Enterprise Architecture:

There are lots of framework starting from Zachman to TOGAF. Each of those has pros and cons. In my opinion, all existing frameworks have lots of practical difficulties. I propose the following simple framework which is simple and easy to implement. Enterprise Architecture does have ROI. (In case if any one from Gartner reading my blog, Please read one more time, EA does have return on investment)

The objective of the enterprise architecture is to provide a holistic view of the organization and use it as a tool to drive the organization to the expected future state. Any organization can be presented as the collection of 6 segments. The six segments are business processes, application/systems, infrastructure, information, organization and finance. If these 6 segments are documented and linked to each other respectively, then a holistic view of the organization, that is, enterprise architecture will be created. The focus should be given only to the core business processes.

Core business processes is defined as a set of processes that are directly aligned to value proposition of the organization. The core business processes varies based upon the organization, its product offering, its market segment.