Towards a more integrated EA planning: linking transformation planning with evolutionary change

Abstract

Enterprises are subject to continuous change driven by top-down planned transformation projects as well as by bottom-up initiatives realizing what is called the evolution of the enterprise. Enterprise architecture (EA) planning presents itself as a means for facilitating and controlling this change. Nevertheless, the methods and models of EA planning developed in recent years either have a strong focus on planned (proactive) transformations or on guided (reactive) evolution. In this paper, we outline an EA planning method that accounts for both types of enterprise change by illustrating the interplay of EA planning, requirements, release, and synchronization management. Specifically we focus on the coordination of design activities modeled as intermeshed closed-loop control systems and on an integrated information model describing EA transformation planning.