EA Measurement

Measurement in any type of program or project is essential. It is how we quantify both success and value. This is evidenced by the utilization of the SMART acronym in goal setting scenarios. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-related. 
Fig. 1- Smart Goals http://www.evidenceinmotion.com/blog/2016/07/14/smart-patient-centered-value-based-goals/ 


In Enterprise Architecture measurement (the M in SMART) allows proper gauging of not only the program, but how it aligns with and supports the mission, vision and/or goals of the organization. 

A great way to determine how well your EA program is doing is to establish high performance metrics. This can be done by assessing how your EA program supports your business strategy. When I say business strategy I am not referring to things associated with monetary reward programs or anything like that. When you filter out the fluff you are left with a true business strategy that drives the company. Michael D. Watkins, writer for the Harvard Business Review, defines it like this, "A business strategy is a set of guiding principles that, when communicated and adopted in the organization, generates a desired pattern of decision making. A strategy is therefore about how people throughout the organization should make decisions and allocate resources in order accomplish key objectives".

Once you fully understand this you can use the information to develop more robust performance metrics. Gartner provides examples of metrics that can be used which include, but are not limited to corporate value, time to market, social network size and backlog. As indicated by the examples in Figure 2 below, you can see how important the items measured truly are to the EA program and to the organization. 
Fig. 2 Gartner Toolkit

Reference:
Business Strategy- https://hbr.org/2007/09/demystifying-strategy-the-what 

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