Business Architecture

Based on TOGAF framework, business architecture is one of the enterprise architecture components. To develop an enterprise architecture, a knowledge of the Business Architecture is a prerequisite for architecture work in any other domain (data, Application and Technology), and is the first architecture activity that needs to be undertaken. Business Architecture often as a means of demonstrating the business value of subsequent architecture work to key stakeholders, and the return on investment to those stakeholders from supporting and participating in the subsequent architecture work.

Business Architecture is the second development phase based on TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM). It is about documenting the fundamental organization of a business embedded in its business process and people, their relationships to each other and the environment, the principles governing the design and evolution and how to organization meets its business goals. Artifacts created during Business Architecture development phase will provide baseline and requirement for the rest of architecture development. Some of the key artifacts are Business service/information diagram, functional decomposition diagram, business use case diagram and process flow diagram.


From enterprise architecture development perspective, it is necessary and makes logical sense to start with business architecture, but as mentioned in the class, the Business Architecture Layer is the most immature layer of the traditional Enterprise Architecture layers, most organizations do not have business architecture organization. In some cases some of the key elements of business architecture may be done in other activities like business strategy, planning. Business modeling and business process are defined by organizational strategic and high level business planning. EA develop EA principles and guidelines based on organizational vision and strategies to guide the EA practice. Business case and business requirements are carried over from Business Relation Manager (BRM) or Line of Business (LOB) users. In this case there will be a need for the Enterprise Architecture team to research, verify and gain buy-in the key business objectives and processes that the architecture is to support. This requires some additional effort for EA to reach out and to sell what EA is going to and is developing. While this approach is very common in many organizations it puts Business as EA customer rather make business as part of EA. 

Reference

TOGAF The Open Group