Bu10w - A Lightweight Approach to Enterprise Architecture Modeling and...

Abstract

Not quite a few enterprise architecture (EA) management endeavors start with the design of an information model covering the EA-related interests of the various stakeholders. In the design of this model, the enterprise architects resort to prominent frameworks, but often create what would be called an “ivory tower” model. This model at best case misses if not ignores the knowledge of the people that are responsible for business processes, applications, services etc. In this paper, we describe how the wisdom of the crowds can be used to develop information models.
Making use of Web 2.0 techniques, wikis, and an open templating mechanism, our approach ties together the EA relevant information in a way, which is accessible to both humans and applications. We demonstrate how the ivory tower syndrome can be cured, typical pitfalls can be avoided, and employees can be empowered to contribute their expert knowledge to EA modeling and documentation.