Knowledge · Deciding
How do you evaluate alternative enterprise architectures?
You evaluate alternative enterprise architectures by building several feasible variants instead of designing a single solution, and by measuring all of them against the same criteria. The Enterprise Variation Method (EVM) of SIMO GmbH sets out eight steps for this, from the baseline to measuring impact. Each variant is tested against future scenarios and assessed on ten criteria, from business value to operational complexity. The result is a reasoned management decision, not a vendor recommendation.
Author Andreas O. Schwan, Managing PartnerLast reviewed
The problem
A solution is not yet a decision.
Many architecture decisions are made before the alternatives have even been described. A vendor presents a target picture, a project adopts it, and nobody asks about other paths anymore. What is missing is the comparison: which variants are feasible, what do they cost over their lifetime, what risks do they carry and how quickly do they pay off? Without it, leadership decides on one solution rather than between solutions.
This is where the Enterprise Variation Method comes in. It looks at alternative business, process, data, application, technology, AI and governance models and assesses them against your criteria. The outcome is not a vendor recommendation but a reasoned management decision.
The approach
Eight steps from baseline to impact.
The EVM structures the assessment in eight steps. First the starting point is documented and the decision is broken down into its building blocks. Then variants are created, tested against future scenarios and evaluated. After the decision come implementation and measurement. In the Business Data Transformation Framework, the method sits between Define and Architect, where Vary, Simulate and Decide form the decision core.
The eight steps of the EVM
- Baseline
Document the starting point
The current state of business, data and technology, for example from BISA or BEIA.
- Decompose
Break down the decision
Look at business, processes, data, applications, technology, AI and governance separately.
- Vary
Build variants
Several feasible models per building block, not just the obvious one.
- Simulate
Run scenarios
Test each variant against several assumptions about the future.
- Evaluate
Assess
Measure all variants against the same ten criteria, weighted by your priorities.
- Decide
Decide
Leadership chooses; the reasoning and the rejected variants stay on record.
- Transform
Implement
The chosen variant becomes the target architecture with a roadmap.
- Measure
Measure impact
The targets from the assessment become the yardstick for implementation.
The criteria
Ten criteria, weighted by your priorities.
Every variant is assessed against the same ten criteria. How much weight each criterion carries is set by leadership before the first variant is on the table. That keeps the assessment traceable and independent of whatever a vendor happens to recommend. Where data is missing, we say so openly instead of claiming a precision that does not exist.
Impact and economics
- Business Value
- What measurable benefit does the variant create for the business?
- Strategic Fit
- How well does it fit the corporate strategy and the business vision?
- Time-to-Value
- When does the benefit become tangible?
- TCO
- What does it cost over its full lifetime, including operations and exit?
- Operational Complexity
- How much effort does it add to day-to-day operations?
Feasibility and risk
- Feasibility
- Can it be delivered with the available budget, people and partners?
- Data Readiness
- Is the required data available, reliable and owned?
- AI Readiness
- Are data, technology and rules ready for the planned use of AI?
- Risk
- What risks arise, and how can they be contained?
- Compliance
- Does it meet regulatory and contractual requirements?
Questions from leadership
What executives ask about it.
How many variants does the EVM assess?
As many as are feasible and genuinely different. A variant that differs only by vendor does not count as a variant of its own. Which variants go into the assessment is agreed with leadership.
Does the EVM replace a tender?
No, it comes before it. If you know which variant you want and why before you go to tender, the tender is shorter and the bids are comparable. The EVM criteria can be reused to compare the bids.
How does the EVM relate to BEIA?
BEIA provides the baseline the EVM builds on: the current state architecture, the risk register and the gap analysis. Companies facing a major decision therefore often take the path BEIA, then EVM, then target architecture.
Author and sources
Who answers, and what it rests on.
Sources and further reading
- SIMO GmbH: Enterprise Variation Method and Business Data Transformation Framework, method description, 2026
- The Open Group: The TOGAF Standard, 10th Edition, 2022 (external site)
- ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2022, Software, systems and enterprise: Architecture description
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Read on
The next question and the path behind it.
Related question
What is BEIA and when is it worth it?
The direct entry point before major decisions: eight layers, one day on site, ten building blocks.
Related question
What is Business Architecture?
The company described in capabilities instead of departments, as the basis for every data and technology decision.
Matching service
Business Architecture
How SIMO handles this topic in an engagement: approach, results and the questions executives ask.
See how SIMO structures and evaluates alternatives.
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