John Zachman published his first edition of Architecture Framework in IBM Systems Journal in 1987. He borrowed several concepts from building construction trade without following the real practices. Zachman Framework is still the most cited generic "Enterprise Architecture Framework". It is, however, doubtful that any organization would have produced all 36 artifacts as recommended in his framework matrix. Over the years, several Enterprise Architecture Frameworks emerged. The most noticeable ones are:
- DoDAF - It is now in its third version.
- FEA - This is managed by the OMB of White-house for the annual submission of multi-year budget documents.
- TEAF - This is a simplified version of Zachman Framework by the Treasury Department of US.
- NASCIO’s Enterprise Architecture Tool-Kit - This is used primarily by the States Governments in the US.
- TOGAF - The Open Group Architecture Framework, which is more IT oriented than business.
It should be noted that the above frameworks are generally in-commutable other than some underlying models. Moreover, most of them tell you what you need to do but do not show you how to it, just like a guru. About 45% of US enterprises carry out Enterprise Architecture (EA) activities. EA activities are beyond reach for most, if not all, Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in terms of costs and capabilities. The ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING (EARN) is a pragmatic Enterprise Architecture (EA) Methodology that guides SMEs to define and build their Enterprise Architectures incrementally over time.