View source for Nature of Enterprise Architecture

== Architecture of the Enterprise ==
''Topic Owner: Peter Bryant''

''Theme: Influencing TOGAF Next''

The Open Group is revising and restructuring The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) standard. It is experimenting with an ultra-simple set of definitions along the following lines.

System = a collection of components — which can also be called parts — working together to fulfil a mission

System has Architecture

Architecture = fundamental concepts or properties of a system in its environment embodied in its elements, their relationships, and in the principles of its design and evolution 

Enterprise = any group of organizations with a common set of goals. For example, an enterprise could be a government agency, a whole corporation, a division of a corporation, a single department, or a chain of geographically distant organizations linked together by common ownership. A large project, or endeavour involving multiple agencies, could also be an enterprise, e.g. London Olympics 2012. 

'''Is this characterisation sufficiently explicit and general for our usage?'''

Enterprise is a class of System

Enterprise Architecture = Architecture of Enterprise (as System) 

At first sight this would seem an ideal definition of Enterprise Architecture from a ESE perspective 
*'''Do you agree?'''
*'''Is this characterisation sufficiently explicit and general for normal usage?''' 
*'''Does this conflict with ‘standard’ definitions of EA from the literature? If so, what will be missed?''' 
*'''How could the characterisation be improved?'''

I look forward to your comments