Evolution and Comparative Analysis of Enterprise Architecture Tools

The discipline of Enterprise Architecture (EA) involves the creation and maintenance of essential artifacts, including documents and architectural diagrams, to deliver tangible benefits to stakeholders. This paper examines the historical evolution of Enterprise Architecture and the tools associated with it. As we will explore further, EA tools have evolved from being tools for a small audience reliant on complex notations and visualizations to becoming more collaborative and user-friendly tools accessible to all stakeholders. Then, a high-level assessment and comparison of the different types of EA tool is presented. Finally, we examine the practical application of these tools for different common relevant artifacts commonly used within the Enterprise Architecture discipline.