EAM tools: free tools for enterprise architecture management

What is an EAM tool?

At its core, enterprise architecture management answers three questions: What do we have? Where do we want to go? And in what order do we take the steps? An EAM tool records the answers and links them – goals with capabilities, capabilities with processes, processes with IT systems and interfaces. Only these links make questions answerable such as: which core processes depend on a legacy system that is due to be replaced?

Large companies use extensive software and dedicated teams for this. Small and medium-sized enterprises need the same thinking, but in a form that a few people can maintain alongside their other work. That is why I have packed the most important tools of architecture management into lean, free programs.

My free EAM tools at a glance

8EM Modeller: the company in eight levels

The 8EM Modeller maps a company according to my 8-Level Model – the eight-level model from the vision through goals, capabilities and processes to organisation and IT systems – and links the elements with one another. As-is and to-be views, analyses and ready-made reports turn the model into a basis for decisions. For architecture management it contains:

• Application portfolio: assessing IT systems by business value and technical condition and deciding on their future.
• Migration assessment: recording for each system whether it stays, moves, is modernised, replaced or switched off.
• Interface catalogue and data flow map: who exchanges which data with whom – and where data is still transferred by hand.
• Technology radar: which technologies are standard, introduced, on trial or on hold.
• Project prioritisation and architecture governance: ranking projects by transparent criteria; recording decisions, time-limited exceptions and reviews.
• Value streams and glossary: the path to customer value and a common language.
• Exchange: bulk import from Excel and exchange in The Open Group's ArchiMate® format.

Open the 8EM Modeller in your browser · the Modeller in the blog · the architecture tools in detail

EAM maturity check: where do we stand?

The maturity check is a self-assessment in ten areas based on the 8-Level Model – from goals and strategic alignment through the application landscape and interfaces to people, participation and benefit. The result shows a radar chart with “today” and “desired” and names the three areas with the largest gap, each with a recommendation for a first step. The check is a guide, not an audit or a certification.

Open the EAM maturity check

IT survey questionnaire: capturing the IT landscape together

If you want to understand the IT landscape, you have to ask the people who work with it every day. With the survey questionnaire, business departments and system owners describe each IT system: profile, life cycle, responsibility and use, data, operation and emergencies, interfaces, costs and an assessment based on the same criteria as in the application portfolio. The answers flow into the 8EM Modeller at the push of a button.

Open the IT survey questionnaire · both questionnaires in the blog

UML editor: all 14 diagram types

For a more detailed description of applications and processes, the UML editor draws all 14 diagram types of UML 2.5.1 – from class and component diagrams to sequence diagrams. It points out typical errors and exports the diagrams as editable shapes for PowerPoint, LibreOffice Impress and Visio, as PDF, SVG or PNG.

Open the UML editor · description in the blog

More tools around architecture

• Business model board: the business model as a value flow from the network to the customer groups.
• Stakeholder map: who is affected by a project and who has influence.
• CMDB and ITSM tools: IT components, incidents and changes in operation – the CMDB takes over IT systems and components from the 8EM Modeller.

What the tools are based on

The tools take up proven ideas from architecture management – such as the capability map, value streams, the application portfolio and the ArchiMate® exchange format. TOGAF® provides orientation but is not a prerequisite: I only use what makes sense for the size of a company. Above everything stands the guiding question of the 8-Level Model: Does it serve people?

Introducing EAM – with consulting

Good tools help, but they do not replace the work on the target picture, priorities and responsibilities. As an enterprise architect with experience in IT projects since 1989, including 27 years at Audi AG, I support you in EAM consulting from the capability map to the roadmap. The articles Why SMEs should not do without enterprise architecture management and TOGAF 10: the toolkit for structured architecture work also offer an introduction to the topic.

Frequently asked questions about EAM tools

What is an EAM tool?

An EAM tool is software for enterprise architecture management. It documents and plans a company's capabilities, processes, applications, interfaces and technologies and links them, so that decisions about IT become traceable.

Are there free EAM tools?

Yes. The 8EM Modeller, the EAM maturity check, the IT survey questionnaire and the UML editor are free of charge, run in the browser without installation and are free software under the GPL.

Do small companies need an EAM tool at all?

Not necessarily to get started. A capability map, an overview of the applications and a roadmap are often enough. A lean tool helps to keep this overview up to date and to make connections visible.

Do the tools support TOGAF and ArchiMate?

The 8EM Modeller exports and imports models in The Open Group's ArchiMate® exchange format. TOGAF® serves as orientation; the tools do not require it and are not certified by The Open Group.

Where is my data stored?

The tools run entirely in your browser and do not transmit any data to me or to third parties. You save your models as a file on your computer – or in the MC4Y Productivity Suite on your own server.

Trademark notice: ArchiMate® and TOGAF® are registered trademarks of The Open Group. The names are used descriptively only; there is no connection with the trademark owner.