Enterprise Architecture Book Review

About the Book from the Author

Third Edition 2006
This third edition is a major update related to the second edition published in 2004. A set of 40 new pages of additional information is added too this 3rd edition. Even so additional enhancements are added to several sections. The European Interoperability Framework is added to the frameworks section, a new chapter about EA modelling languages is added and the complete enterprise architecture tools section is rewritten based on the latest developments in the world of EA tools due to changes in the Enterprise Architecture tooling market.

Second Edition 2004
This second edition is an update of the first edition published December 2003 with some refinements and enhancements on several pages and a refreshment and actual update of the tools selection paragraph, due to changes in the Enterprise Architecture tooling market.

First Edition 2003

Several times in my Enterprise Architecture (EA) practice, people asked me which framework shall I adopt or what are the benefits of the Zachman framework over TOGAF, etc. Others asked me to help them to define their own corporate EA framework. Before answering these types of questions, it is important to know what the differences and commonalities are of these frameworks and standards.

This book explains the role of Enterprise Architecture Frameworks and shows the differences between the most popular Enterprise Architecture Frameworks now a day available in the world.

With the growing importance of Enterprise Architecture [EA] at the same time, the discussion started how to create or choose the right Enterprise Architecture Framework & Tools for your organisation in the jungle of the existing ones.

Giving an overview of the history of most Enterprise Architecture frameworks as well as their purpose, scope, principles, structure, guidance and compliance, will support you in identifying the usefulness of these Enterprise Architecture frameworks for your own situation. For the in-depth details of the described Enterprise Architecture Frameworks, references to the original sources of information are added in the chapter References & Bibliography.

A separate chapter is addressing how to select a suitable Enterprise Architecture tool that reflect the organization needs. Even so an overview is given of the most common EA tools today on the market and their support of frameworks.

How to Survive in the Jungle of Enterprise Architecture Framework: Creating or Choosing an Enterprise Architecture Framework

Review by Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA)

Amazon.com Readers Review ranking

Average Customer Rating:

Valuable compendium

When I received this book I quickly scanned it and dismissed it as a niche book for architects working in the US Government or contractors working in that environment. After reading it, though, I believe that this is an invaluable book for enterprise architects in the commercial sector as well.

For those working in or with the US Government, and especially the Department of Defense, this books in-depth comparison of enterprise architectures within that domain is an amazing resource. Among the government- and DoD-specific architectures covered are Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) issued by the CIO council, Command, Control, Communications, Computer Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Architecture (a part of the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DODAF), and Joint Technical Architecture. This book also covers CCA architecture compliance. This is an interesting part of the book because lessons learned from CCA compliance requirements may possibly translate into an approach for aligning commercial architectures to Sarbanes-Oxley, which is a hot topic in the commercial sector.

Enterprise architectures in the commercial domain that are covered include the Zachman Framework, Enterprise Architecture Planning, The Open Group Architecture Framework, and the Integrated Architecture Framework. More importantly, there are manufacturing-specific frameworks covered, such as the Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture and the Computer Integrated Manufacturing Open Systems Architecture, which round out this books comprehensive survey of architectures.

The manner in which the above architectures are covered is what I most like about this book. The author has performed the mind-numbing task of collecting relevant factors of each architecture, then presenting them in a set format: history, purpose, scope, principles, structure, guidance and compliance. This format allows you to use this book as a catalog of architectures, as well as the basis for comparing the strengths and weaknesses of architectures that are suitable for a specific environment.

I also like the first eight chapters, and chapters 11 and 12, which provide general information about enterprise architectures, definitions, and advice on how to select the best architecture based on requirements.

This is an important book for enterprise architects that will serve as an encyclopedia, idea book, and general resource.