Enterprise architecture adoption issues and challenges: a systematic literature review

Abstract

This article on Systematic Literature Review (SLR) provides the issues and challenges faced by organizations when adopting EA.  Firstly, a review of literature that discusses the problems and challenges was undertaken.  Methods and theories adopted were reviewed to identify the existing approach and perspective on resulting factors that influenced EA adoption.  Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria defined in the review process, 16 articles were selected.  A total of 19 challenges and problems were identified such as EA misconceptions, overlapping organizational rules, unclear leadership as well as lack of business and IT alignment.  A sum of 15 factors from multidimensional contexts that influenced the EA adoption in the organization were also discussed, such as top management support, governance, communication as well as EA knowledge and skill.  This SLR also reflected that there were relatively little empirical studies conducted on EA adoption studies. The existing studies tend to apply single and multiple theories from the organization and management domains in one study.  By understanding such issues and challenges, risks can be reduced and avoided when introducing EA to organizations, and subsequently ease the deployment process. Thus, this article may shed light on understanding  the organizational-related factors and the underlying relationships of EA adoption. As a result, an effective adoption of EA can be facilitated in the organizations.