Fundamentals of Enterprise Architecture

Chapter 1. Key Enterprise Architecture Concepts

What does the word architecture mean to you? Perhaps it brings to mind visions of Renaissance art and Gothic cathedrals, or if you’ve ever done a home remodel, blueprints of houses and rooms. Perhaps you’re civically oriented and you start thinking about maps of cities and designs of buildings.

Whatever comes to mind, I have a strong hunch that design was part of it. So, we can then say that architecture definitely has something to do with designing something new. In the context of modern information technology (IT) organizations, the something is typically a software-based system.

How well does architecture help you and your organization deliver software? Perhaps you’ve had bad experiences with ineffective architecture, and the first words that come to mind are things like ivory tower, out of touch, or behind the times. Perhaps architecture seems like an archaic relic of the past, something that’s no longer needed in a modern organization as it attempts to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and business demands.

On the other hand, maybe you’ve had great experiences with architecture, and the first words that come to mind are things like clarity, strategy, and shared. Architecture may have provided the clarity needed to set forth a shared strategy with clear goals and blueprints to achieve them. Perhaps architecture allowed for great decisions that met business goals, kept customers happy, and also allowed for innovative ...