# A Method for Enterprise Architecture Model Slicing
## 2 Background and Related Work  
### EA Basics  
**EA** is often referred to as a blueprint for enterprise composition and enterprise operating systems. EA has brought many benefits [8], including facilitating communication and aligning business and IT [9]. Despite EA's many benefits [8], one of EA's main roles is to provide the service to understand and communicate enterprise interaction patterns through abstract and graphical expressions. Another role is to facilitate the alignment of business and Information Systems (IS) in an enterprise [9]. EA usually covers the high-level content of an organization across areas, including strategy, business, information, and technology. EA describes some concepts and relations among them in such areas and is presented in the form of a set of abstract graphics. We call abstractions presented in one single document an **EA artifact**. EA is traditionally developed based on one or more **EA Frameworks** (**EAFs**), which provided a common foundation for EA practitioners. For example, **TOGAF**[10] is maintained by the international standardization organization, namely **The Open Group**, and is one of the most widely used EAFs. An EAF usually consists of two parts. One part is a **content framework**, which mainly describes what concepts can be included in an EA and the relations among them. The other part is a **development method**, which provides guidelines for developing EA artifacts. A **metamodel** is often used for a content framework to accurately define the concepts (both syntax and semantics) and the relations between them. The metamodel is usually one of the most critical components of an EAF. Since the primary form of EA is typically a set of graphical models, content frameworks/metamodels are often associated with a set of graphic **notations**. For example, the **ArchiMate** standard [11] hosted by The Open Group includes a set of symbols fully compatible with the TOGAF metamodel. When a well-defined metamodel is applied, it is possible to organize and maintain a set of EA artifacts as **EA data** in a digital repository. Such an EAR, therefore, comprises a set of EA **components** and **relations** among them. An EA artifact can be considered a visualization of some subsets of a repository. Modern **EA Management (EAM) tools**[12] usually leverage such an EAR to capture and connect context and information across different domains (e.g., business, information, solution, and technology), along with other relevant architectural viewpoints, and to support strategic and tactical decision-making. **Traditionally, EAM practices** follow a pre-defined framework (e.g., TOGAF), which means: (1) EA development process is pre-defined (e.g., TOGAF ADM), formal, separated from other projects, and pursues rigid and extensive upfront planning [2], (2) developing EA models according to a content framework (usually a well-defined metamodel and a set of notations, such as ArchiMate) so that the models are well organized and connected. The benefits of traditional EA practices are that EA models are rigorous and aligned across the organization. However, one major challenge is EA development is not cost-effective, or the development cost is difficult to estimate. On the one hand, the value of developing each separate EA model is unclear. On the other hand, development is challenging, and the workload is heavy. The low cost-effectiveness of EA development leads to participants' low motivation or disorientation. It also might lead to over-development of EA, turn the overall EA development into an impossible task, and even fail the final EA application. Inaddition, as changes are happening increasingly rapidly nowadays, such prescribed and proactive ways of using EA [2] could not meet the flexible and changing requirements well. Agile EAM practices were proposed in academia and industry [4,5] to overcome the challenge of low cost-effectiveness of EA development and embrace changes. According to Agile EAM principles, all artifacts/models to be developed should deliver a clear business value.