IASA

Review - Enterprise Architecture Creating Value by Informed Governance

This is a small book with big ambitions. At only a little over 140 pages it is by EA standards a modest volume. But that shouldn't put you off.

The book presents a surprisingly comprehensive approach to EA with a simple and yet well structured theoretical foundation and enough practical detail to make it credible without overwhelming the novice. Written as a text book for an architectural course it consists of four main sections. These include the usual explanation for why we need EA, updated for the global economy and a little more stakeholder centric than the usual effort. Followed by "positioning EA" which is actually more like defining and describing EA and then two sections on the execution of EA.

One of these is the now a days almost obligatory case study / example, typically the refuge of people who can't actually explain what they mean. My initial reaction was to reach for the phone, order a pizza and turn on the football. But, surprisingly the situation was saved by an example with some real meat.  Not only do the authors demonstrate their points, but they manage to connect them to both their own technique and broader well know concepts like Zachman's framework; all without becoming arcane. In 30 odd pages they deliver more value for the architect than many complete books.

They follow these sections up with a topic that should be getting more air play than it is "The Enterprise Architect". It seems that these days every man and his dog is an architect, frankly I wouldn't feed many of them. But, having said that it's no easy matter deciding what makes an architect. Well, this book has a good go at answering that question and even if you don't agree with the them  there is a certain order and cohesion to their argument that must be respected.

This is a crisp clean work written in "Euro Architecture" style, which is not surprising given its origins. It will work for architects at all levels and will add value to any bookshelf.  Recommended.

Opt'land, Martin, Proper, Erik, Waage, Maarten, Cleo, Jeroen, Steghuis, Claidia ( 2009), "Enterprise Architecture", Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

ISBN 978-3-540-85232-2

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