Enterprise architecture patterns are general, reusable solutions to standard problems encountered in EAM [Ern08]. They are extracted from real world situations [BBL12].
EAM Pattern & Antipattern Foundations
The idea of patterns is based on situational method engineering. This approach argues that there is no method, which can address and solve all problems related to enterprise architecture management [Har97]. Instead, a handful of methods are identified which are suitable for specific situations [Har97]. These methods can be called patterns and they define general, reusable solutions to standard problems of a certain domain, here EAM [AIS77]. In contrast, anti-pattern constitute approaches that have proven to be unsuccessful in practice [Buc10b; BBL12].
Patterns have catchy names and use a clear, accessible, and informal language. This way practitioners can easily identify relevant patterns within their companies and apply related measures. Nevertheless, currently there are several pattern catalogs available, partially with different names for similar patterns.
Enterprise architecture patterns make tacit knowledge of experts explicit by collecting information about working solutions that are in place in organizations. This means, patterns are discovered in working solutions rather than being invented or hoped for. An approach for retrieving patterns from practice on a scientific basis is the Pattern-based Design Research (PDR) approach [Buc+08; Buc+13].
The Enterprise Architecture Management Pattern Catalog V2 (EAMPC V2) was compiled by the Software Engineering for Business Information Systems (sebis) chair at Technische Universität München. The EAMPC V2 captures an extensive list of patterns, which were identified in literature and validated by practitioners [Ale+15].
Also developed at the Software Engineering for Business Information Systems (sebis) chair at Technische Universität München, the building blocks for enterprise architecture management solutions (BEAMS) method provides a collection of re-usable and practice-proven building blocks that allow Enterprise Architects to tailor the EAM function to the specific organizational context, the specific goals of EA management and the concerns of an enterprise [Buc+10].
Sources:
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[BBL12] |
S. Bente, U. Bombosch, and S. Langade. Collaborative Enterprise Architecture: Enriching EA with Lean, Agile, and Enterprise 2.0 Practices. Elsevier, Inc., 2012. |
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[Ern08] |
A. Ernst. “Enterprise Architecture Management Patterns.” In: Proceedings of the 15th Pattern Languages of Programs. New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2008, pp. 1–20. |
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[Har97] |
A. F. Harmsen. “Situational Method Engineering.” PhD thesis. University of Twente, Twente, The Netherlands, 1997. |
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[AIS77] |
C. Alexander, S. Ishikawa, and M. Silverstein. “A Pattern Language.” In: University of Oxford Press (1977). |
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[Buc+08] |
S. Buckl, A. Ernst, J. Lankes, F. Matthes, and C. M. Schweda. “Enterprise Architecture Management Patterns - Exemplifying the Approach.” In: The 12th IEEE International EDOC Conference (EDOC 2008). München, 2008, pp. 393–402. |
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[Buc+13] |
S. Buckl, F. Matthes, A. W. Schneider, and C. M. Schweda. “Pattern-Based Design Research - An Iterative Research Method Balancing Rigor and Relevance.” In: DESRIST 2013, LNCS 7939. Ed. by J. Vom Brocke, R. Hekkala, S. Ram, and M. Rossi. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer, 2013, pp. 73–87. |
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[Ale+15] |
P. Aleatrati Khosroshahi, M. Hauder, A. W. Schneider, and F. Matthes. Enterprise Architecture Management Pattern Catalog V2. Tech. rep. Munich, Germany: Technichal University of Munich (TUM), 2015. |
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[Buc+10] |
S. Buckl, T. Dierl, F. Matthes, and C. Schweda. “Building Blocks for Enterprise Architecture Management Solutions.” In: Practice-Driven Research on Enterprise Transformation, second working conference, PRET 2010, Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing (LNBIP). Ed. by F. e. a. Harmsen. Vol. 69. Delft: Springer, 2010, pp. 17–46. |
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[Buc10b] |
S. Buckl. “A Design Theory Nexus for Situational Enterprise Architecture Management.” In: Proceedings of the 14th International IEEE Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference. IEEE Computer Society. IEEE Computer Society. Vitoria, Brazil, 2010, pp. 3–8. |