Enterprise Architecture (EA) has evolved since the 1960s when the concept emerged [1]. Throughout the last two semesters, I have surmised that EA has undergone three evolutions since its emergence: Traditional EA, Holistic EA, and Business-Outcome-Driven EA (BODEA). When studying EA, you will likely encounter organizations using any of the three evolutions or perhaps find that organizations are striving to mature their EA program to achieve an organization-wide (holistic) EA program or even a BODEA program.

Definitions of EA vary depending on the source. For this blog post, I define the three evolutions as follows:

Traditional EA: In speaking with many experienced IT practitioners, the most common form of EA is IT-Driven. Meaning the IT department is focused on designing and building technology solutions that support the enterprise (solutions and technical only), primarily focused on “how” to implement solutions [2]. This may range from cross-cutting services such as networks and email to individual applications that support a specific need. In my conversations, I have found that many organizations are performing traditional EA without knowing it or without classifying their efforts as Enterprise Architecture.

Holistic EA: Holistic EA extends Traditional EA beyond an IT-only focus to an organization-wide focus. A holistic EA program is often viewed as an authoritative reference/body, source of standards for standards/resources, and a provider of designs for future operating states [3]. With Holistic EA, the EA program is recognized as the architecture of the enterprise (not just IT) covering all elements and aspects of the enterprise [3].

Business-Outcome-Driven EA: Is based on the concept of Holistic EA; however, the focus shifts toward delivering business value by enabling and driving business change [4]. BODEA shifts its mindset from focusing on “how” technology is implemented first to focusing on “why” and “what” delivers business value first, then “how” the business value-delivering solutions are implemented [2].

To review, the four EA domains are (1) Business Architecture, (2) Data Architecture, (3) Information Architecture, and (4) Technology Architecture.

Of the four EA domains, Business Architecture (BA) is the most important domain. Still, it may be the most underdeveloped because most EA practitioners stem from the technology side of the organization [5]. Most models depicting the EA domains show the BA domain on top, signifying its importance. BA is a discipline that represents the business views of an organization: e.g., business capabilities (Figure 1), business model canvas (Figure 2), end-to-end value delivery, information, organizational structure, and the relationships among these business views and strategies, products, policies, initiatives, and stakeholders [6].

Business Architecture Model Artifact Examples
Disclaimer: ABC Bank is a fictitious bank. The example artifacts do not represent any actual business entity.

Figure 1: Example Business Capability model.

Figure 2: Example Business Model Canvas

Figure 3: Illustration of the EA/BA relationship.

Regarding the four EA domains from a top-down perspective, the strategies and value chains from the BA domain drive the Data, Application, and Technology domains. From a bottom-up perspective, the Technology, Application, and Data domains enable the strategies and value chains within the BA domain. The EA/BA relationship is depicted in Figure 3. From this illustration, we can easily tell that BA should be the focal point of the EA program. Being able to implement a BODEA program is key to the success of a holistic business architecture.

If you or your organization is interested in establishing BODEA, Saul Brand (2019) from Gartner, Inc. provides eight steps to start or restart a BODEA program [7]:

1. Adopt Business-Outcome-Driven EA
2. Construct a Value Proposition
3. Start with Business Architecture First
4. Determine Organizational Design
5. Determine Skill Sets and Staffing
6. Determine Governance and Assurance
7. Determine Business Value Metrics
8. Construct a Charter

Figure 4: Illustration of the Eight Steps to Stand Up a BODEA Program [7].

More information on Brand’s Eight Steps can be found by viewing Brand’s article “8 Steps to Start or Restart a High-Impact, Business-Outcome-Driven EA Program” (G00377195), published by Gartner, Inc.

In summary, Business Architecture is the most important domain of Enterprise Architecture. Business Architecture provides multidimensional views of an organization, its strategies, and value chains. Organizations that strive to implement a Business-Outcome-Driven Enterprise Architecture program are bound to realize more business value from the EA program. However, many EA programs today are focused on IT-driven initiatives. Consider following Brand’s eight steps to start or restart a BODEA program.

Works Cited

[1] S. K. White, “What is enterprise architecture? A framework for transformation,” 16 October 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.cio.com/article/222421/what-is-enterprise-architecture-a-framework-for-transformation.html#:~:text=EA%20began%20in%20the%201960s,Book%20of%20Knowledge%20(EABOK).. [Accessed 4 November 2022].

[2] S. Brand and M. Blosch, The future direction and evolution of Business- Outcome-Driven Enterprise Architecture, Gartner, Inc., 2020.

[3] S. A. Bernard, An introduction to holistic enterprise architecture, 4th ed., AuthorHouse, 2020.

[4] B. Burke and S. Brand, Stage planning a Business-Outcome-Driven Enterprise Architecture, Gartner, Inc., 2020.

[5] D. Hollar, L06: Online Class Session: Business Architecture, 2022.

[6] “Business Architecture,” Wikipedia, [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_architecture. [Accessed 6 November 2022].

[7] S. Brand, 8 steps to start or restart a high-impact, Business-Outcome-Driven EA Program, Gartner, Inc., 2019.

[8] B. Betsey, P. Allega and A. Lapkin, ‘Business Context’ and ‘Business Architecture’ are not the same, Gartner, Inc., 2009.