An enterprise architecture based method enabling quantified analysis of IT support system´s impact on maintenance management

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a model based tool enabling holistic management of an enterprise´s IT-system portfolio and its relation and support to the business. A domain where the relation between IT-systems and business processes is crucial for cost efficient operation is maintenance of asset dense geographically distributed processes, such as distribution of electric power. Electric power utilities invest a lot of monetary resources in maintenance without having a clear perception of how its management and processes should be optimized. A large proportion of these investments are related to development and integration of IT-systems. The degree of efficiency of these investments runs a risk of being low unless there is a clear understanding of how specific IT system solutions impact the maintenance process. The suggested method provides managerial support for rationalizing decisions concerning IT-systems´ support of maintenance management by combining EA with the concept of the Balanced Scorecard. Extended Influence Diagrams (EIDs) are introduced to enable quantitative analysis of how cause and effect between IT-systems and the performance of maintenance processes are related to each other.