Research Methodology
Enterprise Architecture (EA) is defined as a concept that brings out the blueprint of the structure and operations that are associated with a particular organization. The primary objective that is associated with Enterprise Architecture is to define the guidelines that may be adapted for quick and easy achievement of the business objectives that are set by the organization. There are several advantages that are offered by EA to the business organizations that revolve around quick decision making, streamlining of operations etc. The specialists that are associated with EA are known as Enterprise Architects and it is necessary to have a social relationship between these architects along with the stakeholders associated with business and technical operations. The research tries to cover the areas that have already been explored and the ones that need to be explored.
The research methodology that has been adopted in this case is the qualitative method of research. In order to carry out the research, the data was collected and gathered as the first step in which the data sources such as research papers and online libraries were accessed. The data that was collected was then studied and analyzed to understand the in-depth details around the research work that has been carried out on the topic and inferences were made. There are many research questions that have been attempted to be answered through the medium of this research.
- What is the meaning of Enterprise Architecture and what role do Enterprise Architects play?
- What is the extent of social relationship between the architects and stakeholders?
- What are the areas that are under-researched and need to be explored?
- What are the possible implications and consequences from the research on EA?
There is a lot of research work that has been done in the area of Enterprise Architecture and the role that Enterprise Architects play in the same. Some of these literary articles and papers were analyzed and studied in order to understand and answer the research questions that have been mentioned above.
‘Enterprise Architecture at Work: Modeling, Communication and Analysis’ is a book that was presented by Mark Lankhorst and other writers to present the details on EA and its associated components. The primary focus of the authors in this research work is on the tools along with the technologies that are associated with EA. According to Lankhorst and his co-authors, enterprise architecture is a concept that provides a description of the structure, applications, technologies and processes that are followed in an organization and also provides details on the integration between these entities. In order to fulfill the aims and objectives that are associated with EA, it is required that the modeling language is set and put in place for achieving a coherent architecture.
Research Questions
The main focus of the research paper is on the modeling language and the foundations that can be used in association with the EA and the complexities that may be associated with the domains. Also, it has been attempted to cover the details on the relationships along with the level of integration that is associated with the models that are followed in enterprise architecture. These EA models and the modeling language that is used and implemented allow the architects to have the concrete instruments in place in order to improve the architectural activities and practices. One of the significant areas that have been highlighted and covered by the authors in this research work is the relationship and communication that is present between the architects and the stakeholders. There are techniques and heuristics that are followed in the organizations so as to strengthen the communication channels that are present between the architects and the stakeholders. The architectural models that have been developed and created are not restricted to only providing the insight in to the present situation or the future events that may occur. However, these models provide a mechanism to evaluate the transition that may take place from as-is and to-be scenarios. Lankhorst and all of his co-authors have also described and covered the several analysis methods that may be used for the assessment of qualitative impacts of the changes in association with the enterprise architecture. Also, the quantitative aspects in association with cost and performance measures have also been described (Lankhorst et al., 2005).
The modeling language that the authors have covered has been proved to be applicable in a number of real-life case studies and has also been accepted the international standards such as The Open Group. This book is therefore suitable for the enterprise architects and the resources that are employed in an organization that follows and is composed of Enterprise Architecture. Also, it will definitely aid the management and computer science students and scholars to obtain the details of the field of EA.
The second book that has been used for understanding the level of research work completed in the area of EA and the social relationship between the architects and the stakeholders is ‘Software Systems Architecture – Working with Stakeholders using Viewpoints and Perspectives’ by Rozanski and Woods. The book has been written in order to serve the needs and requirements of the scholars, architects and students. The book is divided in two parts in which part one talks about architecture fundamentals and part two talks about process of software architecture. The authors have described the stakeholders as the people or entities that are associated with the enterprise architecture that have as association, interest and concern with the same. These stakeholders may be individuals or may also be groups that may be involved with EA. There are several concerns that the stakeholders have in relation to an EA such as requirements, objectives or aspirations.
Literature Review
Stakeholders that are involved with the organization either explicitly or implicitly drive the entire structure along with the direction of a particular architecture. This structure and direction is defined and derived in such a manner that the needs of the stakeholders are fulfilled and they may gain benefits out of the same. Stakeholders are the entities that ultimately decide about the scope along with the functionality of the product or a system that is present in association with the architect. It is therefore required for the two parties that are the stakeholders and the architects to have a close association between them. With the absence of stakeholders in the entire enterprise architecture, it will be of no point to develop the architecture as there will be no requirements or needs that will be associated with it. Also, in the absence of the architects these needs and requirements will never be fulfilled. The authors have therefore attempted to understand the viewpoints that are present in between the development of social relationship between the two parties (Rozanski & Woods, 2007).
- Functional Viewpoints: The functional aspects of the enterprise architecture along with the targeted functional requirements and the specifications that are associated with the stakeholders and the architects are covered under this category.
- Information Viewpoint: There is a lot of information that is associated with the enterprise architecture which may belong to the stakeholders, system and the architects. These information sets are stored, processed and handled by a variety of methods and processes and the viewpoints associated with them are covered in this category.
- Concurrency Viewpoint: There are several processes that are concurrently executed in the EA and the viewpoints that are related are covered in this category.
- Development Viewpoint: There are several deployment tasks and activities that are associated with the building of an Enterprise Architecture and fulfillment the specific needs of the stakeholders. Viewpoints of every associated party are covered in this category that revolves around the developmental tasks.
- Deployment Viewpoint: The environment in which the EA will be deployed and specifications that are associated with the same are covered in this category.
- Operational Viewpoint: There will be many processes that will be required in order to operate and administer the system and the viewpoints that are associated with the systems are covered under this category.
These viewpoints that are associated with enterprise architectures are linked with the architectural perspectives to draw out the association and relationship between the stakeholders and the architects. The expectations that are associated with the end users and the rest of the stakeholders are varied in terms of the functional aspects, capabilities, scalability and likewise and the demands are increasing with each passing day. Enhanced amount of development time results in change in the scope and also causes the changes in the architecture and design of the enterprise and associated systems. The systems and applications that are present in EA are huge in number and there are specific features and services that are linked with each of the system. There are certain systems that are present and exist in isolation as compared to the others. Getting the right functional structure and design is therefore only the part of the issues and concerns and in order to each to a conclusion of all of the activities, it is necessary to understand the viewpoints and the architectural perspectives as specified by the authors in the book.
Another article and research work that was reviewed, analyzed and studied for obtaining and understanding on the Enterprise Architecture and associated details is ‘An Exploration of Enterprise Architecture Research: Communications of the Association for Information Systems’ by Simon, Fischbach and Schoder. The authors in this research work have focused upon the effectiveness and importance of communication in order to achieve the objectives that are laid out by an Enterprise Architecture. Management is an important activity that plays a significant role in the business organizations and any of the sectors and their significance is on priority in IT organizations and EA as well. However, in spite of a lot of work being done in this area, it is still not possible to develop a common understanding and methodological consistency in the area. The authors have therefore tried to make use of a number of bibliometric methods along with qualitative methods of research to understand the developmental processes along with the architectural details that are associated with Enterprise Architecture.
The authors in this research work have maintained and laid their focus on the practically oriented methodologies that may be applied in relation to the planning tasks and activities. There are several theories and concepts that are created with each passing day in terms of the measures that shall be taken in association with the EA (Simon et al., 2013). However, there are only a few that have the capability to actually be implemented and give fruitful results. The authors have specified that it is the time that these practical approaches are brought in to action. Also, there are scenarios wherein planning as an activity is not paid much attention or is not provided much importance. However, it should not be the case as per the authors. There are various stakeholders that are present in an organization that have a crucial role to play in case of an Enterprise Architecture. These entities need to come up as an integrated unit in order to make sure that the needs and specifications of each of the entities are realized and reflected. Such results will only be possible when there is effective and constant communication between the stakeholders along with the architects that are associated with the EA as stated by the authors in their research work.
There are different viewpoints and different areas that have been explored by the researchers in their work around the Enterprise Architecture and the associated details.
In one of the research work, it has been specified that the prime focus shall be provided on the overall technical infrastructure along with the modeling languages and architectural models. In this way, the relationship along with the communication will automatically develop and get enhanced.
However, in other research work, it has been specified that the role of stakeholders along with their needs and requirements shall be placed on top on the basis of which the decisions around the technical concepts and abilities shall be taken. In absence of either the stakeholders or the architects, the objectives of the organization will not be possible to be achieved.
In another research work, it has been stated that the importance of planning and communication shall be placed on top. Also, it shall be made sure that the decisions that are taken in association with communication are practically applicable as well.
There are certain areas that have not been explored by the researches in the research works that have been used and referred for completion of this research.
One of the prime areas is the involvement of ethics in the field of social relationship between the stakeholders and the architects. The researchers have talked about the requirements, architectural models, effective communication and planning, several viewpoints etc. but have missed out on the role that ethics has in the field of Enterprise Architecture.
EA as specified earlier is composed of several units and components that appear as a single framework and as an integrated unit. There is a lot of information that is also present and involved in the functioning. In order to make sure that the needs and objectives of the stakeholders, architects and organization are realized, it is necessary that a string communication channel and social relationship is developed between the stakeholders and the architects. However, there may be cases of unethical practices and non-adherence to the ethical and professional codes of conduct which have not been talked about in any of the research works.
On the basis of the research work that is carried out, it has been observed that the social relationship is significant along with the technical concepts in relation with an Enterprise Architecture.
The development of strong social relationships will result in several advantages for the organizations having EA as a concept. It will allow the architects to understand the specific needs and requirements of each of the stakeholder and will also enable them to study the basic and general patterns that are involved. The stakeholders in return will be able to achieve what they aspire and will be able to ease out the process for the architects as there will be no ambiguities involved.
There will also be lesser operational errors and re-works as the execution of the activities will be correct in the first attempt itself. Also, it will provide several advantages for the organization as its performance along with the rate of customer and employee satisfaction will go up.
Conclusion
Enterprise Architecture which is commonly abbreviated as EA is composed of various components and entities and allows the organization to achieve its business objectives quickly by providing the mechanisms for better decision making and continuous improvements. There are various stakeholders that are associated with an EA and these stakeholders play a significant role in the success of the same. It has been stated that a lot of importance is given to the technical and architectural details and models which is necessary. However, it is equally important to give importance to the social relationship between the stakeholders and the enterprise architects. The systems and applications that are present in EA are huge in number and there are specific features and services that are linked with each of the system. There are certain systems that are present and exist in isolation as compared to the others. Getting the right functional structure and design is therefore only the part of the issues and concerns and in order to each to a conclusion of all of the activities, it is necessary to understand the viewpoints and the architectural perspectives. With the absence of stakeholders in the entire enterprise architecture, it will be of no point to develop the architecture as there will be no requirements or needs that will be associated with it. Also, in the absence of the architects these needs and requirements will never be fulfilled. There will be several advantages that will be offered to the organizations with the development of the social relationship between the architects and stakeholders in terms of organization performance, operational results, satisfaction levels of the stakeholders, customers and employees and many others.
References
Lankhorst, M.M., Iacob, M.E., & Jonkers, H. (2005). Enterprise Architecture at Work: Modelling, Communication and Analysis. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Rozanski, N., & Woods, E. (2007). Software Systems Architecture – Working with Stakeholders using Viewpoints and Perspectives. Upper Saddle River: Addison-Wesley.
Simon, D., Fischbach, K., & Schoder, D. (2013). An Exploration of Enterprise Architecture Research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 32, 1-72.
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