Relating business modelling and enterprise architecture

Abstract

This thesis proposes a methodology for creating business models, evaluating them, and relating them to enterprise architecture. The methodology consists of several steps, leading from an organization’s current situation to a target situation, via business models and enterprise architecture. Currently, increasing amounts of businesses rely on IT systems to do their business. However, success rates of IT implementations projects are low. Difficulties exist in aligning existing IT systems with business objectives. Individually, business modelling or enterprise architecture does not seem to solve the problem completely. However, each of their weaknesses seems to be countered by the strengths of the other. Our proposed methodology supports bringing an organization from its current situation to a target situation. The developed process steps help to formalize business modelling, and at the same time extend enterprise architecture to be more business focussed and easier to use. This would support our hypothesis that combining enterprise architecture and business modelling leads to better enterprise architecture and business models, and therefore, more successful business-IT innovations.