Differences between FEAF and BIZBOK

Introduction

When working with enterprise architecture frameworks, it's important to understand how different frameworks approach the alignment of business strategy, processes, and IT. Two key frameworks that organizations might reference are the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) and the Business Architecture Body of Knowledge (BIZBOK®). Although both provide valuable guidance, they serve different purposes and are designed for distinct types of organizations and needs.

Domain coverage comparison

Purpose and scope

FEAF: Designed specifically for U.S. federal agencies, FEAF provides a structured approach to aligning IT investments with agency missions and goals. It is government-centric and focuses on ensuring compliance with federal regulations, optimizing resource use, and enhancing service delivery to the public.
BIZBOK: A framework for the business architecture discipline, BIZBOK provides tools and best practices to align business strategy with operational models. Unlike FEAF, BIZBOK is not specific to government agencies and is widely adopted in private-sector businesses across various industries. Its primary focus is on business domains, capabilities, value streams, and stakeholder relationships.

Key Domains

FEAF: The framework is structured around domains such as Business, Data, Applications, Technology, Performance, and Security Architectures. These domains guide how agencies should align their business processes with IT capabilities and performance goals.
BIZBOK: BIZBOK focuses on Strategy, Capabilities, Value Streams, Information, Stakeholders, and Initiatives as key business architecture domains. The approach is more granular in addressing how business functions and capabilities support overall business outcomes, rather than just IT alignment.

Regulatory and Compliance focus

FEAF: As a government-focused framework, FEAF places a strong emphasis on regulatory compliance and mandates specific to federal agencies, such as the Clinger-Cohen Act and FISMA. It supports standardization across agencies to ensure efficiency, interoperability, and adherence to federal laws.
BIZBOK: While BIZBOK can be applied in regulated industries, it does not have a specific focus on regulatory compliance. Instead, it emphasizes the strategic alignment of business operations to meet organizational goals. BIZBOK is flexible and adaptable to a variety of industry contexts.

Strategic vs. Operational alignment

FEAF: Primarily addresses IT strategy alignment with business goals, focusing heavily on how technology investments support the mission and performance objectives of federal agencies.
BIZBOK: While BIZBOK also focuses on alignment, it places a stronger emphasis on the operational alignment of business capabilities and value streams to drive business strategy execution. It is particularly useful for business transformation and understanding how various parts of the organization contribute to strategic outcomes.

Audience

FEAF: Primarily used by federal IT leaders, enterprise architects, and government executives. Its focus is on ensuring that IT resources support governmental priorities and compliance requirements.
BIZBOK: Used by business architects, strategists, and enterprise leaders across industries. It provides guidance on building a holistic view of an organization’s business architecture to drive decision-making and operational efficiency.

Flexibility and adaptability

FEAF: Offers a more prescriptive framework, especially tailored to the needs of federal agencies, and may be less adaptable for private-sector organizations.
BIZBOK: Highly adaptable to different business environments and can be tailored to the needs of various industries, making it more flexible for businesses of all sizes and sectors.

Conclusion

Understanding the distinctions between FEAF and BIZBOK is crucial for organizations determining which framework best fits their needs. FEAF is ideal for U.S. federal agencies needing to align IT with government mandates, while BIZBOK serves a broader range of industries with a focus on business strategy, capabilities, and value creation. In the context of Orthogramic, the platform’s flexibility allows you to leverage one or both frameworks to ensure that your organization achieves strategic alignment and operational efficiency regardless of your sector.

FEAF and BIZBOK domain comparison table

Summary comparison

Here’s a summary comparison table that outlines the dedicated domain coverage between FEAF and BIZBOK:

Domain	FEAF	BIZBOK
Business Architecture
Data Architecture
Applications Architecture
Technology Architecture
Performance Architecture		Orthogramic includes Performance as a separate, dedicated domain.
Security Architecture
Regulatory Compliance
Strategy
Capabilities
Value Streams
Stakeholders
Initiatives
Information
Policy		Orthogramic includes Performance as a separate, dedicated domain.
Organization
Product

Detailed comparison

Here’s a detailed comparison table that outlines the dedicated domain coverage between FEAF and BIZBOK:

Domain	FEAF	BIZBOK
Business Architecture	Dedicated: Focuses on aligning business goals with IT strategies.	Defines business strategy, capabilities, value streams, and stakeholders.
Data Architecture	Dedicated: Describes how data is managed and shared across the organization.	Integrated within the Information domain, focusing on how information supports business processes.
Applications Architecture	Dedicated: Covers the software applications that support business processes.	Typically part of the business capabilities and value streams, but not explicitly separated as an architecture layer.
Technology Architecture	Dedicated: Focuses on the infrastructure (hardware, software, networks) required for business operations.	Not a primary domain, but technical considerations may be addressed through business capabilities and initiatives.
Performance Architecture	Dedicated: Measures performance against strategic goals and objectives, ensuring alignment between IT and business.	Addresses performance within business capabilities and value streams, using KPIs to track business outcomes. Orthogramic includes Performance as a separate, dedicated domain.
Security Architecture	Dedicated: Focuses on ensuring systems and data security across all IT components.	BIZBOK doesn’t explicitly include a security architecture domain; security considerations are often part of initiatives and capabilities.
Regulatory Compliance	Dedicated: A strong focus, particularly in ensuring compliance with federal regulations.	Not a dedicated domain, though regulatory considerations may be integrated into initiatives and business processes.
Strategy	Indirectly addressed through business and performance architectures.	Dedicated: Defining how business strategy is aligned with operational and organizational capabilities.
Capabilities	Not explicitly detailed; covered under business architecture.	Dedicated: Focusing on how business capabilities support strategy and value creation.
Value Streams	Not covered as a separate domain.	Dedicated: Defining the end-to-end flow of activities that deliver value to customers.
Stakeholders	Addressed under business architecture.	Dedicated: Identifying stakeholders and their relationships with business capabilities and value streams.
Initiatives	Addressed indirectly through performance architecture.	Dedicated: Emphasis on business projects and initiatives that drive strategic objectives.
Information	Addressed in data architecture.	Dedicated: Focusing on how information supports business operations and decision-making.
Policy	Often covered within business or regulatory compliance, ensuring IT policies align with government requirements.	Policy is part of the governance considerations but not a standalone domain; it is linked to organizational rules and operational controls. Orthogramic includes Performance as a separate, dedicated domain.
Organization	Indirectly addressed within business architecture and stakeholder relationships.	Dedicated: focusing on how the structure, roles, and relationships within an organization impact its operations and strategy.
Product	Not explicitly addressed from a product perspective; focus is more on service delivery in government.	Dedicated: Emphasis on product ( and services) management, product lifecycle, and how products deliver value in conjunction with capabilities and value streams.

This comparison highlights how FEAF focuses more on aligning IT with business operations, particularly within the federal government context, while BIZBOK provides a more business-centric, operational focus that emphasizes capabilities, value streams, and strategy execution across a variety of industries.