top four enterprise architecture frameworks

Yesterday I was reminded of an article I had passed on to my team members months ago and subsequently forgot. Its on msdn and is titled “A Comparison of the Top Four Enterprise Architecture Methodologies” and was written by Roger Sessions. Sessions is the CTO of ObjectWatch Inc. and author of six books and dozens of articles and white papers. He serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Software Architects (www.iasahome.org).

Sessions takes the reader through the history of Enterprise Architecture and compares The Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architectures, The Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGAF), The Federal Enterprise Architecture and The Gartner Methodology. The article is easy to read through and uses a understandable and simple case to examplify the points. Sessions main conclusion being that none of the presented Enterprise Architecture methodologies is really complete. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. And most important - as Sessions also points out - the organization cannot succeed using any of them without commitment from the highest level of the organization. That is very much in line with my experience! Sessions offers a comparison of the methodologies and recommend using the best parts from each of them in the areas, where the organization has the most urgent needs. Here are some of Sessions points:

“Zachman tells you how to categorize your artifacts. TOGAF gives you a process for creating them.”

“TOGAF merely describes how to generate an enterprise architecture, not necessarily how to generate a good enterprise architecture.”

“FEA is the most complete of all the methodologies discussed so far. It has both a comprehensive taxonomy, like Zachman, and an architectural process, like TOGAF. FEA can be viewed as either a methodology for creating an enterprise architecture or the result of applying that process to a particular enterprise—namely, the U.S. Government.”

“The best summation of the Gartner practice that I have heard is the following: Architecture is a verb, not a noun.”

so much to do

I have been quiet because my head has been buried in a proposal. The Federal Government decided to give us only two weeks to respond to its RFP which we have been chasing for two years. We did a lot of work in advance but unfortunately its contents did not match the RFP and pretty much everything had to be thrown out. Then I made a short trip to see my mom in beautiful Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

I have so many conferences and training coming up.

Next week I will be attending a free 2-day training session on the Methodology for Business Transformation (MBT) approach employed by the Department of Interior (DOI) Enterprise Architecture (EA) program. Northrop Grumman has been the lead contractor on this program, which created the MBT, based on the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and General Accounting Office (GAO) have consistently ranked this program as having the highest of all ratings among all Federal Enterprise Architecture programs.

At the end of this month (October) I fly to Orlando for 4 days for PegaWorld 2007. Then next month I go to San Francisco for Oracle Open World 2007 where I will get to listen to people such as Michael Dell and Larry Ellison speak. I am not a groupie but it should be interesting what these guys have to say. I have never heard either of them speak live although I did listen to an audio version of Michael Dell's book seven years ago.

I get back on November 16, just in time to fly on the 17th to Europe for 2 weeks. ;-D

And between now and the first of March I have to attend three courses I have already paid for at the Learning Tree. I bought a training passport, not really realizing how difficult it was going to be to find time to attend four different training classes. I have had to schedule and reschedule and reschedule and reschedule again. In March it expires so I no longer have room to negotiate.

I cannot wait to get to Europe. ;-D