Thought Question: How is the Information/Data Architecture Layer shaping Enterprise Systems & Functions?

With todays fast pace technological society, agility is going to have a significant impact on how an organization operates. An organization ability adapts to constant change and circumstances allows them to remain competitive and take advantage of new technologies to help shape future state business outcomes. And the Information Architecture layer plays a significant role to support such agility and influences decision-making processes within organizations. Many large enterprise, utilize the information architectural layer beyond its primary ability to establish connections and define how information is disseminated and shared. Not only is the information/data layer going to connect business entities and help define roles and responsibilities to support key governance for business objectives, but it will help shape future state goals. But how does it help with business growth?  Knowing how and where to adapt organization resource to support business strategy and outcomes is very important and is often derived from the information layer through data-driven analytics. The data driven analytics uses the information layer to analyze patterns and trends across the enterprise to help provide insights and inform key business decisions. The “Enterprise Information Architecture (EIA) layer is the process of determining which information assets should be treated as enterprise information, and creating the requirements, principles, and models that strengthen the network effect of sharing such information across the enterprise.”

So, how much of an affect does information architecture have on the enterprise? In my research, I found a unique enterprise architecture model developed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) which illustrated a meaningful connection/relationship between several aspects and level of enterprise architecture. The layers of the “cake” represented different views, defining its own principles, data models business rules, and governance process. The slices represented individual business capabilities. And each vertical slice of the cake looks at how the different layers support the business of the organization. This particular model demonstrated the level of complexity associated with enterprise architecture and more specifically how each layer supports the organization as a whole. The WSDOT defines how the information architecture layer connects the business layer with the application layer. More specifically how the layer describes “all of the information assets generated or used by the organization, and all of the functions that support the life cycles of those assets.”

Figure 1: Enterprise Architecture: Cake

However, todays organizations and business represents a complex web of connections and relationships that ultimately support that individual business goals. If there is one thing I’d improve on this model is to demonstrate the external entities/factors that support business strategies and outcomes, whether that be through partnerships or customer relations. Those external entities/factors will have a significant affect in the direction of business outcomes/decisions, which also plays an important role within the information architecture layer. Maybe the external entity can represent a cake knife or candles and how such external entities change or support each layer within enterprise architecture.

References:

Bedford, A. D. (2017). Enterprise Information Architecture: An Overview (WA-RD 896.4). Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/896-4.pdf

Gartner. (2007). Ten Steps to Build an Agile Information Architecture. Gartner.