A rationalistic approach to IT investments using Enterprise Architecture

In this thesis I present a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of the use of Enterprise Architecture as support in the decision-making process surrounding IT investments. Using interviews and a working prototype, I debate the desirability and feasibility of a more rationalistic approach to IT investments decisions. The complexity surrounding IT investments has left researchers and decision-makers looking for a method to attribute value to their IT and improve decision quality. I distinguish two ways of dealing with such complexity; reduction and enhancing one’s ability to process information. This research focusses on the latter, using Enterprise Architecture as a structure in which the value of business processes is traced back to the supporting IT applications and infrastructure. The valuation method involves a Multi – Criteria Decision Analysis, with the Enterprise Architecture serving as a framework that structures the criteria. A crucial part of the method is the accompanying tool in Excel, which automates the calculations, by which much of the complexity is transferred to a computer system (thus enhancing the decision-making capacity). This tool has proven to be capable of performing the calculations necessary for this method and can present the results so that they are easy to interpret.