A label is not enough - Approach for an enterprise architecture role description framework

Abstract

Enterprise architecture management is the linchpin of digital transformation. Implementation requires clear tasks, roles and skills. Although different frameworks, such as TOGAF and SFIA, provide help for this, none is suitable to completely cover the needs in practice. In our approach we have tried to close this gap by adding SFIA to TOGAF. The assignment was recorded in the form of an Excel table. Based on the Excel table, a role fat sheet - which we have also developed - can then be filled automatically. This allows companies to describe roles, such as the Enterprise Architecture Manager, in a way that they are consistent, comparable and complete. We have demonstrated the benefits of our approach in three use cases. For our research we applied Design Science Research methodology. The evaluation was carried out with the help of a focus group, which also critically assessed interim results of our work. We can say that with our approach we have satisfactorily solved a practical problem and with the extension of TOGAF by SFIA we have contributed to closing the existing gap in the classification of terms that are relevant for Enterprise Architecture management.