Enterprise Architecture
Duration
- One Semester or equivalent
Contact hours
- 36 hours
On-campus unit delivery combines face-to-face and digital learning.
Aims and objectives
Final Offering 2020 (replaced with INF80018)
This units discusses the role of information systems and technologies that are critical to the operationalisation of business strategy, however, there is a growing dislocation between the strategic objectives of organisations and Information Systems (IS)/Information Technology (IT) planning, investment and operations. Enterprise architecture frameworks provide a logic for planning IS/IT portfolios and ensuring the alignment of IS/IT planning, acquisition and implementation with organisational strategy. This unit will build the knowledge and skills required to apply enterprise architecture frameworks, methods and tools to real world business scenarios. We also develop an understanding of why enterprise architecture implementations fail and possible approaches to ensure enterprise implementation success..
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. Evaluate the need for business strategy and information systems and IT portfolio alignment and the difficulties that organisations have in achieving business and information systems and IT alignment.
2. Critically evaluate enterprise architecture frameworks, methods and tools and develop enterprise architectures for real world business information systems and IT alignment scenarios.
3. Discern and analyse the different types of information systems and IT architectures that constitute an organisation’s enterprise architecture blueprint, including the benefits and challenges faced in successful implementation of enterprise architecture platforms and systems.
4. Critically analyse the different approaches for overcoming enterprise architecture implementation failure.
Unit information in detail
- Teaching methods, assessment and content.
Teaching methods
Block Mode:
36 hours (12 x 3 hours)
This unit will be delivered in block or intensive mode. Block mode may consist of blended, intensive and immersive teaching, which can include full day teaching and weekend teaching requirements.
Independent Learning
114 hours (12 x 9.5 hours)
Student workload:
This includes all:
• Scheduled teaching and learning events and activities (contact hours timetabled in a face-to-face teaching space) and scheduled online learning events (contact hours scheduled in an online teaching space), and
• Non-scheduled learning events and activities (including directed online learning activities, assessments, independent study, student group meetings, and research.
To be successful, students should:
• Attend and engage in all scheduled classes (face to face or online)
• Start assessment tasks well ahead of the due date, and submit assessments promptly
• Read / listen to all feedback carefully, and consider it for future assessment
• Engage with fellow students and teaching staff (don’t hesitate to ask questions)
Assessment
Assignment 1 (Group) 30 - 40%
Assignment 2 (Group) 30 - 40%
Assignment 3 (Individual) 20 - 40%
Content
- The strategic drivers for enterprise architecture and the importance of IS/IT and business strategy alignment
- What is enterprise architecture, what are some of the key representative frameworks, how does it differ from other forms of IS/IT architecture and application/ technology service delivery and what are the benefits of enterprise architecture enabled platforms
- Different types of architectures (process, data, application, network, security, storage) that constitute an enterprise architecture blueprint
- The dominant approaches to enterprise architecture, their assumptions and methods including a detailed critical analysis of the Zachman, The Open Group Architecture frameworks and other enterprise architecture frameworks
- The challenges of enterprise architecture implementation, why do enterprise architecture initiatives continue to fail and do other approaches to enterprise architecture implementation offer better solutions
- How can architects build support for and commitment to an enterprise architecture implementation
- Case studies of real world enterprise architecture implementations
Study resources
- Reading materials.
Reading materials
Students are advised to check the unit outline in the relevant teaching period for appropriate textbooks and further reading.