A model based approach to systems requirements for event driven enterprise architecture

Business and ICT strategic alignment remains an ongoing challenge facing organizations as they react to changing requirements by adapting or introducing new technologies to existing infrastructure. Activity around Enterprise Architecture (EA) has increasingly become relevant to these demands and as a consequence numerous methods and frameworks for pursuing EA have emerged. However these approaches remain bloated, time-consuming and lacking in precision. This paper proposes a light-weight method for enterprise architecture and introduces a language for representing EA components that lends itself to modeling “As Is” and “To Be” EA with a concrete aim to providing a simulation environment that delivers an un-ambiguous description to what changes need to be made to an EA with respect to emerging requirements. The LEAP method and the language is illustrated with a detailed case study of business change currently being addressed by UK higher education institutions.