The cat7 application: an extended enterprise architecture framework for managing complexity in the public sector by optimising the enterprise's architecture

Abstract

Many agencies in the Australian Public Sector (APS) have either adopted, or partially adopted, one of the dominant Enterprise Architecture (EA) frameworks, (TOGAF, Zachman, FEA/AGA, DODAF, MODAF, Gartner or QGEA) to assist in the holistic delivery of effective services to citizens. However, analysis shows that these EA frameworks have seven major shortcomings related to inadequacies in: (i) traceability; (ii) alignment; (iii) capability maturity analysis; (iv) agility; (v) optimisation; (vi) knowledge base coverage; and (vii) capacity for dealing with overarching complexity problems. The research conducted addressed these shortcomings by developing a new "extended EA" framework called the Complexity Analyser Toolkit (CAT7). The CAT7 framework draws upon a broad range of kernel theories including complexity theory and various aspects of complexity such as fractals and pattern theory. It also draws upon constraint theory, ontology development and outcomes measurement. The research employed a design science research methodology to develop the CAT7 artifact. The CAT7 framework has a new seven layer ontology-driven architectural shell, called the 7 Layer Model (7LM). The 7LM acts as a unifying superstructure container, to allow the development of opening state, interim state, and end-state architectures, and the associated supporting collateral, to be developed, classified, populated, indexed, analysed, optimised and configured as an application on a software engineering platform. CAT7can be used to assess, optimise, and validate a Department's current, interim and future state architecture. The CAT7 modelling application allows an evolutionary path towards a set of sequential, but interconnected, target state architectures to be developed, assessed, refined and partially executed via the export of source code. These architectures are traceable to strategic intent, and serve as a basis for assessment to verify the effectiveness of strategy and policy. Relevant information can be captured, visualised, and analysed for effectiveness. The thesis provides two evaluation cases which demonstrate how the CAT7 framework and its associated processes have been applied to successfully resolve different aspects of complexity in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government. The CAT7 artifact construction makes significant contributions to design theory for EA frameworks, by demonstrating how to: (i) provide a reflective capability in an EA framework, enabled by the inclusion of an ontology; (ii) include techniques to more accurately describe business entity relationships across space and time, in order to facilitate temporal evidence-based decision-making; and (iii) address optimization of opening-state, interim-state and end-state architectures. A further theoretical contribution is the 14 foundation design principles underlying CAT7. The 14 principles concern: EA knowledge representation as an ontology; a semantic reasoner; emergence; abstraction; fractal usage; traceability; systemic impact and feedback; life cycle analysis; knowledge re-use; master data management; four-dimensionalism; classification; distillation of knowledge, patterns; and interoperability. Show more