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2009 | Buch

Enterprise Architecture

Creating Value by Informed Governance

verfasst von: Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis

Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Buchreihe : The Enterprise Engineering Series

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Über dieses Buch

This book is positioned as a rst in a series of books on enterprise architecture needed for a Master of Enterprise Architecture program, and is targeted both at university students and practitioners with a drive to increase their understanding of these elds. As an introductory book, this book aims to explore the concept of enterprise architecture. At rst glance, writing such an introductory book might seem as a straight forward task of setting up a structure and lling in “the blanks. ” However, writing this book turned out to be a pleasant journey of discovery. Based on our past experiences, each of us had a clear understanding of enterprise architecture, based on several years of experience and insight in the eld. However, when we started writing this book, and each of us exposed our individual understandings, it became apparent that our understanding of the eld differed in several ways. This prompted several discussions leading to an abundance of new insights. Without exception, thesediscussionstookplaceina pleasantandopenatmosphere,fueledbyourshared driveforunderstandingandincreasedinsight. Wearenowevenmoreconvincedthan before, that the eld enterprise architecture is a true multi-disciplinary profession. In the resulting book, we would like to share our insights, while also hoping to continue our discussions, now also involving you as a reader. We also realise that the journey is still far from complete. While this introductory book provides an overview of the eld of enterprise architecture from the perspective of our insights, many aspects need further re nement.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
This book has been created in an effort to develop a textbook for one of the key courses of a Master of Enterprise Architecture program. It is a first in a series of books needed to further underpin this Master’s program with textbooks combining a sound theoretical base with practical insights, and has been authored in a close collaboration between industry and academia. In authoring this book, we have been driven primarily by the need for textbooks for the further professionalization of enterprise architects as well as education of students aspiring to become enterprise architects. As such, the books needed for the Master of Enterprise Architecture program, will be targeted both at university students, as well as practitioners with a keen interest in gaining a thorough understanding of these fields.
Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis
Chapter 2. The Need for a New Instrument
As a result of developments such as globalization, the fusion of business and IT, the introduction of new technologies, novel business models, etc., enterprises are confronted with an increasing variety of options to deal with an ever faster changing environment. This results in a need for enterprises to be able to innovate and to adapt themselves quickly to these changes in the environment, and a desire to proactively exploit these developments in an attempt to create new business opportunities. This puts a major challenge on the enterprise’s management to make the right decisions at the right time. To accommodate management in their decision-making and governance tasks, a new instrument is needed. This need is stressed even more by the complexities of the challenges and their consequences, as well as the diversity of stakeholders and their concerns.
Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis
Chapter 3. Positioning Enterprise Architecture
In the previous chapter, we have discussed the needs for enterprise architecture. This chapter is concerned with enterprise architecture as a means to meet these needs. We will start this chapter with a historical perspective on the concept of architecture as a means of obtaining insight into, as well as harnessing, complexity. To gain a better insight into the role of enterprise architecture in governing transformations, Section 3.2 will then discuss the governance paradigm and relate this to the role of enterprise architecture. Based on this discussion, Section 3.3 then continues by identifying seven possible applications of enterprise architecture from a governance perspective. Using this as a context, Section 3.4 provides a discussion of several definitions of enterprise architecture, while also providing the definition of enterprise architecture as used in this book. To make this definition more specific and tangible, Section 3.5 will discuss the key concepts underlying enterprise architecture, while Section 3.6 will highlight the benefits of enterprise architecture in relation to the needs identified in the previous chapter. Finally, Section 3.7 takes a first brief look at the competencies needed from the architect.
Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis
Chapter 4. The Results of Enterprise Architecting
During the process of enterprise architecting, several results can be produced. These results are not limited to principles, models (including their cross-references), and views alone. Other results are, for example, intermediate results used to develop the enterprise architecture and the evaluation of alternative solutions/directions. Some of the important results of an enterprise architecting effort do not even have to be tangible, for example, shared understanding, shared agreement, and commitment amongst stakeholders.
Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis
Chapter 5. The Process of Enterprise Architecting
As we have seen in Chap. 4, the purpose for which a particular architecture is created largely determines the kinds of results needed. This purpose also impacts on the form and execution of a good architecture process. However, the purpose is not the only major influencer. Another major influencer is the multitude of stakeholders, which over time need to agree on the direction of the enterprise transformation. In this change process, the insights gradually evolve, while the decisions taken during the process may change the direction of this process. Therefore, the architecture process can also not be a linear one. It strongly depends on situational factors and, therefore, cannot be served by a one-size-fits-all approach.
Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis
Chapter 6. The Enterprise Architect
In the previous chapters, we have discussed the concept of enterprise architecture, the deliverables produced during enterprise architecting, as well as the processes involved. We have not yet discussed the person who needs to execute these tasks; The Enterprise Architect. In this chapter, we aim to discuss the competencies, attitudes, and abilities needed by an enterprise architect to best conduct their tasks. We discuss different roles involved in the architecture processes, how architects can form effective teams when fulfilling these roles, as well as the further professionalisation of the field.
Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis
Chapter 7. Conclusion
In this book, we have explored the concepts of enterprise architecture, aiming to take a more fundamental view on enterprise architecture. In doing so, we have uncovered a number of challenges and open issues for the field of enterprise architecture that need further elaboration. Some challenges and issues require additional investigation and scientific research, enabling the field of enterprise architecture to further mature. We realize that the field is (and needs to be) further developed in a collaboration between practitioners and the academic world.
Martin Op ’t Land, Erik Proper, Maarten Waage, Jeroen Cloo, Claudia Steghuis
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Enterprise Architecture
verfasst von
Martin Op ’t Land
Erik Proper
Maarten Waage
Jeroen Cloo
Claudia Steghuis
Copyright-Jahr
2009
Verlag
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN
978-3-540-85232-2
Print ISBN
978-3-540-85231-5
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85232-2

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