CHOOSE: Towards a Metamodel for Enterprise Architecture in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a coherent whole of principles, methods, and models that are used in the design and realization of an enterprise’s organizational structure, business processes, information systems, and infrastructure. Recent research indicates the need for EA in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), important drivers of economy, as they struggle with problems related to a lack of structure and overview of their business. However, existing EA frameworks are perceived as too complex and no EA approach adapted to an SME context exists. Therefore, this paper presents the CHOOSE metamodel for EA in SMEs that is developed and evaluated during action research in a Belgian SME. This metamodel is based on the essentials of EA frameworks and is kept simple to be usable in an SME context. The final CHOOSE metamodel includes only four essential concepts (goal, actor, operation, object), one for each most frequently used EA focus. An extract from the CHOOSE model from the Belgian SME is presented as an example. Finally, the CHOOSE metamodel is evaluated according to the EA essentials and the requirements for EA in an SME context.