Understanding Enterprise Architecture requires knowing some specialized definitions that are different than standard English.
Below is our set of working definitions. We have added a column for purpose because we find it is more useful to speak about the purpose of a specialized term than drift into a circular definition exercise where every edge-case, or specialized edge-case, is addressed and the definition devolves into pap. When edge-cases & specializations are included the definition usually loses distinctiveness.
| Term | Conexiam Working Definition | Conexiam Purpose | Standards-based Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stakeholder | Someone who has approval rights in the Target Architecture being explored by the current Architecture Project, and subsequently has decision rights to the suitability of the implementation. | Focus attention on those whose Concerns are fundamental to the architecture, or architecturally significant. | TOGAF 9.1 standard definition: “an individual, team, or organization (or classes thereof) with interests in, or concerns relative to, the outcome of the architecture; different stakeholders with different roles will have different concerns”. Project Management Institute (PMI) definition: “an individual, group, or organization, who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project”. |
| Concern | A consistent set of subjects that capture the stakeholder’s interests and act to consolidate requirements. | ||
| View | A representation of the EA Landscape that addresses a set of stakeholder’s concerns. Either describe how the architecture addresses the concerns or demonstrates how the associated requirements are met. | ||
| Superior Architecture | Is used to refer to the architecture that guides and constrains the current architecture development. Typically it is created for broader scope and purpose. For example, Architecture to Support Strategy is usually superior architecture to the Architecture to Support Portfolio. When traversing transition states and developing new architecture, the existing Target Architecture is usually superior architecture. |