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G00211877

Understanding the Eight Critical Capabilities of

Enterprise Architecture Tools
Published: 6 April 2011

Analyst(s): Julie Short, Chris Wilson

Enterprise architecture (EA) tools must provide a range of capabilities to

meet the functional demands of EA teams, as well as other key
stakeholders in the business and IT. Here, we present the eight critical
capabilities for these tools and discuss key considerations and important
differentiators for each capability.

Key Findings
■ The eight capabilities are repository/metamodel, modeling, decision analysis, presentation,
administration, configurability, frameworks and standards, and usability.
■ Gartner has used these capabilities — along with a set of defined EA use cases — in a
capability analysis of a range of tools available in this market (see "Gartner Assessment of
Enterprise Architecture Tool Capabilities"). Selecting the right tool requires an understanding of
these eight capabilities and their importance in meeting the needs of the organization.
■ The specific details and differentiators described in each capability help EA practitioners to
better understand their own tool requirements and to assess tool offerings against those needs.

Recommendations
■ Recognize that no single EA tool can meet all needs equally well across the eight capabilities.
■ Use these capabilities as a starting point for understanding what functionality is required for
your own organization and its stakeholders.
■ Design use cases based on these capabilities to enable vendors to effectively demonstrate their
tools as a criterion for EA tool selection.

Analysis
In recent research, Gartner focused on identifying how EA tools would be used by EA teams, IT in
general, and key stakeholders in both the business and IT (see "Market Drives Gartner to Redefine

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Enterprise Architecture Tool Marketplace"). Rather than focus on the underlying technologies,
Gartner focused on identifying the capabilities required to meet the functional demands of these
users. As a result of this focus, we followed up by defining eight specific critical capabilities that
differentiate EA tools:

■ Repository/metamodel
■ Modeling
■ Decision analysis
■ Presentation
■ Administration
■ Configurability
■ Frameworks and standards
■ Usability

Gartner used these eight capabilities — along with a set of five defined use cases — as the basis for
a recent review of the capabilities of 17 vendor tool offerings in this market (see "Gartner
Assessment of Enterprise Architecture Tool Capabilities"). This list of capabilities also serves as a
useful guide to organizations considering their own requirements for EA tools. Gartner speaks with
many clients who want to better understand the EA tool market and how they might select the best
1
tool for their organizations. Understanding these capabilities can help these organizations better
understand their own tool requirements and assess tool offerings against those needs.

The eight capabilities Gartner has defined for EA tools are listed in the following section.

1. Repository/Metamodel
An enterprise architecture repository — in most cases, a relational database and its associated
metamodel — enables the capture of artifacts that are used as the foundation of the work enterprise
architects perform. This capability represents the "hub" of an enterprise architecture tool, which
stores and manages all the metadata needed to support the enterprise architect's efforts. The
repository contains five categories to support EA day-to-day tasks and provides the basis for
modeling, decision analysis and presentation. These categories include:

1. The enterprise context

2. Business architecture, which includes information about the business organization, business
processes, people, financial aspects and other components
3. Information architecture, including all information that is important to the enterprise regardless
of where it resides in the organization
4. Technology or technical architecture, which includes all of the technology in the architecture,
including servers, networks, databases and any other types of technology used to support the
organization

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5. Solution architecture, both applications and any other type of solution, that is composed by the
intersection of business, information and technology architecture viewpoints

Important differentiators in this capability are:

■ The degree to which it is possible to define or customize the metamodel

■ Support for multiple frameworks without duplicating the metamodel
■ Allowing for geographic- or organization-level differentiation as in a federated operating model
(see "Understanding EA Approaches: Federated")

2. Modeling
Although several EA tools have their roots in business process modeling, the need for an extensive
and flexible modeling capability is increasingly important to enterprise architects. They require
robust modeling capabilities for all the architecture viewpoints. In general, models are also very
useful for communicating to a myriad of stakeholders when "a picture is worth a thousand words."
Examples of this communication may include:

■ Highlighting the impact of business change across all architecture viewpoints

■ Illustrating multiple future-state scenarios for decision-making purposes

Important differentiators in this capability are:

■ Modeling of the current- and future-state architectures (or architectures of multiple future
states), including all viewpoints (business, information, technology and solutions)
■ Integrating with other types of modeling tools in a specific viewpoint
■ Support for modeling, from the strategy level to technical implementation

3. Decision Analysis
Many organizations face complex problems involving significant business investment and risk.
Enterprise architects can add value to their organizations by providing information about the impact,
options and the trade-off implications of these decisions by presenting it in a manner that supports
the business to understand the best course of action. This is accomplished through the use of
decision analysis algorithms that include all aspects needing consideration.

Important differentiators in this capability are:

■ Gap analysis and road maps for current- and future-state architectures
■ What-if analysis for determining the impact of change — for example, business, organizational
and regulatory compliance
■ Analysis supporting investment management, project and portfolio management (PPM), and
strategic planning

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■ Scenario planning and system-thinking approach

4. Presentation
Stakeholder management is a key aspect of any enterprise architecture effort. Presenting
information about business change impacts, scenarios and gap analyses is key in informing the
decisions facing many organizations, and in gaining understanding and support for proposed
solutions. It is also vital for the decision-making process in terms of investment and risk. The aspect
of presentation needs to be aligned to the audience and its interests and concerns. The underlying
repository and metamodel may be robust and complex, but the presentation of information must be
straightforward, illustrative, and applicable to and clearly understandable by the audience,
regardless of its area of focus.

Important differentiators in this capability are:

■ Visuals, often interactive, which clearly highlight impacts and support multiple scenarios for
business and IT stakeholders
■ Interfaces to other presentation applications

5. Administration
Administration is an aspect that is often overlooked, despite the complexity of the artifacts captured
and the information provided to stakeholders. The complex functionality of an EA tool comes at a
price, and products must demonstrate how they accommodate this complexity without being an
administrative nightmare. Organizations must understand that a certain amount of administration is
required to support the tool and to ensure that the information it contains is reliable and accurate.

Important differentiators in this capability are:

■ Support for collaboration between users of the tool in a geographic or federated manner, while
supporting the integrity of the repository and metamodel
■ Security administrative capabilities, including role generation, authorization and user
provisioning to manage changes to the repository and metamodel
■ A user-friendly interface that provides ease of managing administration aspects

6. Configurability
This capability refers to how the tool can be customized to meet the requirements of the
organization. It encompasses the ability to configure not only the repository/metamodel but other
aspects of the tool as well. Every organization is different, and organizations will therefore have
different requirements, perspectives or concerns when it comes to their enterprise architecture.
Additionally, for many organizations where English is not the de facto language, the tools must be
capable of supporting alternative languages.

Important differentiators in this capability are:

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■ Clear understanding of which elements in the tool are configurable and to what extent — for
example, a tool that offers configurable repository, modeling, decision analysis, presentation
and frameworks
■ Configuration that is simple and straightforward to accomplish
■ Support for multiple environments (development, testing and production) for all configuration
elements

7. Frameworks and Standards

Organizations are advised to choose an EA framework prior to choosing a tool or as part of the
decision process. The use of a framework is vital for enterprise architects as a way of providing a
structured approach and guiding them through the discovery of their current- and future-state
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architectures. In some environments, the framework may well be mandated, and the tool must be
capable of supporting that choice. The most popular frameworks chosen are TOGAF, Zachman
Framework, FEAF, MODAF, DODAF and the Gartner EA Framework, and the tools must support all
these major frameworks. A large number of organizations, especially in Europe, use TOGAF.

There is also a significant requirement to customize these standard frameworks as organizations

make them their own. In fact, this adaptation is the main goal of a framework — to provide a
"frame," not a mandate (see "Ten Criteria for Selecting an Enterprise Architecture Framework").
Standards such as ArchiMate (see www.archimate.org) are also gaining increasing importance in
various parts of the globe.

Important differentiators in this capability are:

■ Support for multiple frameworks within a single repository

■ Allowing for customization or configuration of frameworks
■ Support and certification for frameworks and architectural standards

8. Usability
Although the underlying repository/metamodel and decision analysis capabilities that organizations
require may be complex, the importance of usability is a highly valued and desirable feature in an
EA tool. This capability may refer to other capabilities, but it encompasses how the tool
accomplishes its purpose and how easy it is to use. The tool must be intuitive and easy to learn and
maintain.

Important differentiators in this capability are:

■ User interface that is intuitive, easy to learn and flexible

■ Modeling capabilities that are easy to use, robust and flexible
■ Administration that is easy to navigate and maintain

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■ Configuration that is extensive, parameter-driven and flexible

■ A tool that is easy to remember how to use each time (memorability)

Bottom Line
Understanding the key capabilities of EA tools can assist EA practitioners in designing use cases
that demonstrate how the tools can be used by enterprise architects, while serving the needs of
stakeholders (see "Market Drives Gartner to Redefine Enterprise Architecture Tool Marketplace").
Organizations must define their requirements and those of their stakeholders as a key criterion for
EA tool selection.

Evidence
1 Gartner client inquiries from 2009 to 2011

2Oxford Dictionaries Online definition of "framework" — a basic structure underlying a system,

concept or text

More on This Topic

This is part of an in-depth collection of research. See the collection:

■ Enterprise Architecture Tools Are Positioned to Deliver Business Value

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