Governance & Committees
NORA requires an EA Governance Committee and an organisational unit, linked to the Digital Transformation Committee. Requirements depend on maturity level. The DGA guideline for building an EA governance model describes design, steps, and outputs.
The committee and organisational unit responsibilities, and their link to the Digital Transformation Committee. Team size depends on your EA maturity level.
Why governance matters
EA Governance Committee and a dedicated unit keep EA outputs aligned with strategy and digital transformation.
EA Governance Committee reports to the Digital Transformation Committee; committee name must include "Enterprise Architecture"
Organizational unit team size (2 to 6 specialists) depends on maturity level
Guideline for building an EA governance model (DGA; document type: guideline; classification: general).
Objectives of defining the EA governance model
Ensure ongoing alignment with business strategies and flexible response to changes in the entity’s operations.
Improve operational efficiency through effective use of resources, avoiding duplication and improving investments using the knowledge captured in the EA tool.
Strengthen EA’s role in spreading standards and technical best practices and maintaining higher compliance levels.
Support design- and delivery-related decisions for technology projects and mitigate medium- and long-term risks to strategic targets.
Make it easier to manage and run the EA practice and related changes and to align with business and IT.
Governance model design elements
Three core elements (per the DGA guideline):
Scope of EA governance
Governance committee members
Mechanism for executing governance focus areas
Inputs and institutional data sources
When designing the governance model, the following are considered:
EA tasks (approved or as defined in the EA tasks document) to understand practice scope and governance coverage.
EA practice services to identify target stakeholders and points of overlap with governance focus areas.
Entity organisational structure to define the governance committee membership.
Existing governance committees (e.g. Digital Transformation Steering Committee, Electronic Transactions Committee, Change Advisory Board CAB, IT Portfolio Management Committee, Cybersecurity Monitoring Committee, working groups).
Steps to detail the governance model
Define EA governance scope (review strategy, tasks, and services; draft scope — strategic and operational).
Design EA governance focus areas (identify and define focus areas, detail and link to scope).
Define committee member requirements (members, tasks per role, option to form working groups when needed).
Define links to existing governance committees (review related committees, interaction points, channels, meeting frequency).
Develop the committee charter (charter elements, review and approval).
Develop work procedures and policy for governance focus areas (procedures, governance activation policy, digitisation and automation requirements).
Start activation (disseminate model across the entity, hold first committee meeting, engage stakeholders).
EA Governance Committee
Committee tasks
All EA Governance Committee tasks listed in the formation decision must be active and aligned with other Digital Transformation Committee tasks. Updates go through the committee and are approved by the organisation.
Governance committee roles (guideline reference)
Core and supporting roles. Chair may be e.g. CIO, entity lead for digital transformation, shared services lead, or strategy sector deputy.
Chair
Chief EA
Data rep
Cybersecurity rep
IT rep
Lead EA specialists
Supporting roles
Committees that may link to EA governance
From the guideline — examples: Digital Transformation Steering Committee, Electronic Transactions Committee, Data Management & Governance Committee, IT Change Advisory Board (CAB), IT Portfolio Management Committee, Cybersecurity Monitoring & Controlling Committee, various working groups.
Five key areas in governance (NORA guideline section 4.4)
These areas are planned and executed together throughout the methodology, not in sequence:
Program management: track EA activities and deliverables; highlight delays, scope changes, or lack of resources to the EA Governance Committee
Change management: manage introduction of changes to EA activities, especially EA awareness and promotion
Capability management: capability requirements for EA implementation (training, job scope changes, review of organisational structures)
Policy management: policies and regulations required to implement EA activities in the agency
Performance management: performance outcomes of EA in the agency (metrics, KPIs, outcomes)
EA governance focus areas
National EA framework governance covers decision areas aligned with the Digital Transformation Committee. Scope is classified into strategic and operational:
Strategic alignment and change management: integrate EA with strategic planning, digital transformation roadmap, align initiatives, financial planning, manage transformation and assess impact of changes.
Risk management: EA’s role in digital project life cycle — review financial impact, assess requirements and technical proposals, review design outputs, manage change requests, and support innovation and adoption of emerging technologies.
Spending governance: oversee and approve spending requests for major digital initiatives and programmes to achieve spending efficiency.
Conflict and escalation governance: ensure technical components comply with standards and controls, manage alignment with principles and target digital landscape, manage temporary exemptions and non-compliance after deadline, and review compliance with national architectural controls.
EA practice performance management: manage performance internally, controls and standards for component development, documentation and update compliance, monitor compliance with national EA framework controls, and stakeholder communication.
Expected outputs from designing and activating the governance model
Sample outputs (per the guideline):
Defined EA governance focus areas in the entity
Approved work procedures for governance areas
EA governance committee members
Governance model relationship with related existing committees
Approved committee charter
Work procedures and policy for activating and applying the governance model
Decision to disseminate the governance model across the entity
First committee meeting minutes and charter approval
EA governance model document contents
Descriptive list of document contents: