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1 – 10 of over 17000Bahman Jahani, Seyyed Reza Seyyed Javadein and Hassan Abedi Jafari
The purpose of this paper is to present a model for measuring enterprise architecture (EA) readiness in organizations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a model for measuring enterprise architecture (EA) readiness in organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews the literature of enterprise architecture, defines and extracts factors and indicators of enterprise architecture readiness with factor weighting and indicators. Thereafter the authors propose a model to measure organization EA readiness in practice.
Findings
In this paper nine factors and 34 indicators that affect enterprise architecture are defined and an enterprise architecture readiness model is constructed. The model of research is practical, because it specifies readiness of organization in enterprise architecture and helps to define current state of organization via factors and indicators, and from priorities of factors and indicators, alerts organization of an optimization strategy.
Research limitations/implications
In order to increase the utility of the model for use in other organizations, further studies can help to refine the model.
Originality/value
The essence of extracting and choosing factors and indicators in this study is from enterprise architecture processes and key success and failure factors of enterprise architecture in organizations. In addition selected factors and indicators related to organization infrastructure not related only to enterprise architecture project planning and executing are examined through the use of a questionnaire. The model derived from this study can be utilized as a multi‐dimensional and practical model because of its complexity and examination of organizational infrastructures.
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Shirley Gregor, Dennis Hart and Nigel Martin
Drawing on established alignment and architectural theory, this paper seeks to present the argument that an organisation's enterprise architecture can enable the alignment of…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on established alignment and architectural theory, this paper seeks to present the argument that an organisation's enterprise architecture can enable the alignment of business strategy and information systems and technology (IS/IT).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a detailed case study of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), where a high degree of alignment and international recognition of excellence in business and enabling IS/IT performance are documented.
Findings
The ABS enterprise architecture was developed in 1999‐2001 and describes the organisation's physical business and IS/IT elements, and the connective relationships that inform the alignment condition. The ABS architecture is robustly holistic in form, and is characterised by a strong and equal focus on business operations, the deliberate inclusion of an IS/IT governance framework, the structuring and hosting of corporate information for business delivery, and the efficient reuse of IS/IT components.
Originality/value
The ABS case study also examined empirically the social aspects and formal mechanisms of organisational alignment, and shows how a formal enterprise architecture mechanism can integrate into a successful alignment process.
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Tarek Kaddoumi and Mohamed Watfa
The application of agility principles and methodologies on Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a promising field. This paper aims to provide an in-depth study of the Agile Enterprise…
Abstract
Purpose
The application of agility principles and methodologies on Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a promising field. This paper aims to provide an in-depth study of the Agile Enterprise Architecture (AEA) by studying EA practitioners’ perspectives to propose a foundational framework for AEA.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors formulate a foundational framework that defines the AEA motivators, enablers and blockers using the agile manifesto as one of the AEA enablers where a total of 156 EA stakeholders with at least one year of experience in enterprise architecture were surveyed, and a set of hypotheses was analyzed and tested based on the proposed framework. The authors also develop a quantitative method to evaluate the agility index of the EA based on the introduced framework.
Findings
The research results show with significance that enterprise architects perceive positively the application of the agility methodologies on the enterprise architecture. This perception is primarily affected by the enterprise size, the EA dependency and the agile methodologies awareness. The findings also indicate that AEA is primarily motivated by the Business and IT Change Ready and Responsive EA. Finally, an EA Agility Index (EAAI) was designed to assess the agility application of the EA based on the three forces, i.e. motivators, enablers and blockers.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach and the sample size, the research results may lack generalizability. Also, EAAI designed was not thoroughly tested.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the design and development of an EA Agility Index, and the need to increase the awareness of the agility methodologies to overcome the blocker of the unfamiliarity with the agile methodologies implying that the current business models in enterprise must be more aligned with the agile methodologies.
Originality/value
While there are efforts to develop AEA frameworks, one of the major findings of the literature review conducted is that there is evident research gap in the literature on the perception and associated factors of the EA stakeholders on having an agile enterprise architecture. This paper attempts to fill this gap.
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Apostolos Malatras, Abolghasem (Hamid) Asgari, Timothy Baugé and Mark Irons
Traditional administration of building services regards them as having confined scope, operating in isolation or tightly coupled and providing minimal support for overall…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditional administration of building services regards them as having confined scope, operating in isolation or tightly coupled and providing minimal support for overall coordination and holistic management hindering the provisioning of advanced services. This approach inherently bears weaknesses related to complex services management, results in increased costs, and formulates rigid architectural design that restricts flexibility and extensibility. Taking into consideration this set of drawbacks, the purpose of this paper is to propose exploiting a service‐oriented architecture that will allow for dynamic, coordinated and distributed building services management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents the design of an enterprise‐based networking architecture for building services and systems and specifies its functional components.
Findings
The proposed architecture is compliant with established practices in the building automation field and focuses on catering for a wide spectrum of building and enterprise level services. A specific deployment use‐case scenario and its related implementation issues is considered, so as to promote interoperability and adoption of open standards and principles for the system level performance evaluation of the proposed architecture is also examined.
Research limitations/implications
Literature review is not exhaustive and evaluation of the proposed architecture should be performed in a more systematic manner.
Practical implications
Adoption of a service‐oriented view as far as facilities management is concerned.
Originality/value
This paper identifies through a thorough literature review the research problems in the area of building services integration and proposes an approach to enable successful integration. The novelty of this work is based on the application of the state‐of‐the‐art in enterprise networking for integration of building management and IT‐based services.
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This article discusses the benefits of applying structured, holistic analysis to human enterprises. It describes the Axum framework for enterprise architecture which the author…
Abstract
This article discusses the benefits of applying structured, holistic analysis to human enterprises. It describes the Axum framework for enterprise architecture which the author developed as a tool for managing strategic change. This has been used successfully in many varied organisations such as civil service, Web‐based betting and even a major political party. It explains how the framework evolved out of earlier work on bussiness process reengineering to provide a more holistic approach in which process is set in the context of all other things that must be managed for successful change. The application of the framework in complex diversified enterprises is also explained and illustrations from the experience of the author are given.
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Margie Foster, Hossein Arvand, Hugh T. Graham and Denise Bedford
This chapter considers how to ensure that both knowledge preservation and curation are well supported in the architecture and infrastructure of any organization. Support at the…
Abstract
Chapter Summary
This chapter considers how to ensure that both knowledge preservation and curation are well supported in the architecture and infrastructure of any organization. Support at the enterprise architecture is critical if the business goals of use, reuse, curation, and recuration in the business context are to be achieved. Enterprise architecture is explained – its vertical and horizontal approaches. Preservation is aligned with the information and data architecture. Curation is defined as a new element in the business architecture layer. The authors explain how this approach supports variations in practice across the organization.
P.W. van der Walt and A.S.A. du Toit
This article aims to address the concept of information architecture as a way of visualising and describing the various information assets and the interaction of these assets…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to address the concept of information architecture as a way of visualising and describing the various information assets and the interaction of these assets within an enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
The establishment of the information architecture is illustrated through a case study within a large conglomeration of companies requiring scaleable information architecture in order to address its information requirements. Executives who are considered influential in the overall management of the group were interviewed.
Findings
The requirements expressed during the interview process, as well as observations made during meetings and general discussions with the various role‐players within the enterprise, gave the project team the necessary confirmation of the information requirements of the enterprise.
Research limitations/implications
As there is no direct integration between the underlying systems and networks, this had to be taken into consideration for the design of the information architecture.
Originality/value
The information architecture established in the enterprise forms the basis of support in delivering future information requirements for the enterprise.
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Increasing global competition, free trade agreements, low cost foreign labor, and customer expectations are causing manufacturing enterprises to implement aggressive…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasing global competition, free trade agreements, low cost foreign labor, and customer expectations are causing manufacturing enterprises to implement aggressive transformation plans. Should these transformations be incremental or enterprise‐wide? This paper aims to address the question by developing a Lean Enterprise Architecture (LEA) concept for an enterprise‐wide transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
The LEA is an architectural framework for enterprise reengineering in the design, construction, integration, and implementation of a lean enterprise using systems engineering methods. The architecture uses a multiphase approach structured on the transformation life cycle phases.
Findings
Viewing lean implementation across the entire enterprise minimizes the possibility of overlooking opportunities for further performance improvement. A silo view of lean implementation may allow gaps in performance to persist, with no one assuming responsibility for the entire enterprise. Employing the principles of the LEA will help improve enterprise‐wide quality, on‐time delivery, and customer satisfaction by eliminating waste in the entire organization and supply chain.
Research limitations/implications
Applications and benefits are cited in the paper, but additional case studies are needed to benchmark the performance of the LEA against incremental lean implementations.
Practical implications
The LEA was created for the US military aerospace industry, but it is now being adopted in other commercial sectors for major transformation designs.
Originality/value
The LEA is the first known integration of lean thinking, enterprise architectures, and systems engineering principles in a design framework for the transformation of an enterprise.
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Sangkyun Kim and Choon Seong Leem
To provide the strategic model of approach which helps enterprise executives to solve the managerial problems of planning, implementation and operation about information security…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide the strategic model of approach which helps enterprise executives to solve the managerial problems of planning, implementation and operation about information security in business convergence environments.
Design/methodology/approach
A risk analysis method and baseline controls of BS7799 were used to generate security patterns of business convergence. With the analysis of existing enterprise architecture (EA) methods, the framework of the enterprise security architecture was designed.
Findings
The adaptive framework, including the security patterns with quantitative factors, enterprise security architecture with 18 dimensions, and reference models in business convergence environments, is provided.
Research limitations/implications
Information assets and baseline controls should be subdivided to provide more detailed risk factors and weight factors of each business convergence strategy. Case studies should be performed continuously to consolidate contents of best practices.
Practical implications
With the enterprise security architecture provided in this paper, an enterprise that tries to create a value‐added business model using convergence model can adapt itself to mitigate security risks and reduce potential losses.
Originality/value
This paper outlined the business risks in convergence environments with risk analysis and baseline controls. It is aguably the first attempt to adapt the EA approach for enterprise executives to solve the security problems of business convergence.
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In an era of unprecedented technological innovation and evolving user expectations and information seeking behaviour, we are arguably now an online society, with digital services…
Abstract
In an era of unprecedented technological innovation and evolving user expectations and information seeking behaviour, we are arguably now an online society, with digital services increasingly common and increasingly preferred. As a trusted information provider, libraries are in an advantageous position to respond, but this requires integrated strategic and enterprise architecture planning, for information technology (IT) has evolved from a support role to a strategic role, providing the core management systems, communication networks and delivery channels of the modern library. Furthermore, IT components do not function in isolation from one another but are interdependent elements of distributed and multidimensional systems encompassing people, processes and technologies, which must consider social, economic, legal, organisational and ergonomic requirements and relationships, as well as being logically sound from a technical perspective. Strategic planning provides direction, while enterprise architecture strategically aligns and holistically integrates business and information system architectures. While challenging, such integrated planning should be regarded as an opportunity for the library to evolve as an enterprise in the digital age, or at minimum, to simply keep pace with societal change and alternative service providers. Without strategy, a library risks being directed by outside forces with independent motivations and inadequate understanding of its broader societal role. Without enterprise architecture, it risks technological disparity, redundancy and obsolescence. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this conceptual chapter provides an integrated framework for strategic and architectural planning of digital library services. The concept of the library as an enterprise is also introduced.