A System of Systems Focused Enterprise Architecture Framework and an Associated Architecture Development Process

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Morganwalp, Jill | Sage, Andrew P.

Affiliations: Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, USA

Abstract: Today, many organizations are concerned with how to successfully transition to an organization utilizing information technology to its fullest strategic extent. The organizations enterprise architecture plays a key role in this transition. Enterprise architectures are typically comprised of many components and can be very complex. All of these components must be integrated well for the organization to easily evolve and successfully adapt to the frequent technology and business changes that occur. An Enterprise Architecture Framework (EAF) can significantly aid development of an adaptable enterprise architecture. When developing an enterprise architecture, the major areas of focus should be stakeholders perspectives, contextual awareness interrogatives by which these perspectives are expressed, and System of Systems (SOS) hierarchical levels. This research has led to the identification of an enterprise architectural framework for a complex system of systems. It identifies an enterprise architecture framework and an Architecture Development Process (ADP) to engineer an effective, flexible enterprise architecture. The resulting three-dimensional enterprise architecture framework incorporates hierarchical levels of the system of systems that characterize the enterprise as well as the perspectives of all stakeholders, including such external ones as customers and partners, and contextual awareness interrogatives. The resultant enterprise architecture framework explicitly addresses the complexity of systems and the high degree of integration needed across system of systems levels. Measures of effectiveness for the enterprise architecture framework, architecture development process, and the resulting architecture are briefly discussed as well as an empirical evaluation. The results of the evaluation suggest that use of both the framework and the architecture development process are beneficial.

Journal: Information Knowledge Systems Management, vol. 3, no. 2-4, pp. 87-105, 2002/2003