For any organisation to be successful in an increasingly competitive and global working environment, it is essential that there is a clear understanding of all aspects of the business. Given that no two organisations are exactly alike, there is no definitive understanding of exactly what these aspects are as they will depend on the organisation's nature, size and so on. Some of the aspects of the business that must be considered include: process models, process descriptions, competencies, standards, methodologies, infrastructure, people and business goals.

It is important that these different aspects of the business are not only understood, but also that they are consistent and congruent with one another. The creation of an effective Enterprise Architecture (EA) provides a means by which an organisation can obtain such an understanding.

This book looks at the practical needs of creating and maintaining an effective EA within a twenty-first-century business through the use of pragmatic modelling. The book introduces the concepts behind enterprise architectures, teaches the modelling notation needed to effectively realise an enterprise architecture and explores the concepts more fully through a real-life enterprise architecture.