Enterprise architecture as enabler of organizational agility : a municipality case study

Organizational agility is one of the top management concerns as organizations face today increasingly changing environments. Among enterprise architecture (EA) benefits, organizational agility has been claimed as one of them, perceived as a direct or indirect benefit, for example, through business-IT alignment, another top management concern. However, even with reasonable explanations in the EA literature, there is still a lack of empirical evidence to support such claim. Our research looks for that evidence seeking to understand how the development and use of EA may contribute for organizational agility. Having one of the biggest municipalities in the country as the research setting, using a mix-methods approach, a case study was carried out to identify EA artefacts, understand EA at use and examine agility in a specific change situation. In this case, enterprise architecture was not just used but was developed and improved during the change situation to enable organizational agility.PEst-OE/EEI/UI0319/201

Enterprise architecture as enabler of organizational agility : a municipality case study

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de InformaçãoOrganizations are forced to constantly adapt and strive in a volatile environment. Not only in the private sector but also in the public one, ever-growing responsibilities and legal constraints require organizations to be efficient and agile. Any organization willing to succeed must rely in information technology to achieve efficiency and agility, what makes alignment between business strategy and information technology a key issue. Enterprise Architecture (EA) may be a way of achieving that alignment as it provides a set of principles, methods and models for a wide, integrated view of an enterprise’s organizational structure, business processes, information and IT systems. Several theoretical models in the literature highlight many benefits of EA, but few empirical studies have been done to verify those benefits. One of the most cited benefits is organizational agility. Having first to find evidence of the existence and use of components of an EA in a big municipality – Câmara Municipal do Porto (CMP), the research moved on to evaluate the EA impact on organizational agility using data collection methods such as document analysis, questionnaires, interviews and observations of the work environment. Qualitative and quantitative tools were created since no material was available to undertake the necessary analysis. The research process was done in three sequential phases as proceeding to the next phase depended on previous findings. Our study at CMP shows increased efficiency and agility from using and improving EA. Besides the verification of organizational agility benefits, also some suggestions for EA improvements to CMP result from our research. Both for enterprise architects and academics researching EA, this work provides empirical evidence of EA as an enabler of organizational agility.As organizações são constantemente pressionadas a sobreviver e a adaptarem-se num ambiente volátil. Isto acontece tanto no sector privado como no público onde o acréscimo de responsabilidades e restrições legais obrigam as organizações a serem ágeis e eficientes. Qualquer organização que queira ter sucesso deve tirar partido das Tecnologias de Informação (TI) para atingir a eficiência e agilidade desejadas. Isto torna o alinhamento entre a estratégia de negócio e as TI um aspecto fulcral. A Arquitetura da Organização poderá ser uma forma de atingir o alinhamento necessário uma vez que oferece um conjunto de princípios, métodos e modelos para uma visão alargada e integrada da estrutura organizacional, processos de negócio, informação e sistemas de TI de qualquer organização. Existem vários modelos teóricos que destacam os benefícios da Arquitetura da Organização mas poucos estudos empíricos que os comprovem. Um dos benefícios mais referidos é a agilidade organizacional. Este estudo decorreu na Câmara Municipal do Porto (CMP) começando na procura de evidências da existência e utilização de componentes de uma Arquitetura da Organização. A investigação evoluiu para a avaliação do impacto que a Arquitetura da Organização tem na agilidade organizacional. Para tal foram utilizados diversos métodos de recolha de dados como análise documental, questionários, entrevistas e observações do ambiente de trabalho. Devido à falta de material para realizar este tipo de análise, foram criadas ferramentas qualitativas e quantitativas. O processo de investigação foi feito em três fases sequenciais e dependentes. Este estudo revelou um aumento da eficiência e agilidade na CMP pela utilização e optimização da Arquitetura da Organização. Foram feitas algumas sugestões de melhoria da Arquitetura da Organização para a CMP. Para arquitetos empresariais e académicos nesta área de investigação, este estudo proporciona suporte empírico à Arquitetura da Organização como facilitadora da agilidade organizacional

A Lean Enterprise Architecture Approach as an Enabler for Organizational Agility : Case: Metso Outotec

In the era where delivery speed is perceived more important than IT landscape integration, consistency and long-term planning, different architectural approaches have become important considerations of information systems management. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the need for a holistic EA is often overlooked, when organizations try to apply agile development models, which may lead to several problems, such as technical debt, redundant rework, inconsistent communication, decentralized and siloed architecture design, unsustainable architecture, and inconsistence in coding style. Hence, with the growing deployment of scaling agile methods there is a need for purpose-fit approaches to integrate EA frameworks to enable organization agility while maintaining long-term vision. This study aims to explore how EA activities are put into practices in a company deploying large-scale agile development methods – namely EA deliverables, EA benefits, EA concerns and EA enablers. In total, 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted from a case company, and an analysis was done using the Gioia method. As a result, EA deliverables (business objective deliverables, intentional architecture deliverables, and emergent design deliverables), EA benefits (organizational agility and organizational robustness), EA concerns (immaturity, disengagement, urgency, and resistance and anti-patterns), and EA enablers (communication and collaboration, Lean EA, and EA culture) were identified. The enterprise architecture practices used by the case company were in line with the guidelines and best practices recommended by the literature and industry experts. Moreover, a literature review provided some theoretical constructs and suggestions, namely the Lean EA development (LEAD) method and the design principles of architectural thinking for supporting organizational agility, which can be recommended to be applied by the case company or any other organization scaling agile

Organizational agility in the public sector: A case study of the Office of the Auditor General of Norway

This master thesis explores organizational agility in the public sector through a case study of a state agency. Organizational agility is as a learned, permanently-available dynamic capability that can be performed quickly and efficiently to the degree necessary, and whenever needed, to increase business performance in a volatile market environment. Although the definition includes a focus on a volatile market environment and business performance, many public organizations strive for agility. This master thesis investigates whether the concept of organizational agility could be a good fit for the public sector, even without obvious competitors and profit focus. A literature review was conducted to get an overview of previous research on organizational agility within the public sector. This resulted in a conceptual model, which forms the theoretical lens for this study. The model includes three main elements: drivers (external and internal), organizational agility (agility enablers and agile capabilities) and organizational performance. The topic is explored through a case study of the Office of the Auditor General of Norway (OAGN) and their innovation lab. The research question is: How can an innovation lab influence organizational agility the public sector? Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted, and eight meetings were observed by the researcher. Strategic documents were analyzed to obtain an understanding of organizational performance. The empirical results show both external and internal agility drivers in the OAGN. The study identified some challenges in the organization, such as the organizational culture, communication style, the availability of technology, the development of competence for the future, and autonomy versus alignment. The challenges are mapped to the agile capabilities suggested by previous research. Competence, flexibility and courage are identified capabilities in the innovation lab. The innovation lab has indeed increased the organization’s awareness about new technology trends, which is seen as the sensing part of the responsiveness capability. The innovation lab improves the organization’s ability to pursue possibilities provided by new technology. Although, being agile is not the goal, a holistic view of agility can help organizations reach their strategic goals and the social mission. Measuring and monitoring the performance provide management with the necessary insight to adjust the enablers and improve the capabilities to tackle changes in the organization’s environment. This study provides insight into practice and can be of inspiration for other state agencies striving for agility. An adjusted conceptual model for organizational agility in the public sector is suggested. The model should be challenged and further tested in other cases and through other research approaches. Key words: organizational agility, public sector, audit, innovation la

Overcoming digitalization-driven challenges in banks : An exploration of theory and practice towards improving Enterprise Architecture Management’s ability to support rapid change

Banks increasingly need the ability to implement rapid change to react to changes in technology, user demands, and regulations that are difficult to foresee. The complex information systems (IS) and process landscape of incumbent banks impede this ability. Enterprise architecture management (EAM), as a function that aims to oversee the coherent development of the IS and IT landscape in alignment with the business, is argued to have the capability to support this ability. However, the speed and uncertainty of changes, as well as a focus of banks to implement Agile project methodolo-gies and de-centralize decision-making, challenges EAM to effectively fulfill this role. A Theoretical Base model is constructed from the literature and promising approaches to increase the effectiveness are identified. An exploratory case study of three large banks that are affected by digitalization to different extents, is conducted on the basis of this model. The findings indicate non-technical issues to be the most challenging factors for EAM today, which need to be addressed to allow EAM to valuably support banks’ ability to accommodate rapid change by providing transparency, guidance for projects regarding processes and technology, as well as steering for the long-term evolution of the IT landscape. EAM can help banks most effectively by supporting cross-team communication and facilitating reduced complexity in the long-run

Exploring the roles of different artefacts in enterprise architecture practice

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a coherent whole of principles, standards and models for designing business processes, information systems and IT infrastructure in large organizations. Enterprise architecture consists of multiple EA artefacts that describe and/or model various aspects of an organization including high-level abstract principles, business processes and technical specifications to be used by both IT and business stakeholders for the purposes ranging from strategic planning to IT systems implementation. Using EA artefacts is expected to bring numerous benefits to organizations including improved strategic alignment, increased returns on IT investments and reduced costs of IT operations. The development of EA artefacts requires significant investments of time and money. However, the organizational investments in developing EA artefacts often do not bring the expected benefits because of the usability issues associated with these EA artefacts. For instance, the U.S. Federal Government invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing EA, but the resulting EA artefacts were largely unable to facilitate better decision-making. These common failures of EA efforts call for an investigation into the specific roles of different types of EA artefacts in an EA practice. The role of an EA artefact can be specified based on its informational contents, regular users, typical use cases and resulting organizational benefits. Despite the theoretical and practical importance of studying EA artefacts, the current EA literature offers no comprehensive theories explaining the practical roles of EA artefacts. In order to address this problem, this thesis develops a descriptive theory that explicates the roles of different types of EA artefacts in the context of an EA practice and explains the influence of various organizational and environmental factors on these roles. This exploratory study followed a “case studies-based grounded theory” approach to develop an inductive theory of the roles of EA artefacts. The theory-building process is accomplished via analysing five in-depth case studies of large organizations with established EA practices. In the five cases, 31 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with different EA practitioners and stakeholders, and samples of 39 different types of EA artefacts were studied. The data were analysed using the iterative grounded theory methodology. The practical aspects of the resulting theory were then discussed with ten additional EA experts, including EA practitioners and EA academics, who confirmed its validity and practical utility. The resulting theory articulates six primary roles fulfilled by EA artefacts metaphorically titled as Context Setters, Instrument Providers, Knowledge Repositories, Project Implementers, Strategic Aligners and Value Estimators. Each of these roles is further explained in terms of supporting artefacts, informational contents, involved users, associated use cases and resulting benefits. For example, Context Setters include EA artefacts such as principles, maxims and policies that senior business leaders and architects use to lay out the basic rules, values and aims governing information systems planning for the whole enterprise to ensure consistency of decision-making. Similarly, Value Estimators include EA artefacts such as solution overviews and conceptual architectures used by architects and business leaders to assess the business value of proposed IT initiatives, make informed funding decisions and thereby improve efficiency of IT investments. These six highly EA-specific roles provide a comprehensive explanatory view of the practical roles of EA artefacts and offer an in-depth, detailed and context-specific theoretical understanding that advances the common view of EA artefacts as boundary objects between business and IT communities and elements of an actor-network representing an EA practice. Moreover, the resulting theory explains the relationships between the six identified roles of EA artefacts as well as the impact of internal and external environmental factors on these roles. The results of this exploratory study contribute to the EA discipline a theory describing the roles of EA artefacts that helps refocus future EA research from studying EA as a whole to studying specific types of EA artefacts. The results of this study also provide evidence-based conceptual solutions to the most typical practical problems associated with using EA and can help organizations get more value from EA artefacts. Additionally, this study makes an empirical contribution to the EA discipline by demonstrating important empirical facts that question established theories, assumptions and beliefs existing in the EA discipline