Enterprise Architecture : A Perspective on How Far We Have Come, and Directions for the Future

Abstract

Enterprise Architecture (EA) appears to retain the attention of both practitioners and researchers, as the technological complexity of organizations grows. Several researchers have noted that research on EA has been diversifying over time, leading to inconsistent use of terminologies. Further, the benefit claims and other results, rather frequently, are not based on empirical evidence. These shortfalls in research on EA impede EA from maturing as a discipline and from demonstrating its benefit claims. Although there are reasons to believe that the research on EA has progressed, the extent of the progress and the directions for future research are not evident. This study draws on a meta-review of 51 review articles on EA to fill this gap. Indeed, research on EA has progressed. In this paper, the progress and directions for future research are organized along four areas; they are, EA research, EA process, EA benefits and EA principles. This study improves our understanding of the progress that research on EA has made, and the directions that future research on EA should take towards creating a coherent discipline that offers relevant solutions grounded in theory and produced from rigorous research methods.