Implementation issues enterprise architecture in the provincial government of the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The implementation of Enterprise Architecture (EA) strategies in the Provincial Government in the Western Cape (PGWC) of South Africa did not resulted in the expected benefits for service delivery to the public. The aims of the research were to explore and understand the challenges the organization faced when implementing an EA strategy. The identified challenges were mapped to a proposed conceptual framework in a structured manner in order to propose a guideline for the implementation of business strategies. The lack of a unified vision, goals and objectives, poor communication and training in both business as well as the IT department resulted in a poor implementation of EA and the misalignment of business and IT strategies and outcomes. A conceptual framework and guidelines is proposed to evaluate and enhance the implementation of the EA strategies and alignment of business and IT strategies and outcomes.