Assessing IT Architecture Evolution using Enriched Enterprise Architecture Models

TL;DR

This paper proposes enriching enterprise architecture models with detailed quality attributes of applications to better guide IT architecture evolution and validate change strategies, demonstrated through experiments on the LabNaf framework.

Contribution

It introduces a method to incorporate application quality metrics into EA models for improved assessment of IT evolution strategies.

Findings

Enhanced EA models provide better insights into application qualities.

Enrichment improves validation of change management strategies.

Experimentation shows practical applicability in industrial contexts.

Abstract

Enterprise Architecture (EA) help companies to keep the evolution of their IT architecture aligned with their business evolution using a set of complementary models ranging from vision to infrastructure. In this paper, we explore how such models can be exploited to best drive this co-evolution by helping in validating different change management strategies. Considering state of the art techniques in service oriented and Cloud architecture, we propose to enrich and improve the quality of the information about the applications and software components on various qualities (e.g. performance, scalability, security, technical debt) in order to include them in the assessment process already at the Enterprise Architecture level rather than discovering them later in the change implementation phase. Our work is experimented on the LabNaf EA framework and is illustrated on a partial case study taken from an industrial project.