Microsoft's Enterprise Architecture Framework

The Microsoft Enterprise Architecture Team began with a Gartner EA approach. The key drivers were:

• Gartner defines their framework more as a ‘practice’ of EA

• Specific focus on bringing people together to create a shared vision of the future

• Activity should focus on

  • Determine the future

  • Determine how to get there

Key EA Principles

There are drawbacks though. Here are some of the gaps that the team needed to fill:

• Gartner / Meta provides very few models or architecture types

• Models are developed by Microsoft

• Created within the IT department

  • Internal familiarity with Microsoft’s own business arch. method (Motion / MSBA)

  • Leveraged insight/experience from Zachmann, TOGAF, FEA and others.

So What is an EA Framework Anyways?

• A set of tools used by the Enterprise Architecture team to organize their work.

• A description of the information resources that EA contributes to and how they should be used.

• A description of the roles and responsibilities of the people involved in describing and updating the architecture of the enterprise and the IT systems that support it.

Microsoft's Tailored Approach

Enterprise Architecture will improve alignment between Microsoft Business Strategy and IT activity through Architecture

This diagram illustrates the fact that the Microsoft IT Architectural Framework creates a separation between areas of change using three stable abstractions. These abstractions are: Business Capabilities, Solution Domains, and Technology Capabilities. (These same abstractions exist in multiple frameworks, including FEA and (to a lesser extent) TOGAF. The are predicted by the SIP model.)

Where is Information? The Information logical entities (data facets) exists inside the Solution Domain Hierarchy. The Physical model exists in the Business applications. The implementation of the physical model exists in the technology products.

Since information crosses most of the lower half of this diagram, it adds a level of complexity that is too difficult to illustrate simply. As such, it is not visible here.

MSIT EA Area Collaboration and Roles