A study of competence of enterprise architects in higher education

Enterprise architecture has evolved from an integrating tool to a strategic method for alignment between IT and business. The increasing demand for an understanding of architecture has implications for the expertise of IT professionals. Because higher education in Taiwan faces growing demands to reduce costs, increase agility, and standardize IT environments, there has been a surge of enterprise architecture activity. This study employs field research using the practical competence model to identify the core competences of enterprise architects in higher education. This paper incorporates rigorous qualitative methods into the Job Competency Analysis (JCA) method and integrates the existing literature with in-depth interviews from architectural experts and IT managers. The results allow us to create a practical competence model that identifies the core competences of one occupation or industry. Theoretically, this model not only establishes a foundation for further research on core competence but also guides decision making on human resource development.