Establishing an optimal standardized skillset for enterprise architecture

Abstract

Enterprise architecture is an evolving discipline that centres around applying specific Enterprise Architecture frameworks and methodologies, which has left a gap in identifying skill requirements for the discipline. The skill requirements for enterprise architects centre on the framework and methodology they employ and do not provide a complete view of the generic skill requirements to practice the discipline effectively and efficiently. In this paper, the top four enterprise architecture frameworks and methodologies are analysed regarding their skill requirements to establish a generic skillset that can be applied to the discipline as a whole and is not aligned with a single approach’s requirements. Mixed methods were used to analyse the information, where themes within the EA frameworks and methodologies were used to identify the relevancy of specific skills. Furthermore, key literature was datamined to tokenise skills which were all categorised into a standardised naming convention. An initial generic skillset is provided through this analysis that was then evaluated and refined by enterprise architecture experts from various backgrounds. The research provides a generic enterprise architecture skillset, classified into a four-tier importance ranking and a layered classification to indicate the type of architectural skill. The findings of this paper help current and prospective enterprise architecture practitioners to align their skills with the generic requirements for the discipline and provides a deeper understanding of skill requirements for enterprise architecture as a discipline and not just for specific implementations.