IT Solution Architecture Governance

Contact the Enterprise Architecture (EA) Team for support at any point in the process.

This page describes how IT Solution Architecture Governance is achieved through the ITS Portfolio Governance process.

The ITS Portfolio Governance process uses a gating approach. At each gate, the project will need sign-off from the EA Team in order to proceed. The EA Team will sign-off on the project if the actions described below are satisfactorily completed.

Initiate Gate

1. Identify the project's lead architect who must be a qualified solution architect or equivalent. The EA Team can help identify a resource.
2. Have the lead architect engage the EA Team to review the project and the governance process requirements.
3. Involve the project's lead architect in the purchasing evaluation of software products, SaaS services, or hosted applications.
4. Request review of the leading candidates for purchase, by the EA Team, to determine technical fit before making a purchasing decision.

Design Gate

1. Discuss the preliminary architecture with the EA Team. The EA Team will determine the IT Solution Architecture Review requirement. 
   1. No review required.
   2. EA Team review required.
   3. Technology Architecture Committee (TAC) review required. 
2. Schedule the IT Solution Architecture Review with the EA Team well in advance of the design gate gating meeting.
3. Design the solution, sharing preliminary designs and refinements with the EA Team.
4. Use the IT Solution Architecture Review Guidelines to make sure you have included the required elements. Feel free to use your own design tools for detailed diagrams.
5. Present the solution design to the EA Team or TAC, as previously determined, for the IT Solution Architecture Review.
6. The IT Solution Architecture Review will issue a ruling of 1] Approved, 2] Approved with contingency, or 3] Not approved. It will also document approved exceptions.
7. Evaluate the IT Solution Architecture Review feedback and incorporate required and suggested changes into the architecture as appropriate, being sure to resolve all contingencies.
8. Submit the final documentation to the EA Team for a final review.
9. The EA Team will post the final documentation and record the IT Solution Architecture Review decision to the IT Architecture Repository.

Build Gate

1. Provide the EA Team with documentation of substantive IT Solution Architecture design changes for final approval.
2. The EA Team will post the final documentation to the IT Architecture Repository.
3. Make sure the technical lead is available during the build phase to address unforeseen architectural concerns.

Change Advisory Board Gate

1. Make sure the technical lead is available during the implementation phase to address unforeseen architectural concerns.
2. Provide the EA Team with documentation of unforeseen IT architecture issues that arose during implementation.