Improving Communication and Collaboration in Enterprise Architecture Projects: Three Propositions from Three Public Sector EA Projects

Abstract

Enterprise architecture (EA) is infamous for implementation problems and unredeemed promises. Imprecise and unstandardized EA work practices and various definitions make it difficult to comprehend what should be done and how, and to advance digital transformation. Earlier studies have identified communication and collaboration challenges as one of the most common and fatal sources of problems. In this paper, we study how different actions help avoiding and addressing communication and collaboration problems in EA projects. We conduct a qualitative and comparative case study of three public sector EA projects in Finland. Our data is based on ethnographic observations, which were later inductively analyzed. As an outcome, we present a theoretical explanation of the phenomenon and make three propositions to manage and possibly overcome the problem.