32570 Enterprise Architecture Practice
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Postgraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 41003 Enterprise Architecture Practice AND 49239 Software Systems Middleware AND 49266 Software Architecture and Middleware
Description
This subject introduces students to the fundamentals of enterprise architecture for architecting software-intensive systems at the large enterprise scale. Current trends and challenges in the practice of enterprise architecture are explored. In small teams, students apply contemporary enterprise architecture practices to their architecture project work. Students learn to integrate and align different enterprise architecture layers to better support the business goals and objectives.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Describe enterprise architecture and its application to technical and business problems. (D.1) |
|---|---|
| 2. | Describe the contribution of enterprise architecture and its alignment to organizational goals. (B.1) |
| 3. | Apply enterprise architecture analysis practices to identify the current, transition and future states of the architecture. (C.1) |
| 4. | Describe the enterprise architecture project stakeholders, concerns and constraints for the effective enterprise architecture discovery, implementation and governance. (B.1) |
| 5. | Develop enterprise architecture and plan its implementation. (C.1) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
- Socially Responsible: FEIT graduates identify, engage, and influence stakeholders, and apply expert judgment establishing and managing constraints, conflicts and uncertainties within a hazards and risk framework to define system requirements and interactivity. (B.1)
- Design Oriented: FEIT graduates apply problem solving, design thinking and decision-making methodologies in new contexts or to novel problems, to explore, test, analyse and synthesise complex ideas, theories or concepts. (C.1)
- Technically Proficient: FEIT graduates apply theoretical, conceptual, software and physical tools and advanced discipline knowledge to research, evaluate and predict future performance of systems characterised by complexity. (D.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
This is a research inspired and practical project-based subject. The teaching and learning approach is based on learning by doing collaborative work in small groups. Students are expected to attend the initial subject induction session and weekly workshops. The workshops will give you oppurtunities to apply the teaching material to practical problems and build a working relationship with other students in a collaborative learning environment. In the beginning of teaching session, students are organised into groups, where each group acts as a start-up company. Group size depends on the number of enrollments in the subject. Each teaching and learning week is organised into pre-workshop, workshop and post-workshop activities.
Pre-workshop
Students are required to do pre-workshop research and reading using material and articles available from UTS, industry and scholarly databases (e.g. Gartner, IEEE, Wiley, AIS eLibrary), watch any relevant videos if available, and do the individual pre-workshop quiz about the upcoming topic before coming into the weekly workshop session. Pre-workshop work is necessary to be able to effectively perform in the upcoming workshop activities.
Workshop
Weeklyworkshop sessions are facilitated by the teaching staff. Students are expected to attend all the workshop sessions for this subject. Workshop tasks, business problems and industry case studies are posted on UTS learning platform before the workshop. Students are also required to do the individual in-workshop quiz, which is based on the previous workshop contents. Students work in small groups on workshop case study project exercises and their own team project. The workshop format enables the students to inquire, discuss and apply the enterprise architecture knowledge to real world business problems and scenarios for deep learning. Students in groups present their work to other groups and teaching staff for feedback during the workshop. Industry experts are regularly invited to workshops, if available, to share their practical experience and insights about the enterprise architecture practices. Students also get an opportunity to present their work to industry experts during their architecture project showcase, which is held in the end of teaching session. This is intended to enhance the employability of students in industry. Students also bring their work-in-progress architecture project artefacts in the workshop sessions to get early and continuous feedback from the teaching staff. This will enable the students to identify and correct any issues before formal submission, and consequently improve their learning and performance in the subject.
Post-workshop
Students are expected to extend their learning beyond the workshop sessions, by doing additional research and reading outside the weekly workshops. Students need to work on group assignments and revise the contents from the previous workshop for the upcoming in-workshop quiz.
Collaborative Architecture Project Hackathon
In addition to these face-to-face facilitated workshops, students are required to participate in the "Architecture Project Hackathon" week, in which they work in small groups and develop prototypes for their architecture project. This is intended to enhance their ability to work on their own initiatives and create innovative architecture design solutions.
Content (topics)
The subject covers the following topics:
- Architecture Frameworks
- Architecture Modelling
- Architecture Vision
- Business Architecture
- Information Architecture
- Social Architecture
- Application Architecture
- Platform Architecture
- Infrastructure Architecture
- Facility Architecture
- Opportunities and Solutions
- Implementation Planning and Governance
- Change Management
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Research Report
| Intent: | The purpose of this task is to demonstrate your ability to effectively describe the enterprise architecture both as a design and practice, its value and application to technical and business environments of different organisations and industry verticals. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1 and 2 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | 5000 Words (excluding tables, diagrams, references, appendix) |
Assessment task 2: Online Quizzes
| Intent: | The purpose of this task is to enable students to demonstrate that they can correctly describe the enterprise architecture theoretical and practical concepts, as taught by the subject and practiced by the individuals, and provide feedback to teaching staff about what is learnt or what is not. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | There is no word limit. |
Assessment task 3: Architecture Project
| Intent: | The purpose of this task is to demonstrate that you can effectively apply the enterprise architecture theoretical and practical concepts to successfully deliver an industry strength architecture project as a team or company. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | Add "10,000 Words (including tables, diagrams, references, appendix)" |
Assessment task 4: Presentation
| Intent: | The purpose of this task is to demonstrate that you can effectively present enterprise architecture project artefacts to the intended audience and being able to answer relevant queries and questions. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): D.1 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | There is no word limit. |
Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, a student must achieve an overall mark of 50% or more.
Required texts
This is a dynamic and practical subject. There is no fixed or single text book for this subject. However, students may choose to buy and consult the relevant recommended books and references.
Recommended texts
The Open Group Architecture Framework. Available at: https://www.opengroup.org/togaf/
Gill, A.Q. Adaptive Enterprise Architecture as Information: Architecting Intelligent Enterprises, World Scientific Publishing Co, 2022.
ArchiMate. Availabale at: http://www.opengroup.org/subjectareas/enterprise/archimate
The OSGi Framework. Available at: http://www.osgi.org/About/Technology#Framework
Godinez, M. Hechler, E., Koenig, K., Lockwood, S., Oberhofer, M. Schroeck, M. The Art of Enterprise Information Architecture: A Systems-Based Approach for Unlocking Business Insight, IBM Press, 2010.
Pastor, O., and Molina J.C. Model-Driven Architecture in Practice, Springer, 2007.
Model Driven Architecture. http://www.omg.org/mda/
References
Azure Application Architecture Guide. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/guide/
Azure Data Architecture Guide. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/data-guide/
Erder, M, Pureur, P. and Woods, E. Continuous Architecture in Practice: Software Architecture in the Age of Agility and DevOps (Addison-Wesley Signature Series), 2021
Gill, A.Q. Adaptive Cloud Enterprise Architecture, World Scientific Publishing Co, 2015.
Gill, A.Q. Agile Enterprise Architecture Modelling: Evaluating the Applicability and Integration of Six Modelling Standards. IST Journal, 2015.
Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/e-gov/fea
The Zachman Framework. Available at: https://www.zachman.com/
Erl, T. Service-Oriented Architecture: Concepts, Technology, and Design, 1st Edition, Prentice Hall.
Reekie and McAdam, A Software Architecture Primer, Mar 2006, Angophora Press
Britton & Bye,IT Architectures And Middleware, 2004, by Aw Professional SKU: 0321246942, Paperback 384 pages
Krakowiak, S. Middleware Architecture with Patterns and Frameworks, 2009, (Open Source) (in Books Folder Canvas)
Gorton, I. (2006), Essential Software Architecture, Springer, Berlin.
Paul Clements, Felix Bachmann, Len Bass, David Garlan, James Ivers, Reed Little, Paulo Merson, Robert Nord, Judith Stafford, Documenting Software Architectures: Views and Beyond (2nd Ed), Addison-Wesley Professional, 2010
R. N. Taylor, N. Medvidovic. Software Architecture: Foundations, Theory and Practice, Wiley 2009
Luke Hohmann, Beyond Software Architecture: Creating and Sustaining Winning Solutions, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2003
Nick Rozanski, Eoin Woods, Software Systems Architecture: Working With Stakeholders Using Viewpoints and Perspectives, Addison-Wesley 2005
Bass, L., Clements, P. and Kazman, R., Software Architecture in Practice, Addison-Wesley, 2nd ed. An electronic edition of this book is also available through the UTS library portal, 2003
Malan and Dana Bredemeyer, "Software Architecture: Central Concerns, Key Decisions" May 2002
Eric Gamma, John Vlissides, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, Design Patterns, Addison-Wesley 1995
Philippe Kruchten, “The 4+1 View Model of Architecture,” IEEE Software, 12 (6), November 1995, IEEE
Other resources
Online additional material and announcements will be available as required at UTS learning platform. You are expected to use UTS learngin platform on a more than weekly basis. We also keep statistics on usage.
https://online.uts.edu.au/