What is Enterprise Architecture? What is Zachman's Framework?

Briefly describe the Zachman's Enterprise Architecture framework. Describe 1-2 of its strengths.

1.0   Enterprise Architecture Defined
According to Gartner.com, (http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/enterprise-architecture-ea/) an Enterprise Architecture is defined as:

“the process of translating business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change by creating, communicating and improving the key requirements, principles and models that describe the enterprise’s future state and enable its evolution.”

Capgemini defines Enterprise Architecture as:

“a set of principles, rules, standards, and guidelines, expressing and visualizing a vision and implementing concepts, containing a mixture of style, engineering, and construction principles.”

The Open Group’s Architectural Framework (TOGAF) notes that:

“[Enterprise] Architecture has two meanings depending upon its contextual usage: (1) A formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system at component level to guide its implementation; (2) The structure of components, their interrelationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time.”

US Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) definition:

“Enterprise architecture is a management practice to maximize the contribution of an agency’s resources, IT investments, and system development activities to achieve its performance goals. Architecture describes clear relationships from strategic goals and objectives through investments to measurable performance improvements for the entire enterprise or a portion (or segment) of the enterprise”

2.0   Enterprise Architecture Framework

An Enterprise Architecture is an extremely complex and complicated systems model.  Because of its size and complexity, EA frameworks or methodologies have been developed that provide a set of tools, techniques and terms to bring the EA into focus.

According to Sessions (2007):

“Many enterprise-architectural methodologies have come and gone in the last 20 years. At this point, perhaps 90 percent of the field use one of these four methodologies:

The Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architectures—Although self-described as a framework, is actually more accurately defined as a taxonomy

The Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGAF)—Although called a framework, is actually more accurately defined as a process

The Federal Enterprise Architecture—Can be viewed as either an implemented enterprise architecture or a proscriptive methodology for creating an enterprise architecture

The Gartner Methodology—Can be best described as an enterprise architectural practice

3.0   Zachman’s Framework

“The field of enterprise architecture [methodologies] essentially started in 1987, with the publication in the IBM Systems Journal of an article titled "A Framework for Information Systems Architecture," by J.A. Zachman.  In that paper, Zachman laid out both the challenge and the vision of enterprise architectures that would guide the field for the next 20 years.  The challenge was to manage the complexity of increasingly distributed systems.  As Zachman said:

The cost involved and the success of the business depending increasingly on its information systems require a disciplined approach to the management of those systems. [02]

Zachman's vision was that business value and agility could best be realized by a holistic approach to systems architecture that explicitly looked at every important issue from every important perspective. His multiperspective approach to architecting systems is what Zachman originally described as an information systems architectural framework and soon renamed to be an enterprise architecture framework.”

Zachman’s framework “summarizes a collection of perspectives” and is a “logical structure for classifying and organizing descriptive representations.”  It is depicted as a grid or matrix of six rows and six columns.  “Zachman proposed that there are six descriptive foci (data, function, network, people, time, and motivation) and six player perspectives (planner, owner, designer, builder, subcontractor, and enterprise.) These two dimensions can be arranged in a grid…There are 36 intersecting cells in a Zachman grid—one for each meeting point between a player's perspective (for example, business owner) and a descriptive focus (for example, data.)”

4.0   Strengths of Zachman’s framework

One of the strengths of this framework is that “it explicitly shows a comprehensive set of views that can be addressed by enterprise architecture.”
Another strength of this framework is that it provides for a very high level of detail in the artifacts created or depicted.

Because of the relatively large number of perspectives engendered in the framework, it provides a very narrow focus on each of the Enterprise Architecture components.

WORKS CITED

Op’t Land, M.; Proper, E.; Waage, M.; Cloo, J.; Steghuis, C. (2009). Enterprise Architecture: Creating Value by Informed Governance. Springer. (http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-3-540-85231-5) (Retrieved September 17, 2012).

Sessions, R. (May 2007). A Comparison of the Top Four Enterprise-Architecture Methodologies.  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466232 (Retrieved September 12, 2012).

Zachman, J.A. "A Framework for Information Systems Architecture." IBM Systems Journal, Volume 26, Number 3, (1987).