Challenges in enterprise architecture management: Overview and future research

Abstract

Due to the ongoing digitalization, today’s business world is changing rapidly. To stay competitive, companies need to adapt quickly to a fast changing-environment. This can be difficult, as organizations are complex systems consisting of many technical and infrastructural elements. Enterprise architecture management (EAM) is therefore increasingly important to companies when managing their infrastructure and adapting it to environmental changes. Despite its relevance, many companies struggle with challenges related to EAM tasks. Up to now, research lacks comprehensive reviews about the field of EAM and the related challenges. This article aims to close this research gap by conducting an iterative systematic literature review (SLR) to identify relevant EAM challenges in different EAM tasks. Hereto, based on Schmidt and Buxmann (2011), the tasks of EAM are divided into six dimensions — EA documentation, EA planning, EA communication and support, EA programming, EA implementation, and EA governance — which are investigated separately. This article’s result is a comprehensive overview of research in the field of EAM challenges. Additionally, interdependencies between the dimensions are assumed. Furthermore, an outlook on future research opportunities from an organizational, corporate governance, project, and technical perspective is provided.