ITS Technology Standards Review Guidelines (Draft)

Owned by Louis King
Last updated: Dec 19, 2019
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Yale ITS TAC Standards Approval Criteria 

2018-12-13 

The CIO convened a team to recommend updates to the ITS technology architecture approach. The team is focused on establishing technology standards to support consistent, repeatable, secure, and reliable service delivery across ITS. The team will also make recommendations, as needed, to advance architecture governance to ensure strong organizational alignment for establishing and implementing these standards. 

The Technology Architecture Standards Team has requested that the TAC review proposed standards and approve them for broad adoption within ITS. The standards themselves are developed by service teams and essentially codify their application, data, and technology architecture as well as standardized practices used to deliver the service. The service teams have engaged key stakeholders in the development and review of the standard prior to presenting to TAC. Upon approval by the TAC, the standard will be posted the IT Architecture Repository and communicated to the ITS Senior Leadership Team and to the broader Yale community through the IT Update. 

Criteria for Approval 

  1. Demonstrates sound and appropriate architectural principles 
  2. Meets ITS’ Enterprise Architecture Principles and Standards Principles (see attached) 
  3. Advances Yale towards consistent, repeatable, secure, and reliable service delivery 
  4. Covers the most frequently used components and practices but not necessarily all of them 
  5. Is complete in form (see the Technology Architecture Standards Team documentation requirements below) 

Documentation Requirements

IT Architecture Standards Documentation Template
      Title Page – Standard topic, primary service and date

      Table of Contents – a list of the major sections and sub-sections and their page numbers

  1. Document Control
    1. Document Information
      1. Document Identifier
      2. Document Name
      3. Document URL – Link to document in ITS Standards Repository.
      4. Service Name - The name of the service that primarily supports the topic of the standard.
      5. Document Author – The individual(s) responsible for writing the document.
      6. Document Keeper – The contact for  content questions and recommended revisions.
      7. Document Version – The document's current version number.
      8. Document Status – In Revision, Pending Approval, In Effect.
      9. Effective Date – Date the document went into effect.
      10. Last Reviewed Date – Date the document was last reviewed by the document keeper for changes, updates, or document retirement.
      11. Next Review Date – Date the document will be reviewed by document keeper for correctness, changes, updates, or document retirement.
    2. Document Edit History – A list of edits made to the document – Version, Date, Modifications, By.
    3. Document Review and Approval – a list of reviews and approvals of the document – Date, By/Title , Organization, Comments.
    4. Document Distribution – a list of recipients and access links to the document – Name/Title, Organization, URL of containing page.
  2. Introduction & Purpose
    1. Introduction – The purpose of the document, including its intended outcome and value proposition.
    2. Industry Standards and Reference Models – Highlighted industry standards and reference models related to the topic.
    3. External References – Documents not specifically referenced in the standard but may provide useful information.
    4. Terms and Abbreviations – Terms, definitions and acronyms used in this document.
  3. Scope
    1. Scope – The extent of the topic that the standard deals with including but not limited to platforms, tools, IT infrastructure, processes, procedures and methods.
    2. Assumptions – Something foundational to the topic that is accepted as true without proof.
    3. Constraints and Limitations – Something inhibiting the scope or application of the standard. 
    4. Dependencies – Something that is required in order to comply to the standard.
    5. Risks – Institutional exposure to danger related to the failure to comply with the standard.
  4. Governance & Compliance
    1. Governance – ITS organizations and processes that govern the topic and standard.
    2. Compliance – The requirement to comply with the standard, where to report non-compliance, and where to request exceptions. Proposed language: IT solution architectures are expected to comply with this standard unless there is a compelling reason, consistent with IT Architecture Principles, to do otherwise. Teams may request an exception to the standard through the Enterprise Architecture Team.
  5. Guiding Principles
    1. Enterprise Architecture Principles – The underlying general rules and guidelines for the use and deployment of all IT resources and assets across the organization.
    2. Topic Architecture Principles –  The underlying general rules and guidelines for the use and deployment of topic related IT resources and assets.
  6. Platforms and Tools – The standard technologies used to support the topic.
  7. Processes, Procedures & Methods – The standard processes, procedures and methods used to support the topic.
  8. Decision Tree – A guide to architects to determine the best standardized approach to use for their solution.
  9. Engagement & Support – Access points to resources, systems and training available to support constituents in complying to the standard.