Using Enterprise Architecture for CIO Decision-Making : On the Importance of Theory

A company?s Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for the management and evolution of the enterprise information system. An approach suggested as an aid for the CIO?s decision-making process is Enterprise Architecture, based on architectural models of both the enterprise information system and its context. For architectural models to function as decision-making support, this paper argues that they must be amenable to architectural analysis. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of architectural theory in the analysis of architectural models of the enterprise information system. Architectural theory diagrams are proposed as means for presenting and comparing architectural theories as well as for assessing the analytical value of architectural models. QC 20120327