Enterprise Architecture: A Pragmatic Guide For Practitioners & Stakeholders

Enterprise Architecture redefines how businesses align strategic goals with technology, enabling seamless collaboration between strategic planning and IT. This book reveals how organizations can achieve their objectives through actionable models and project initiatives, empowering stakeholders to drive meaningful transformation. This is book is not theory alone - it is recipe to develop actionable an Enterprise Architecture, well beyond exams and knowledgebases.

Focused on enhancing business efficiency and effectiveness, the book underscores why R.E.A.L. (Realistic, Enabling Actionable, Logical) EACOE Enterprise Architecture is a cornerstone of strategic planning – moving organizations from strategic intent to actionable strategies. It highlights how the EACOE Enterprise Architecture methodology, when led by skilled professionals, becomes a catalyst for aligning business objectives with organizational initiatives - turning data into actionable results. A robust EACOE Enterprise Architecture program delivers far-reaching benefits: building a shared vision for the future, optimizing automation to support critical processes, prioritizing impactful projects, and creating a roadmap for achieving agility and strategic effectiveness.

The book is available for sale starting at $59.00 USD directly from the author or online at Amazon.com.

This is a book of action, not surveys or choices – moving from theory to implementation. The book offers a no-nonsense, direct, and easy-to-follow approach to Enterprise Architecture. The Enterprise Architecture process presented is both theoretically sound and actual-practice refined.

Nothing is wasted – no “architecture for architectures” sake, just architecture for helping the business run better.

I believe that the clear approach presented in this book will increase the likelihood that you will produce an understandable and usable Enterprise Architecture – from both a business and technology perspective.

We were able to take the concepts and apply them at all levels of the organization using EACOE’s EA methodology in order to define and align the company strategy for the next 5 years.

Beyond that initial experience, I’ve found many practical uses for an “architected” type of thinking and approach to leading teams, organizing efforts, explaining problems, and creating solutions.

I can honestly say that because of my initial attendance in Sam Holcman’s EA training class and one-on-one work with him, my career and my capabilities to positively impact the company I work for have both been enhanced greatly.

Practicing Enterprise Architecture can be the most exciting, innovative, and rewarding group in the organization.

I have personally utilized Sam’s approach to EA during my career as a practicing EA professional. Sam’s process provides practitioners with a clear and actionable planning process utilizing the Enterprise Framework. At several large organizations I’ve been a part of, this methodology allowed us to clearly define the as-is and three year to-be architecture that was driven by business strategy.

Sam’s Quick Start Methodology uses the Enterprise Framework, helping you understand which cells to focus your efforts on. Best of luck!

This book hits all of the relevant topics for implementing and managing Enterprise Architecture need by the modern EA professional.

The coverage of the EACOE methodology for business understanding, technology planning, and change is excellent – a much-needed component in the toolkit of today’s EA professional.

The Enterprise Framework represents a shift in thinking. To me it was one of those “light bulb” moments where you realize this is the way to do it. The Enterprise Framework isn’t difficult to understand, it is not difficult to practice and it is cheap!

No need to make expensive investment in software to be able to apply it to your organization or processes. The challenge is to get people to see the simplicity and be willing to change how we have been doing it for years.

The book is solidly grounded in the Zachman framework and the Enterprise Architecture Center of Excellence (EACOE) Quick Start methodology, and every chapter of the book relates to that framework and methodology. Enterprise Architecture is clearly presented as more than just an information technology issue of concern to the CIO, but is instead a tool to facilitate business understanding, strategic planning, and alignment of resources toward the goals of a business.

This book will guide your efforts to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your organization. It helps business and information technology (IT) professionals and students understand why information planning is a component of business planning, and why information planning requires business participation and, especially, leadership. 

The detailed sections of this book help business and IT professionals and students understand what Enterprise Architecture is, how to improve the success rate of Enterprise Architecture projects, how to increase the rate of return on all business investments—including IT—and how to deliver an Enterprise Architecture within two to seven months.

The planning techniques outlined in this book have also been successfully used for business planning: they are universally effective techniques, regardless of planning domain.