Editing Enterprise architecture (section)

===Schools of thought===
Within the field of enterprise architecture, there are three overarching schools: Enterprise IT Design, Enterprise Integrating, and Enterprise Ecosystem Adaption. Which school one subscribes to will impact how they see the EA's purpose and scope, as well as the means of achieving it, the skills needed to conduct it, and the locus of responsibility for conducting it.<ref name="Lapalme">{{cite journal|last=Lapalme|first=J.|title=Three Schools of Thought on Enterprise Architecture|journal=IT Professional|volume=14|number=6|pages=37–43|date=November 2012|doi=10.1109/MITP.2011.109|s2cid=206469705 }}</ref>

Under Enterprise IT Design, the main purpose of EA is to guide the process of planning and designing an enterprise's [[Information technology|IT]]/[[Information science|IS]] capabilities to meet the desired organizational objectives, often by greater alignment between IT/IS and business concerns. Architecture proposals and decisions are limited to the IT/IS aspects of the enterprise and other aspects service only as inputs. The Enterprise Integrating school believes that the purpose of EA is to create a greater coherency between the various concerns of an enterprise (HR, IT, Operations, etc.), including the link between strategy formulation and execution. Architecture proposals and decisions here encompass all aspects of the enterprise. The Enterprise Ecosystem Adaption school states that the purpose of EA is to foster and maintain the learning capabilities of enterprises so they may be sustainable. Consequently, a great deal of emphasis is put on improving the capabilities of the enterprise to improve itself, to innovate, and to coevolve with its environment. Typically, proposals and decisions encompass both the enterprise and its environment.