Enterprise architecture framework evaluation criteria: a literature review and artifact development

Selecting an enterprise architecture framework (EAF) that will best address the needs of their organization is a difficult task for enterprise architecture practitioners. The objective of this study is to make this difficult task easier. To do so, this research first conducts a review of the literature on EAF evaluation criteria. Findings from this review show the shortcomings of this literature, most importantly the lack of a comprehensive set of EAF criteria and adequate measures for their operationalization. Based on these findings, and using the design science research approach, this study then designs and tests an EAF evaluation artifact that identifies, elaborates and operationalizes a comprehensive set of 14 criteria. Results of the experiment that followed show that: (i) 90.87% of the criteria were perceived usable, (ii) 97.62% of them were perceived to be applicable and relevant, and (iii) 90.48% were perceived as correct. This study makes several contributions. First, it provides a much-needed and timely overview of the literature on EAF evaluation criteria. Second, this study is the first to present a comprehensive set of criteria that not only synthesizes previously proposed criteria but also includes new criteria (e.g., SOA models and usability). Third, it answers EA practitioners’ requests for a tool that is both theoretically sound and practical. Finally, and most importantly, this study is the first to propose objective measures to operationalize EAF evaluation criteria.