Comparing Enterprise Architecture Frameworks – A Case Study at the Estonian Rescue Board

Igal organisatsioonil on strateegilised eesmärgid, mida ta soovib saavutada. Ilma tervikliku arhitektuurita, mis kombineerib kõik erinevad elemendid - äriprotsessid, infosüsteemid, andmevood ja platvormid -, ei saa olla kindel, kas või kuidas viivad investeeringud eemärkide täitmisele. Kuna ühegi Eesti riigiasutuse kohta ei ole teadaolevalt selleteemalist uurimust tehtud, valiti selles magistritöös juhtumiuuringu näiteks Päästeamet. Magistritöös antakse esmalt süstemaatiline ülevaade erialasest kirjandusest eesmärgiga leida sobivad organisatsiooni arhitektuuri raamistikud ning kriteeriumid raamistike võrdleva analüüsi läbiviimiseks ja edasiseks hindamiseks Päästeameti näitel. Valitud allikate põhjal vastatakse uurimisküsimustele. See aitas tuvastada seitse ettevõtte arhitektuuri raamistikku, mida hinnati ja jättis alles kolm raamistikku edasiseks rakendamiseks: The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), The Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). Seejärel modelleeritakse juhtumiuuringus erinevaid raamistikke kasutades detailselt 2-3 teenust ning viiakse kirjanduse ülevaates kirjeldatud kriteeriumite abil läbi hindamine ja arutelu Päästeameti töötajatega. Juhtumiuuring ja kohapealne kohtumine päästeametis seadsid ettevõtte organisatsioonide arendamiseks organisatsiooni arhitektuuri raamistikud jaoks kõige olulisemad kaks peamist asjaolu: organiseerida arhitektuur seisukohtadesse, mis on organisatsiooni infoküsimuste struktuuri alamhulk ja mõista, kuidas organisatsiooni eesmärgid on toetatud. Töö tulemus on heaks aluseks organisatsiooni arhitektuuri edasisele arendamisele Päästeametis ja teistes Eesti riigiasutustes.Every organisation has strategic goals it wants to achieve, and if it does not have an architecture combining all different elements such as business processes, enabling information systems, data flows and platforms, it will not be sure which investments will lead to achieving which objectives. Since there has not been any research like this performed for Estonian Government Organisations, the Estonian Rescue Board is taken as an example for conducting a case study. A systematic literature review is performed, for identifying Enterprise Architecture Frameworks, criteria for performing a comparative analysis of the framework as well as for the further evaluation at the Estonian Rescue Board. The identified final papers are analysed in order to answer the Research Questions (RQ). This helped to identify seven Enterprise Architecture Frameworks, which were evaluated and left only three frameworks for further implementation: The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), The Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). In the case study, the selected frameworks are modelled, showing 2 or 3 services in details, with further evaluation and discussion of them during the meeting at the Rescue Board, following the criteria, which are described in the literature review. Case study and on-site meeting at the Rescue Board set two main things to be the most vital while developing Enterprise Architecture Framework in the organisation: organising architecture into views that are subsets of the organisation information architecture and understanding how the goals in the organisation are supported. This can be a good backbone for further developing Enterprise Architecture in the Rescue Board, and other Estonian Government Organisations in general

Digital transformation: incorporating social and human extensions into change models

This study is about incorporating social and human dimensions of the organisation into change models to support technology enabled change, also known as digital transformation. Organisations often manifest change through projects. Despite utilizing change models and frameworks, the rate of failure remains as high as 80%, leading to estimated financial losses of $900B USD a year, in addition to non-financial losses such as opportunity cost, change fatigue, loss of confidence and poor morale. Studies show that the majority of the root causes of failure are non-technical; yet change models and frameworks focus on the technical aspects, providing little guidance to the non-technical aspects (i.e. social and human). This study explores this omission with the aim of developing extensions to improve the success rate of organisational change. The context of the study is two multi-national organisations undergoing digital transformation: a telecommunication provider and a financial institution. The researcher, by virtue of his role as digital transformation leader, is embedded in both organisations which facilitates a deeper understanding of the change context and more informed interpretation of observations and data. Action Research principles support the researcher’s dual role and provide rigor and validity. The study uses Mixed Methods to collect data: two focus-groups sessions with 14 to 20 participants in each and 11 semi-structured interviews with change leaders. The researcher recognizes the ethical implications and tensions associated with Action Research, and maintains vigilance and balance throughout. The study outcomes represent proposed extensions to change models and are model agnostic. They include language, definitions of ‘social’ and ‘human’ aspects of organisational change, themes supporting social and human dimensions of change, weaving of the themes into a practical workflow, and a stakeholder categorization framework mapped to power of influence spectrum. In addition, an interconnected Organisational Model - Human, Business, and Environment - is presented. The proposed extensions aim to improve the success rate of digital transformation and as a result, contribute to boosting productivity, reducing operating costs and improving organisational performance

Enterprise reference architectures for higher education institutions: Analysis, comparison and practical uses

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is currently accepted as one on the major instruments for enabling organisations in their transformation processes to achieve business-technology alignment. Despite that over the last years EA has been successfully adopted in many industries, Higher Education still represents one of the sectors with lower levels of adoption and maturity of EA practices. The present thesis puts the emphasis particularly on the study Enterprise Reference Architectures (ERAs), as a particular type of EA artefact, in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). After formally clarifying the concept of ERAs and giving a panoramic view of the current state-of-the-art of existing HEI-oriented ERAs, the thesis proposes an artefact framework build through a Design Science Research (DSR) approach aimed to facilitate practitioners their (re-)use or application in their own real practical settings. The purpose of the constructed artefact is to support practitioners when conducting the necessary adjustments to exiting HEI-oriented ERAs in order to be successfully applied for their specific needs.La Arquitectura Empresarial (AE) es actualmente reconocida como una disciplina que permite configurar procesos de trasformación organizativa a objeto de alinear el negocio con la tecnología. A pesar de que en los últimos años la AE se ha ido adoptando progresivamente de forma exitosa en diversas industrias, la educación superior representa todavía hoy en día uno de los sectores con menores niveles de adopción y de madurez en lo que se refiere a las prácticas de AE. La presente tesis hace especial hincapié en el estudio de las Arquitecturas de Referencia Empresariales (AREs), entendidas como un artefacto específico de AE, en Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES). Así, después de clarificar formalmente el concepto de ARE y de ofrecer una visión panorámica del estado del arte relativo a las AREs para IES existentes, la tesis propone un framework de trabajo construido a través de un enfoque de investigación basado en la Ciencia del diseño destinado a facilitar su (re-)utilización o aplicación práctica en dominios de trabajo reales. El objetivo del artefacto es proporcionar soporte práctico a los profesionales para realizar los ajustes necesarios a las AREs para IES existentes para que puedan aplicarlas con éxito a sus necesidades específicas.L'Arquitectura Empresarial (AE) és actualment reconeguda com una disciplina que permet configurar processos de transformació organitzatius a fi d'alinear el negoci amb la tecnologia. Tot i que en els darrers anys l'AE s'ha anat adoptant progressivament amb èxit en diverses indústries, l'educació superior representa encara avui dia un dels sectors amb menors nivells d'adopció i de maduresa pel que fa a pràctiques d'AE. Aquesta tesi posa especial èmfasi en l'estudi de les Arquitectures de Referència Empresarials (AREs), enteses com un artefacte concret d'AE, a Institucions d'Educació Superior (IES). Així, després d'aclarir formalment el concepte d'ARE i oferir una visió panoràmica de l'estat de l'art relatiu a les ARE per a IES existents, la tesi proposa un framework de treball construït a través d'un enfocament de recerca basat en la ciència del disseny destinat a facilitar-ne la seva (re-)utilització o aplicació pràctica en dominis de treball reals. L'objectiu de l'artefacte és proporcionar suport pràctic als professionals per realitzar els ajustaments necessaris a les AREs per a IES existents de forma que les puguin aplicar amb èxit a les seves necessitats específiques.Tecnologies de la informació i de xarxe

Introducing the Sectoral Enterprise Architecture Framework (SEAF)

Multiple enterprise architecture (EA) frameworks have been proposed to guide the alignment of business and information technologies. However, existing EA approaches were not yet tested to represent (as-is) and steer (to-be) the digital transformation of an entire industry sector. This research-in-progress aims to create a Sectoral Enterprise Architecture Framework (SEAF) to support the ongoing digital transformation in industry. SEAF emerges from a design science research project in cooperation with a national refrigeration and air conditioning association. The initial results include the design of SEAF structure and its deployment in a vital industry sector interested in revealing data and digital technologies’ role in ensuring sustainability for the coming years. A sectoral EA framework can be helpful to the mission of industry associations, guiding companies in planning, implementing, and migrating new technologies suitable to their supply chain

Enterprise Model Library for Business-IT-Alignment

The knowledge of the world is passed on through libraries. Accordingly, domain expertise and experiences should also be transferred within an enterprise by a knowledge base. Therefore, models are an established medium to describe good practices for complex systems, processes, and interconnections. However, there is no structured and detailed approach for a design of an enterprise model library. The objective of this work is the reference architecture of a repository for models with function of reuse. It includes the design of the data structure for filing, the processes for administration and possibilities for usage. Our approach enables consistent mapping of requirements into models via meta-data attributes. Furthermore, the adaptation of reference architectures in specific use cases as well as a reconciliation of interrelationships is enabled. A case study with industry demonstrates the practical benefits of reusing work already done. It provides an organization with systematic access to specifications, standards and guidelines. Thus, further development is accelerated and supported in a structured manner, while complexity remains controllable. The presented approach enriches various enterprise architecture frameworks. It provides benefits for development based on models

ARCHITECTURE CONCEPTS FOR VALUE NETWORKS IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY

Value networks are one of the main forms of value creation today. Suppliers, manufacturers and customers form a dynamic collaboration structure. Networks and companies alike are always subject to external and internal influences which require changes in the way things are done. To make sure that the required changes take their intended effect, they have to be implemented on all levels of the enterprise architecture (EA). Research with respect to EA in value networks in the service industry (VNSI) is only in its beginnings. To understand the state of the art, we analyzed 88 papers with respect to the architecture layers in VNSI. Since we base on the fact that a successful introduction of change, e.g. new IT solutions, requires a holistic view on EA, we analyzed the papers according to their covering of the different levels of an EA. Our hypothesis is that most of the papers only cover very specific aspects without positioning their proposed solution in a holistic context. We propose a reference model based on a literature review as well as the results of the paper analysis. This reference model allows for a positioning of solutions in a holistic context and with that adds to a better basis for implementing change in VNSI

Project Management for Enterprise Architecture Evaluation

The Enterprise Architecture (EA) describes overarching designs ofindividual physical and logical components, so that they assembly resultsin a complete and working product. The designs are developed within anyprojects. The designs concern computer systems and network implementation, software development and installation, data migration and businessprocesses reengineering. The paper supports the thesis that EA is acomplex of information communication technology (ICT) projects and as suchshould be evaluated by deployment of cost-benefit investment evaluationmethods usually applied for project management. The main goal of the paperis to present opportunities of enterprise architecture evaluation byproject evaluations. In the paper, different projects, i.e., multiproject, project portfolio, project programme, roll-out projects, large project, are discussed in the aspect of their value creation in the EnterpriseArchitecture development process

Enterprise architecture in the higher education sector: A case study

Organizations live in an ever changing environment where a robust architecture is needed in order to cope with such changes while maintaining the required standards to stay competitive. Enterprise Architecture is the discipline which studies an organization architecture, its components and their relationship with each other and with the outside context. It is a discipline which has been researched for the last 40 years but only recently started to show interest in exploring the frameworks and methods developed in the higher education sector. Therefore this research aims to explore the use of such practices in the higher education sector, applying it to a real-life scenario. Iscte, a university based in Portugal, as any other organization goes through regular changes to adapt to the outside environment which may cause dysfunctions in the university's social-cultural context as well as in the information systems. This work will apply the Zachman Framework to the university, more speci cally in the scope of the IT services in order to help them manage the on-going transformations and spot potential issues that already exist and may yet appear in the university architecture. A wiki style platform will be developed to host the framework and to allow stakeholders to get involved. A series of interviews with key players are conducted in order to get their perspectives into the current social and technological dimensions in the university. Recommendations to the current Iscte architecture are done based on the results from the framework and the interviews.As organizações vivem num ambiente em constante mudança, onde é necessária uma arquitetura robusta para fazer face a tais mudanças, mantendo simultaneamente os padrões necessários para se manterem competitivas. A Arquitetura Empresarial é a disciplina que estuda a arquitetura de uma organização, os seus componentes, a sua relação uns com os outros e com o contexto exterior. É uma disciplina que tem sido investigada nos últimos 40 anos, mas só recentemente começou a mostrar interesse em explorar e aplicar as frameworks e métodos desenvolvidos no sector do ensino superior. Por conseguinte, esta investigaçã visa explorar a utilização de tais práticas no sector do ensino superior, aplicando-as a um cenário da vida real. O Iscte, uma universidade sediada em Portugal, como qualquer outra organizção passa por mudanças regulares para se adaptar ao ambiente envolvente o que pode causar disfunções no contexto sócio-cultural da universidade, bem como nos sistemas de informação. Este trabalho aplicará a Framework de Zachman à universidade, mais especificamente no âmbito dos serviços de informática a fim de ajudar a gerir as transformações em curso e a detetar potenciais problemas que já existem e que podem ainda surgir na arquitetura da universidade. Será desenvolvida uma plataforma de estilo wiki para acolher a framework e permitir que os intervenientes se envolvam. Uma série de entrevistas com atores-chave é conduzida a fim de perceber as suas perspetivas sobre as atuais dimensões sociais e tecnológicas da universidade. Recomendações para a atual arquitetura organizacional do Iscte são feitas com base nos resultados da framework e nas entrevistas