Enterprise Architecture and Information Technology: Coping with Organizational Transformation Applying the Theory of Structuration

Developing large-scale information systems (IS) is never easy or implemented without controversy and impact on an enterprise’s stakeholders. Organizational transformation, typically the by-product of new technology and its accompaniment of new processes, frequently manifest itself in ways unforeseen by enterprise management. In many cases, this results in project failure. Historically, enterprises approached IS on a one-domain-one-system at a time solution. This approach has now been supplanted with an enterprisewide approach to technology with Enterprise Architecture (EA) as the framework used for both requirements and software engineering systems design and implementation. EA embodies a business and technology alignment process aimed at producing an EA plan (EAP) that guides and drives IS development. EA frameworks provide the structured methodologies to support the EAP, yet many EAs fail due to the poor quality in the design requirements used. This paper progresses earlier work analyzing stakeholder behavior and resistance to change proffering a sociologicallydriven approach to manage and govern EA design.