Enterprise Architecture and change management

An Enterprise Architecture should be fully revised on an annual basis to incorporate new or changed standards, evaluate new technologies and realign with changing business priorities. Architecture will never be "complete" in the sense that it should be constantly reviewed and revised, and related efforts realigned. As the business grows and evolves, so should the architecture governing its systems and processes. Just like the business itself, the architecture must remain dynamic and able to change with the demands of the business environment.

An Enterprise Architecture core team (EACT) or one if its domain teams may propose amendments in mid-cycle. Such amendments must be approved by an EA Governance Board, which will issue an EA amendment bulletin. All amendments must be incorporated into the EA through the next revision cycle.

The EACT is responsible for creating EA and revising it each year as recommended in TOGAF. Industry analysts and subject matter experts should be involved as needed in the process.

The EA is updated at least on an annual basis to:

1 Incorporate amendments that were previously approved
2 Incorporate new technical standards, patterns and services, information, solutions, and business processes
3 Evolve the future-state road maps to reflect changes in business strategy

The structured architecture creation/revision process should be defined by the EACT and approved by the EA Governance Board.

An Architecture review and approval process should be designed.

The FEAF defines the external component of the Framework representing an external stimulus, which causes the enterprise architecture to change. The architecture drivers consist of two
sub-components: business and design drivers, but this does not specify precisely the process.

Phase H of TOGAF ADM is referring to a change management process which could be related to the ITIL Change Management process or PRINCE 2. Obviously this would make perfectly sense to “re-use” the ITSM Change Management process for architecture changes.

One of the activities in Change Management is the Change Advisory Board (CAB) Meetings (to be noted that this committee should have also a member from the Enterprise Architecture team). There should be some synergies with the EA Governance Board as well. The approval from the architects should be a pre-requisite before submitting an RFC to the CAB when needed.

However the EA Change Management process could slightly differ as stakeholders could be different. The EAGB, the IT executive management team and the EACT being the main actors in the EA Change management process.

To be noted that shortly a white paper will be published by the Open Group on the integration between TOGAF and ITIL.