Information and Knowledge Management using ArcGIS ModelBuilder

Thanos Magoulas, Aida Hadzic, Ted Saarikko and Kalevi Pessi
forms and aspects of architectural alignment treated by the investigated approaches to Enterprise
Architecture?
2. Research methodology
The approaches addressed in this paper are the Zachman Framework (Zachman 1987, Sowa and
Zachman 1992), The Open Group Architecture Framework - TOGAF (TOGAF 2009), the Extended
Enterprise Architecture Framework – E2AF (Schekkerman 2006:a, 2006:b, 2006:c) and the
Generalised Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology - GERAM (Bernus and Nemes
1994, GERAM 2003). The first and second of these frameworks were elected due to their popularity,
E2AF due to its explicit focus on the extended enterprise and GERAM due to its focus on
customization.
The study at hand has been conducted using the best, first-hand literary sources available. It is
however possible that some documentation regarding these approaches is unavailable due to for
instance intellectual property or fragmented documentation.
Given the inherent difficulties in the comparison this paper seeks to carry out, the most meaningful
approach would be to apply the approaches to actual organizational needs and practices. Therefore,
as a baseline for our evaluation, this comparison will utilize the MIT1990s framework for
organizational research (Morton 1991). Furthermore, we will expand upon this model using research
by (Dahlbom 1996, Magoulas and Pessi, 1998, Spanos et al 2002).
2.1 Research model
Our research model defines the realized architecture of an enterprise in five basic areas of interests.
They are: (1) the area of goals, objectives and values, (2) the area of enterprise activities and their
management, (3) the area of decisional rights and responsibilities, (4) the area of primary
stakeholders and lastly, (5) the area of information systems and the corresponding ICT. These
resources together define the information infrastructure of the enterprise.
Figure 1: Model for research
From the perspective of alignment, information systems and Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) forms a natural centre as this area permeates all aspects of the enterprise. While
information systems today tend to be computerized, the essential feature is its emphasis on proper
procedure (Putnam 1966). If collectively viewed, the architecture of information systems defines those
systems that provide the enterprise with information and services. These may be transactional,
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