Classifying Enterprise Architecture Analysis Approaches

Enterprise architecture (EA) management forms a commonly accepted means to enhance the alignment of business and IT, and to support the managed evolution of the enterprise. One major challenge of EA management is to provide decision support by analyzing as-is states of the architecture as well as assessing planned future states. Thus, different kinds of analysis regarding the EA exist, each relying on certain conditions and demands for models, methods, and techniques. In this paper we present a classification schema for EA analysis approaches to examine this topic. The classification schema is used to investigate the state-of-the-art of EA analysis by characterizing existing approaches according to the presented dimensions. Based on the results of this classification, future areas of research regarding EA analysis are derived.