Transforming enterprise architecture models: An artificial ontology view

Abstract

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is, by definition, an artificial construct. It includes conceptual objects and attributes created for human purposes. EA models, therefore, require an ontological foundation that goes beyond the 'furniture of the world' metaphor. We develop an argument that supports this premise, and demonstrate how the perspective can help us understand operations on EA models. The paper demonstrates these operations with an example and briefly points to formalization efforts detailed elsewhere. The paper concludes with implications for research and practice. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.