Enterprise Architecture Framework

An architecture framework is a tool that can be used for developing a broad range of different architectures. An architecture framework describes a method for designing an information system in terms of a set of building blocks and for showing how the building blocks fit together. A framework contains a set of tools and provides a common vocabulary. A framework includes a list of recommended standards and compliant products that can be used to implement the building blocks.

Overview of EA Framework

Many enterprise architectural methodologies have come and gone in the last 20 years. As on today, perhaps 90 percent of the field use one of these four methodologies:

• The Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architectures―The Zachman Framework is actually a taxonomy for organizing architectural artifacts (in other words, design documents, specifications, and models) that takes into account both who the artifact targets (for example, business owner and builder) and what particular issue (for example, data and functionality) is being addressed.
• The Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGAF)―TOGAF divides an enterprise architecture into four categories, as follows:

·        Business architecture—Describes the processes the business uses to meet its goals

·        Application architecture—Describes how specific applications are designed and how they interact with each other

·        Data architecture—Describes how the enterprise data stores are organized and accessed

·        Technical architecture—Describes the hardware and software infrastructure that supports applications and their interactions

• The Federal Enterprise Architecture―Implemented enterprise architecture or a proscriptive methodology. FEA consists of five reference models, one each for performance: business, service, components, technical, and data. 
• The Gartner Methodology―In the Gartner view enterprise architecture is about strategy, not about engineering. It is focused on the destination. The two things that are most important to Gartner are where an organization is going and how it will get there. Any architectural activity that is extraneous to these questions is irrelevant. Just enough enterprise architecture, just in time, is the way of Gartner framework.

Using an architecture framework will speed up and simplify architecture development, ensure more complete coverage of the designed solution, and make certain that the architecture selected allows for future growth in response to the needs of the business.

Leading enterprise architecture methodologies are very different in their approaches. Which one is best for your organization? There is no one answer to this question. There are 12 criteria used for comparing and evaluating enterprise architectural methodologies (Zachman, TOGAF, FEA, Gartner). Not all of these criteria might be relevant to your organization, and some might be more important than others. But at least these criteria can serve as a starting point for your own evaluation:

1.     Taxonomy Completeness

2.     Process Completeness

3.     Reference Model Guidance

4.     Practical Guidance

5.     Maturity Model

6.     Business Focus

7.     Governance Guidance

8.     Partitioning Guidance

9.     Perspective Catalog

10. Vendor Neutrality

11. Informative Availability

12. Time to Value

The framework shall address the following scope elements,

Therefore framework helps in,

1. Speed up and simplify architecture development
2. Ensure more complete coverage of the designed solution
3. Target Architecture allows for future growth in response to the needs of the business