ARCHITECTURE MATURITY MODEL ("CRIB NOTES")

Architecture Maturity Model   

In the past years, the Capability Maturity Models have been extensively used by many organizations, for assessing their status and guiding the improvement of their IT related processes, mainly in the software and systems engineering areas.

« Such models provide the following benefits :

• They describe the practices that any organization must perform in order to improve its processes
• They provide a yardstick against which to periodically measure improvement
• They constitute a proven framework within which to manage the improvement efforts

The various practices are typically organized into five levels, each level representing an increased ability to control and manage the development environment. »

TOGAF 9 does not provide an « official » Maturity Model for Enterprise Architecture. It does provide, however, a quite detailed example, taken from the US Department of Commerce.

US DoC Architecture Maturity Model  

The DoC ACMM consists of six maturity levels and nine architecture elements.

The six levels are :

0 – none

1 – initial

2 – under development

3 – defined

4 – managed

5 – measured

The nine enterprise architecture elements are 

• architecture process 
• architecture development 
• business linkage 
• senior management involvement 
• operating unit participation 
• architecture communication 
• IT security 
• architecture governance 
• IT investment and acquisition strategy   

The table below describes in a brief way the maturity levels 1 to 5. Level 0 means « no enterprise architecture program ; no enterprise architecture to talk about. »  

Enterprise  Architecture Aspect	Level 1: INITIAL	Level 2: UNDER DEVELOPMENT	Level 3: DEFINED	Level 4: MANAGED	Level 5:  MEASURED
architecture process	Ad hoc; dependence on individual efforts ("heroes").	Clear roles and responsibilities are defined	EA process is largely followed	EA process is part of the culture. Quality metrics are captured.	EA process is under constant improvement effort
architecture development	Ad hoc, localized	Vision; principles; baseline and target architecture; TRM; standards framework	Gap analysis and migration plan are completed. Standards profile is fully developed	EA documentation is regularly updated. All architectures comply to standards.	Standards and waivers process encompasses all IT decisions
business linkage	Minimal	Explicit linkage to business strategies	EA integrated with CAPEX and investment control	CAPEX and investment control take EA as key input. Periodic re-examination of business drivers.	Business is involved in the continuous EA process improvement
senior management involvement	Minimal	Senior management is aware of EA effort	Senior management actively supports EA process and standards	Senior management directly involved in EA review process.	Senior management is involved in the continuous EA process improvement
operating unit participation	Minimal	Clear roles and responsibilities are defined	Most elements support and actively participate in EA process	The entire unit supports and actively participates in EA process	Feedback from unit drives EA process improvement
architecture communication	Documentation is on the web	Related web pages are kept up to date with EA deliverables	EA own web pages; they are kept up to date with EA deliverables	EA documentation is regularly updated	Architecture documentation is used by every decision maker in IT
IT security	Ad hoc, localized	Clear roles and responsibilities are defined	IT security architecture standards profile fully developed	Performance metrics are captured	Feedback from IT secutiry drives EA process improvement
architecture governance	No governance	Some adherence to existing standards profile	Explicit governance of majority of IT investments	Explicit governance of all IT investments	Standards and waivers process encompasses all IT decisions
IT investment and acquisition strategy	Minimal participation of EA	Some adherence to existing standards profile	IT acquisition strategy complies with EA; cost benefit analysis of projects	All planned IT acquisitions are governed by EA	No unplanned IT investment or acquisition activity