Enterprise Architecture Definitions

Federated

In the context of Federated Enterprise Architecture, the e-GIF Management Committee at its October 2007 meeting agreed the following definition of Federated:

A way that balances the interests of the Whole (of government) with the autonomy of agencies.

This definition comes in part from the book "The Role of the Corporate IT Function in the Federal IT Organisation" by Dr. S L Hodgkinson.

Enterprise Architecture

The e-GIF Management Committee at its October 2007 meeting agreed the following definition:

Enterprise architecture is the process of translating business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change by creating, communicating and improving the key principles and models that describe the enterprise's future state and enable its evolution. The scope of the enterprise architecture includes the people, processes, information and technology of the enterprise, and their relationships to one another and to the external environment. Enterprise architects compose holistic solutions that address the business challenges of the enterprise and support the governance needed to implement them.

- Gartner “G00141795: Gartner Defines the Term "Enterprise Architecture", Anne Lapkin, July 2006

Previously

Prior to the e-GIF Management Committee 'signoff', the following were used:

The working definition commonly used is some variation of:

Enterprise Architecture is the link between Strategy and Delivery - placing technology in a wider organisational context – both strategic and tactical.

Wikipedia has a more formal and complete definition: Enterprise Architecture is the practice of applying a comprehensive and rigorous method for describing a current or future structure for an organisation's processes, information systems, personnel and organisational sub-units, so that they align with the organisation's core goals and strategic direction.