The Roles of Principles in Enterprise Architecture

Key concepts in enterprise architecture include concerns, principles, models, views and frameworks. While most of these concepts have received ample attention in research, the concept of principles has not been studied much yet. In this paper, we therefore specifically focus on the role of principles in the field of enterprise architecture, where we position enterprise architecture as a means to direct enterprise transformations. In practice, many different types of architecture principles are used. At the same time, principles are referred to by different names, including architecture principles, design principles, and IT policies. The primary goal of this paper is, therefore, to arrive at a conceptual framework to more clearly clarify and position these different types. The paper starts with a discussion on enterprise architecture as a means to govern enterprise transformation. This provides a framework to position the different types of principles, and highlight their roles in enterprise transformations.