Enterprise Architecture Framework For The Namibian Government_Wide

ABSTRACT

Every organisation tries to operate in a dynamic environment; as a result, no organisation intends to stay the same. Thus the organisation’s survival depends on how fast and well they react and respond to change. The changes are expected to come from both business and technological perspectives. Change is implored and implemented through different approaches, such as Enterprise Architecture (EA).

Organisations adopt EA as a way to map and describe organisational structure, business activities, and how information and technologies can be used to support, enable and automate business processes. Enterprise architecture plays an important role in guiding organisations’ operations and implementation of new technologies in dynamic environments. However, with all the benefits that EA brings to organisations, they are still challenged by their operations.

The study employed the qualitative method as the research strategy. Qualitative method was selected primarily because of its explanatory nature. Also, it enables researchers to study phenomenon in their natural settings, which was critical in this research. The researcher avoids assumptions and expectations but rather study the environments as they are presented in order to understand them.

The study used a case study approach and semi-structured interviews for data collection. Activity Theory (AT) was applied during data analysis and it provided a third eye needed to understand the technical and non-technical factors that could impact the development and implementation of EA.

Based on the interpretation of the findings from the analysis of data, the Namibian government wide enterprise architecture framework was developed. The framework act as guidance in the selection, development, implementation and maintenance of information system and technologies in the Namibian Ministries computing environment,