In the previous post, I mentioned as EA inhibitors, the Enterprise cultural inertia, the tactical thinking dominating the Enterprise developments as opposed to the strategic approach, the Silo organization inhibiting cross domain efforts and not least the divide between business and IT that prevents the EA business and IT architectures coming together.

But what about the lack of a reference Enterprise Architecture? After all how does a generic Enterprise operate? What are the typical components, activities and stakeholders?   Before analysing and describing a technology architecture we need to understand how the business works. Is there a standard, reference business framework or business architecture for that? Hardly.

Porter illustrated in the 80s the concept of Value Chains describing the main type of activities in an Enterprise. Further work done in SCOR (Supply Chain Management Reference model),  VRM (Value Reference Model) are attempting to describe generic process frameworks. While they are good for various purposes like benchmarking key processes they have not been adopted in the main EA stream so far. Probably because they are in such a different domain of work and knowledge.

The most advanced business framework can be seen though in the telecommunications industry where NGOSS/eTOM propose an entire Telecommunications Operations Map and data architecture which indeed it is the basis of a telecom EA.

The EA practitioners effort is further hampered by the fact that the body of knowledge is rather immature, thin on the ground. Surely Zachman, a "thinking" method, TOGAF mostly a process, DODAF too specialised and different and the too thin FEA reference models help but they leave too many degrees of liberty in terms of scope, structure, look and feel, links, navigability, content etc.

More, both EA and SOA are over hyped at this point in time. They are not able to deliver the touted benefits in the current form and state of art. Hence business people are often disappointed by the existing results and sceptic about further embarking in the EA effort.