Which element should come first when establishing an enterprise architecture plan?

Which element should come first when establishing an enterprise architecture plan?

• A. Technology architecture
• B. Information architecture
• C. Business process
• D. None of the Above

Answer: (C)

Focus on how the organization actually operates. Establishing an enterprise architecture plan begins by understanding and modeling the business processes—the workflows that create value, drive decisions, and define what the organization must accomplish. This sets the direction for everything that follows because the information needs and technology solutions must be built to support these processes, not the other way around. By starting with business processes, you ensure alignment with strategic goals, identify essential data and information flows tied to those processes, and reveal where governance and accountability are needed. Once the processes are defined, you can determine the data requirements and information structures that support them, and then design the technology architecture to enable and integrate those data and applications. Jumping straight to technology or information architecture can lead to solutions that don’t map to real workflows or business needs, causing misalignment and wasted effort.

Focus on how the organization actually operates. Establishing an enterprise architecture plan begins by understanding and modeling the business processes—the workflows that create value, drive decisions, and define what the organization must accomplish. This sets the direction for everything that follows because the information needs and technology solutions must be built to support these processes, not the other way around.

By starting with business processes, you ensure alignment with strategic goals, identify essential data and information flows tied to those processes, and reveal where governance and accountability are needed. Once the processes are defined, you can determine the data requirements and information structures that support them, and then design the technology architecture to enable and integrate those data and applications. Jumping straight to technology or information architecture can lead to solutions that don’t map to real workflows or business needs, causing misalignment and wasted effort.