Bas van der Raadt, PhD

Many large organizations are complex and suffer from that. As a result of mergers and acquisitions their operations is not running optimally. By constantly introducing new technologies, information systems do not work well together. To bring structure and coherence into the organization, many companies are using Enterprise Architecture (EA). Building an organization under the EA is much like constructing a building under architecture. Many organizations, however, have difficulty making… Meer weergeven

Many large organizations are complex and suffer from that. As a result of mergers and acquisitions their operations is not running optimally. By constantly introducing new technologies, information systems do not work well together. To bring structure and coherence into the organization, many companies are using Enterprise Architecture (EA). Building an organization under the EA is much like constructing a building under architecture. Many organizations, however, have difficulty making effective use of EA.

One of the main reasons for the limited effectiveness of EA is that stakeholders (e.g., senior management and project staff) are often dissatisfied with the services of enterprise architects. Stakeholders therefore often ignore the architecture blueprint, which results into the EA cycle not being intact. In his PhD dissertation, Bas van der Raadt provides insight into the goals that organizations are trying to achieve with EA, and the expectations that stakeholders have regarding the services of enterprise architects. He also describes how organizations should organize their architecture cycle to be effective with EA.

The architecture cycle starts with the enterprise architect identifying the requirements of senior management. He/she advises in making choices for structuring the business processes and IT systems, and creates a blueprint accordingly. The projects responsible for implementing organizational changes are considered to follow this blueprint. The architect will supervise the projects and support them where necessary. If projects deviate from the blueprint, the enterprise architect advises senior management what measures to take to get these projects back on track. If a project deviates from the blueprint with a good reason, the enterprise architect adjusts the blueprint based on the feedback from practice. This creates a EA cycle that helps in bringing structure and coherence in organizational change. Minder weergeven

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is increasingly being used by large organizations to get a grip on the complexity of their business processes, information systems and technical infrastructure. Although seen as
an important instrument to help solve major organizational problems, effectively applying EA seems no
easy task. Active participation of EA stakeholders is one of the main critical success factors for EA. This
participation depends on the degree in which EA helps stakeholders… Meer weergeven

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is increasingly being used by large organizations to get a grip on the complexity of their business processes, information systems and technical infrastructure. Although seen as
an important instrument to help solve major organizational problems, effectively applying EA seems no
easy task. Active participation of EA stakeholders is one of the main critical success factors for EA. This
participation depends on the degree in which EA helps stakeholders achieve their individual goals. A
highly related topic is effectiveness of EA, the degree in which EA helps to achieve the collective goals of
the organization. In this article we present our work regarding EA stakeholder satisfaction and EA effectiveness, and compare these two topics. We found that, regarding EA, the individual goals of stakeholders map quite well onto the collective goals of the organization. In a case study we conducted, we found that the organization is primarily concerned with the final results of EA, while individual stakeholders also worry about the way the architects operate. Minder weergeven

The world is changing and your organization must also participate in this change. But who is responsible for the change in your organization? Who is responsible if your organization does not live up to its change strategy? Increase the success and assign a dedicated director and leader: the Chief Change Officer (CCO).

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is becoming an increasingly mature field of work, but many large organizations still struggle with implementing an integral and truly effective EA function. The literature provides a fragmented picture of the EA function, describing the various separate elements that make up the total package of activities, resources, skills, and competences of the EA delivery function. In our view, the EA function reaches beyond EA delivery and also includes the stakeholders… Meer weergeven

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is becoming an increasingly mature field of work, but many large organizations still struggle with implementing an integral and truly effective EA function. The literature provides a fragmented picture of the EA function, describing the various separate elements that make up the total package of activities, resources, skills, and competences of the EA delivery function. In our view, the EA function reaches beyond EA delivery and also includes the stakeholders, structures and processes involved with EA decision making and EA conformance. A holistic and integral view on the EA function is essential in order to properly assess an EA function on its performance, and to allow identifying the key points of improvement. In this article, we give such a description of the EA function, which provides the reference model in EA function performance assessments as part of our Normalized Architecture Organization Maturity Index (NAOMI) approach. Minder weergeven

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is increasingly being used by large organizations to get a grip on the complexity and inflexibility of their business processes, information systems and technical infrastructure. Although seen as an important instrument to help solve major organizational problems, effectively applying EA seems no easy task. Efficient collaboration between architects and EA stakeholders is one of the main critical success factors for EA. The basis for efficient collaboration between… Meer weergeven

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is increasingly being used by large organizations to get a grip on the complexity and inflexibility of their business processes, information systems and technical infrastructure. Although seen as an important instrument to help solve major organizational problems, effectively applying EA seems no easy task. Efficient collaboration between architects and EA stakeholders is one of the main critical success factors for EA. The basis for efficient collaboration between architects and EA stakeholders is mutual understanding. In EA research, there has been much focus on the role of the architect; there is little research on the EA stakeholder. In this article we present the cognitive structure of four EA stakeholder groups, revealing how they expect the EA function to help them achieve their goals. With this we gain understanding of the EA stakeholder and provide the basis for better collaboration between architects and EA stakeholders. Minder weergeven

Large organizations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of enterprise architecture, and heavily investing in it. However, many of those organizations struggle to be truly effective with architecture. In order to determine points of improvement, we have developed an approach for assessing an organization on its architecture effectiveness. Our approach differentiates from existing assessment models by considering multiple perspectives. It makes a distinction between the level of thinking… Meer weergeven

Large organizations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of enterprise architecture, and heavily investing in it. However, many of those organizations struggle to be truly effective with architecture. In order to determine points of improvement, we have developed an approach for assessing an organization on its architecture effectiveness. Our approach differentiates from existing assessment models by considering multiple perspectives. It makes a distinction between the level of thinking about architecture, and the level of practicing it. It also gives insight in the (mis)alignment between IT and business oriented architecture functions. In this paper we describe the practical application of our assessment approach at a global financial services company. Minder weergeven

e-Services are intangible products, provisioned via the Internet. Examples include Internet access and Internet radio. Because most e-services involve multiple enterprises, creating a shared understanding of the service under development is an issue. Such an e-service is more difficult to understand than a proposition just consisting of goods because services lack easily observable physical properties. Consequently, software engineers must first understand the e-service itself before they can… Meer weergeven

e-Services are intangible products, provisioned via the Internet. Examples include Internet access and Internet radio. Because most e-services involve multiple enterprises, creating a shared understanding of the service under development is an issue. Such an e-service is more difficult to understand than a proposition just consisting of goods because services lack easily observable physical properties. Consequently, software engineers must first understand the e-service itself before they can build effective systems and support for these services. The authors present the complementary use of two requirements engineering techniques. Using i* modeling, they explore strategic goals that enterprises have, and using e3value modeling, they understand how these goals can result in profitable services for enterprises. They demonstrate their approach using a case study on Internet radio.This article is part of a special issue on requirements engineering. Minder weergeven

Current architecture assessment models focus on either architecture maturity or architecture alignment, considering the other as an explaining sub-variable. Based on an exploratory study, we conjecture that both alignment and maturity are equally important variables in properly assessing architecture organizations. Our hypothesis is that these variables conceptually differ, correlate, but do not explain one another. In this paper we describe our Multi-dimensional Assessment model for… Meer weergeven

Current architecture assessment models focus on either architecture maturity or architecture alignment, considering the other as an explaining sub-variable. Based on an exploratory study, we conjecture that both alignment and maturity are equally important variables in properly assessing architecture organizations. Our hypothesis is that these variables conceptually differ, correlate, but do not explain one another. In this paper we describe our Multi-dimensional Assessment model for architecture Alignment and architecture Maturity (MAAM), which contains six main interrelated sub-variables that explain both alignment and maturity. We used existing models, literature from business and IS domains, and knowledge gained from previous research to identify the explaining variables. We constructed MAAM using structured modeling techniques. We are currently using a structured questionnaire method to construct an Internet survey with which we gather data to empirically validate our model. Our goal is to develop an architecture assessment process and supporting tool based on MAAM. Minder weergeven

Emerging web services technologies provide an open infrastructure for automated business interaction, thereby creating new opportunities for business actors to collaborate within a networked constellation of enterprises via the Internet. The basis for a viable network of web services (the supporting information system of such a networked constellation of enterprises) is a value model that shows sound value propositions to all actors involved. Requirements engineering techniques can be developed… Meer weergeven

Emerging web services technologies provide an open infrastructure for automated business interaction, thereby creating new opportunities for business actors to collaborate within a networked constellation of enterprises via the Internet. The basis for a viable network of web services (the supporting information system of such a networked constellation of enterprises) is a value model that shows sound value propositions to all actors involved. Requirements engineering techniques can be developed to support:
(1) exploring alternative business models, and (2) evaluating alternatives on their economic viability, leading into the design and implementation of technical systems. In this paper we present a Business-oriented Approach Supporting web Services Idea Exploration (BASSIE), which exploits the synergy between the agent- and goal-oriented i* framework and the value-based e3value framework. The approach iterates between exploration of structural alternatives and qualitative evaluation using i*, and quantitative modeling and evaluation of business value using e3value. The approach is illustrated with a real-life case study in digital music distribution. Minder weergeven

Based on interviews with a number of architects and managers from a wide range of organizations, we characterize how architecture is perceived in practice. We identify three groups of organizations that differ with respect to their level of architectural thinking and the alignment of business and IT on architectural issues. Analysis of the interviews further indicates that these three groups differ in the architecture aspects and critical success factors they emphasize. Our results provide a… Meer weergeven

Based on interviews with a number of architects and managers from a wide range of organizations, we characterize how architecture is perceived in practice. We identify three groups of organizations that differ with respect to their level of architectural thinking and the alignment of business and IT on architectural issues. Analysis of the interviews further indicates that these three groups differ in the architecture aspects and critical success factors they emphasize. Our results provide a starting point for assessing architecture maturity and alignment within organizations, and can be used to help harmonize different architectural tunes played within organizations. Minder weergeven