Free Enterprise Architecture Modeling Tools

While researching BPM Process Modeling tools recently (see post here),  I also came across a few Enterprise Architecture tools that I thought I would share with readers.

iteraplan, the Essentials Project and the Togaf Customiser are all Open Source initiatives and are briefly summarised below:

iteraplan

Claimed to be the first open source tool for enterprise architecture management (EAM), iteraplan is based on the IT landscape modelling method developed by the consulting company iteratec.

It is available in two editions: Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE). A feature comparison table can be found here.

The Essential Project

The Essential Project was conceived by Enterprise Architecure Solutions (EAS) Ltd, a specialist consultancy in enterprise architecture since 2000.

It is a set of open source, enterprise architecture support tools developed to be used with a variety of EA approaches and frameworks. It has been described as ‘Essential’ because these tools are focused on providing capabilities that are essential to maximising the value of enterprise architecture; helping organisations manage and analyse the knowledge needed to make decisions that impact or are impacted by the enterprise architecture.

It comprises of the following components:

• The Essential Meta-Model, a framework-independent set of semantic definitions for knowledge related to the building blocks and relationships of an enterprise.
• The Essential Architecture Manager, a knowledge repository and reporting tool for capturing and then querying information based on the Essential Meta-Model.

TOGAF 9 Customiser

The TOGAF Customiser was recently realeased by the Open Group to be used to implement TOGAF version 9 more easily. The new tool has been donated to The Open Group by Capgemini.

Based on the Eclipse Process Framework (EPF), an open source project that is managed by the Eclipse Foundation, the TOGAF Customizer contains all the content of TOGAF 9 in a structured and editable form, including guidelines, concepts, and checklists, as well as detailed work breakdown structures for the framework’s new and improved Architecture Development Method (ADM).

They anticipate that with the new tool, users can more easily and quickly align their Enterprise Architecture practices with TOGAF 9 and create organization-specific versions of the standard that represent the concerns of their unique business and technology environments. In addition, the new tool supposedly makes it much easier for Enterprise Architects to integrate TOGAF with other common EA frameworks, such as Zachman, FEAF and DoDAF.

For more information:

• TOGAF Customizer, please visit http://www.opengroup.org/togaf/epf_intro.html.
• TOGAF 9, please visit http://www.opengroup.org/togaf or download the “Introduction to TOGAF 9” whitepaper at http://www.opengroup.org/bookstore/catalog/w094.htm

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