conceptual framework for architecture principles and related concepts. It starts by providing some historical background to the concept of principle. We will distinguish between scientific principles that describe laws or facts of nature, and normative principles that start as fundamental beliefs and which are translated to more specific and measurable statements. Based on the distinction between architecture and design, as made in the previous chapter, we will be able to define architecture principles as a subset of design principles. We also include a discussion on the motivation for the use of architecture principles in specific situations. In doing so, we provide a set of typical drivers for their formulation and enforcement. The chapter ends with the discussion of a general strategy to more precisely specify architecture principles and their underlying domain concepts.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Chapter 4. Architecture Principle Specifications

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the specification of architecture principles. The focus of this chapter is on the specification itself, and not on the process of specifying. It shows how architectural information, such as architecture principles, can be classified in multiple dimensions. Specifically, architecture principles can be classified along the dimensions: type of information, scope, genericity, detail level, stakeholder, transformation, quality attribute, meta-level and representation. The specification of architecture principles should follow the basic structure that consists of a statement, rationale and implications. Other attributes exist that may be relevant in specific situations. These attributes may also result from the relationships between architecture principles. Specifically, since architecture principles can have realization, specialization, conflict and association relationships with other architecture principles. Also, architecture principles should be clustered into sets, for manageability reasons. Finally, architecture principles should adhere to a number of quality criteria; they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time framed.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Chapter 5. A Practical Approach

Abstract

This chapter describes a method and techniques to define and apply architecture principles. We define a generic process, which is based on the conceptual model as presented earlier, as well as on existing methods and real-world experiences. The process provides a concrete approach for handling architecture principles, thereby bridging the gap between theory and practice. The process starts with the determination of the drivers, which are the foundation for architecture principles. In subsequent subprocesses the architecture principles themselves are determined, specified, classified, validated and applied. The application of architecture principles entails deriving more specific directives from them, as well as transforming them to diagrammatic representations. The next subprocess is using architecture principles to determine whether projects comply with the architecture. Architecture principles are positioned as the primary enablers for an effective architecture governance. The final subprocess intends to handle changes to the architecture, which may restart the initial subprocess.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Chapter 6. Case Studies

Abstract

This chapter provides a number of real-world cases where architecture principles have been developed and applied in user organizations in the Netherlands. The participating organizations are: TKP Pensioen (a general pension administrator), ICTU (part of the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations), CVZ (the Dutch healthcare insurance board), Enexis (an energy distribution company) and Schiphol (an international airport). The cases show the current state-of-practice in architecture principle development. In particular, they show that architecture principle development is still a young discipline, that there is a large diversity in approaches and specifications, and that organizations are still looking for improvement.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Chapter 7. Architecture Principles in Context

Abstract

This chapter explores how architecture principle development is actually applied in a specific context. The approach is strongly determined by a number of factors such as the type of architecture, the architecture maturity level and the culture. With respect to the type of architecture, the role of architecture principles in enterprise architectures, solution architectures and reference architectures is very different. In an enterprise architecture they are very strategic, and specific to the organization, while in a reference architecture they are much more tactical and generic in nature. Architecture maturity determines the amount of rigor that is applied in architecture development. At a low level of maturity the process can be very informal, and success is determined by the knowledge and experience of individual architects. At a high level, architecture principles form an integral part of the process, and all stakeholders are involved in their definition and application. Culture is also a factor that strongly impacts the architecture principle development process. Architects are inclined to approach architecture as a rational, top-down process. In practice, organizations have their own way of dealing with change, such as power, motivation, learning and inherent change.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Chapter 8. Summary, Conclusions and Future Work

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the most important messages of the book and reflects on them. As such it provides an overview of what has been presented before. It also looks at future work that is necessary in order to make architecture principle development mature, recognizing that this book is only a step in that direction.

Danny Greefhorst, Erik Proper

Backmatter

Titel: Architecture Principles
verfasst von: Danny Greefhorst
Erik Proper
Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-642-20279-7
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20278-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20279-7

Springer Professional

Über dieses Buch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. The Role of Enterprise Architecture

Chapter 3. A Conceptual Framework for Principles

Chapter 4. Architecture Principle Specifications

Chapter 5. A Practical Approach

Chapter 6. Case Studies

Chapter 7. Architecture Principles in Context

Chapter 8. Summary, Conclusions and Future Work

Backmatter

Premium Partner