Choosing the right enterprise architecture framework to drive your EA function can be complex. Let's compare the five most-popular methodologies to help you decide which is best for your organization.
There are a range of established enterprise architecture frameworks that EAs are leveraging to model their EA function in their organizations. Deciding which one of these expansive, technical frameworks is best for you can be challenging.
Below, we've run down the five most-popular enterprise architecture frameworks, along with their respective pros and cons. We hope this will guide you in choosing the framework that will best support your organization's enterprise architecture.
Whichever you choose, SAP LeanIX will act as an information repository for your framework information and display it in a clear, shareable visualization. To find out more, book a demo:
1 The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)
The Open Group enterprise Architecture Framework (TOGAF) is so effective that it is the recognised industry standard methodology for enterprise architects. Like most industry standard methodologies, the approach has been critiqued by advanced users.
Many have complained that TOGAF is too low-level, focusing on specifics, rather than giving you a high-level strategy to work out how to apply yourself. Alternatively, others have claimed that TOGAF is old-fashioned and doesn't cover areas that enterprise architecture has moved into, such as change management and business transformation.
TOGAF covers your organization's:
- business strategy
- application portfolio
- data
- technology
The framework is prescriptive about how to establish your enterprise architecture function in these key areas, with little room for customization. On the other hand, TOGAF has limited guidance on the stakeholder collaboration and change management aspects that other frameworks focus on.
In this light, we can see that TOGAF is effective as detailed guidance on how to set up an enterprise architecture practice for those with no previous experience of doing so. Experienced enterprise architects may find it too limiting and little help with the more complex human element of transformation work.
This makes TOGAF a good choice for organizations looking to create an enterprise architecture practice from scratch. For those looking to develop their enterprise architecture maturity, there may be other systems that could better support them.
READ: Implementing The TOGAF Framework For Digital Transformation
2 DoD Architecture Framework (DoDAF)
The US Department of Defense enterprise Architecture Framework (DoDAF) is a newer methodology than TOGAF. Since the DoD created the original principles that would be used to formulate TOGAF, DoDAF can be seen as an evolution of The Open Group framework.
DoDAF deploys each manager as a process owner for their particular business unit. Building their team and operations processes is seen as developing a facet of a wider enterprise architecture.
The DoD managers are given the flexibility to create the necessary processes, but the creation process is standardized. All processes, information, artifacts, models, and viewpoints are consistently formatted across all teams.
The recent DoDAF Version 2.0 adds a focus on a specific data capture methodology and a meta-model to prescribe the best way to store that data. This combination of a modern focus on data with a people-centric approach to enterprise architecture adds up to a more-mature enterprise architecture approach.
DoDAF may still not be the right approach for every organization, but it is certainly a move in the right direction. For a data and people-focused template for a mature enterprise architecture function, DoDAF is impressive.
READ: DoDAF - The US DoD's Enterprise Architecture Framework
3 Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF)
Another enterprise architecture framework developed by a different arm of the US government is the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF). FEAF is a system designed to enable agility and the integration of systems.
Chief among this integration is FEAF users' reduced friction in connecting their systems with the US government itself, in order to better partner with them. This gives them a key advantage during a tender process with the biggest government in the world.
However, FEAF is the best-practice model for bureaucratic governments and is not designed for enterprise. Companies looking to leverage the framework are best to combine it with an enterprise-focused methodology.
Thankfully, FEAF is also designed to be merged with other frameworks in just such a way. In fact, it works most-effectively in combination with a framework like TOGAF or DoDAF.
FEAF is aimed at synergizing your business processes with your technology, but less concerned with the setup of your technology architecture. As such, using FEAF with an IT-focused approach can be more comprehensive.
To find out more about FEAF, read our guide:
READ: A Definitive Guide To FEAF
4 Zachman Enterprise Architecture Framework
The Zachman enterprise architecture framework is not so much a methodology as an ontology. It is more of a schema for organizing your artifacts than a strategy for driving your enterprise architecture.
This was revolutionary back in the 1980s when John Zackman first proposed it, since it looked at enterprise architecture differently. Rather than a methodology, Zachman considered the needs of stakeholders in order to make enterprise architecture a service.
Essentially, Zachman proposed mapping your artifacts on a grid with axes for each stakeholder and the business need that is being addressed in the artifact. This allows you to view all the issues for each stakeholder and all the stakeholders impacted by an issue.
This approach to EA heavily influenced more-modern approaches, such as DoDAF. As such, it fits well as a tool to use in addition to other capabilities as part of a comprehensive methodology.
To find out more about Zachman's framework, read our guide:
READ: A Definitive Guide To The Zachman Framework
5 SAP Enterprise Architecture Framework
The SAP enterprise architecture framework is a system-agnostic expansion of the standard TOGAF framework. It combines the lineage of TOGAF with SAP's expansive reference architecture library and the option to customize your methodology and add features from other frameworks.
READ: Leveraging The SAP Enterprise Architecture Framework
The SAP EA framework is built upon six principles:
- Map your business practices and enterprise architecture separately
- Use industry best practices, such as TOGAF
- Leverage the best features of many enterprise architecture frameworks, such as DoDAF, FEAF, Zachman, and Archimate
- Work collaboratively and share a taxonomy across the business
- Ensure clear ownership of enterprise architecture documentation
- Keep your enterprise architecture simple and sustainable
Those principles allow you to leverage the best of enterprise architecture best practices, and adapt and tailor them to your needs. To speed this process up, the SAP EA framework recommends tools and services to enable your practice.
This includes both SAP LeanIX for mapping your enterprise architecture, and SAP Signavio for your business processes. Again, it also empowers you to make use of the expansive SAP reference architecture that SAP customers have access to.
To find out more about leveraging SAP LeanIX and the SAP enterprise architecture framework, book a demo:
