Business and IT alignment with SEAM for enterprise architecture

Authors

Alain Wegmann, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Gil Regev, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Irina Rychkova, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Lam-Son Le, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneFollow
Jose Diego de la Cruz, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Philippe Julia, Cambridge Technology Partners, Switzerland

RIS ID

40912

Publication Details

Wegmann, A., Regev, G., Rychkova, I., Le, L., Cruz, J. & Julia, P. (2007). Business and IT alignment with SEAM for enterprise architecture. 11th IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference, EDOC 2007 (pp. 111-121). Piscataway, New Jersey, USA: IEEE.

Abstract

To align an IT system with an organization's needs, it is necessary to understand the organization 's position within its environment as well as its internal configuration. In SEAM for enterprise architecture the organization is considered as a hierarchy of systems that span from business down to IT. The alignment process addresses the complete hierarchy. We illustrate the use of SEAM for enterprise architecture with an example in which a new hiring process and an IT system are developed. With this approach it is possible to train new engineers in the design of business and IT alignment. It is also possible to scope projects in a way that integrate both business and IT strategies. This enables the consideration of IT developments in an enterprise-wide context.