The purpose of this guide is to provide guidance to organization's in initiating, developing, using, and maintaining their enterprise architecture (EA) practice. This guide offers a set of Enterprise Architecture Good Practices that have proven their benefits to organizations and that addresses an end-to-end process to initiate, implement, and sustain an EA program, and describes the necessary roles and associated responsibilities for a successful EA program.

Enterprise Architecture is a complete expression of the enterprise; a master plan which “acts as a collaboration force” between aspects of business planning such as goals, visions, strategies and governance principles; aspects of business operations such as business terms, organization structures, processes and data; aspects of automation such as information systems and databases; and the enabling technological infrastructure of the business such as computers, operating systems and networks.

While EA frameworks and models provide valuable guidance on the content of enterprise architectures, there is literally no guidance how to successfully manage the process of creating, changing, and using Enterprise Architecture.

This guidance is crucially important. Without it, it is highly unlikely that an organization can successfully produce a complete and enforceable EA for optimizing its business value and mission performance of its systems. For example, effective development of a complete EA needs a corporate commitment with senior management sponsorship. Enterprise Architecture development should be managed as a formal program by an Enterprise Architecture Department that is held accountable for success.

Since that EA facilitates change based upon the changing business environment of the organization, the enterprise architect is the organization’s primary change agent.

Effective implementation requires establishment of business and system compliance with the enterprise architecture, as well as continuous assessment and enforcement of compliance. Waiver of these requirements may occur only after careful, thorough, and documented business case analysis. Without these commitments, responsibilities, and tools, the risk is great that business changes or new systems will not meet organizations business needs, will be incompatible, will perform poorly, and will cost more to develop, integrate, and maintain than is warranted.

Jaap Schekkerman, B.Sc. (1953) is an international recognized Thought Leader in the areas of Business Technology Strategy & Enterprise Architecture and the Founder and President of the ‘Institute For Enterprise Architecture Developments’ (IFEAD) the Netherlands (2001).

This institute is today one of the most important sources of information related to Enterprise Architecture and working close together with other research organizations, institutes and universities all over the world to create an independent platform for Enterprise Architecture research, developments and knowledge exchange.

Mr. Schekkerman is managing IFEAD besides his Management Consulting and Enterprise Architecture Thought Leader activities for LOGICA a world-class Business & IT services organization.

Mr. Schekkerman is working for more then 30 years in the Business, IT & Consultants world and has more then 25 years experience in managing complex and large enterprise architecture programs in the Defense World, the Governmental area, Healthcare, Travel Industry and High Tech Industry.

Mr. Schekkerman is giving lectures on Enterprise Architecture at different Universities and received an engineer’s degree in electronic engineering and information technology and a degree in clinical chemistry and business economics.

Mr. Schekkerman has published more then 45 articles and several books on topics related to Enterprise Architecture. He is a frequently invited and highly appreciated speaker on national and international congresses and symposia.

For more information about his publications, visit the web site of the Institute For Enterprise Architecture Developments.

enterprise-architecture.info

Contact Mr. J. Schekkerman; E-mail: jschekkerman@enterprise-architecture.info

For more information visit our website.

Institute For Enterprise Architecture Developments

Att. Mr. J. Schekkerman

Suikerpeergaarde 4

3824BC, Amersfoort

The Netherlands

E-mail: jschekkerman@enterprise-architecture.info

enterprise-architecture.info

or enterprise-architecture.eu