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Maintenance of Enterprise Architecture Models

A Systematic Review of the Scientific Literature

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Abstract

Enterprise architecture (EA) models are tools of analysis, communication, and support towards enterprise transformation. These models need a suitable maintenance process to support comprehensive knowledge of the enterprise’s structure and dynamics. This study aims to identify and discuss the existing approaches to EA model maintenance published in the scientific literature. A systematic literature review was employed as the research method. A keyword-based search in six databases identified a total of 4495 papers in which 31 primary studies were included. A total of nine categories of EA model maintenance approaches were identified from both information systems and enterprise engineering fields of research. The increasing amount of research in EA model maintenance suggests that the topic still presents opportunities for research contributions. This study also proposes future lines of research according to the results identified in the theoretical corpus.

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Notes

  1. https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo/home.

  2. https://neo4j.com.

  3. GRaphs for Object-Oriented VErification (GROOVE).

    https://groove.cs.utwente.nl/.

  4. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2019/.

  5. https://go.forrester.com/blogs/top-technology-trends-2018-2020/.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Link Consulting’s project IT-Atlas (nº 11419, under the IAPMEI, 2020 Portuguese PO CI Operational Program).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Nuno Silva, Pedro Sousa & Miguel Mira da Silva

  2. INOV Inesc Inovação, Lisbon, Portugal

    Nuno Silva & Miguel Mira da Silva

  3. Link Consulting, Lisbon, Portugal

    Pedro Sousa

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  1. Nuno Silva
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  2. Pedro Sousa
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Correspondence to Nuno Silva.

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Accepted after three revisions by Jelena Zdravkovic.

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Silva, N., Sousa, P. & Mira da Silva, M. Maintenance of Enterprise Architecture Models. Bus Inf Syst Eng 63, 157–180 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-020-00636-1

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