The NASCIO Enterprise Architecture Toolkit Version 3.0 (2004) provides a foundational description of purpose and major components that comprise an effective state government enterprise architecture program. Enterprise architecture is an ongoing, iterative effort that is dynamic and adaptive. Similar to other business disciplines such as finance, marketing, human resources, accounting, enterprise architecture is a continual activity lasting throughout the life of an enterprise.
The toolkit presents basic components of enterprise architecture necessary for delivering the mission of state government. The toolkit is foundational and is built upon and supplemented through additional NASCIO resources addressing allied disciplines such as enterprise portfolio management, governance, data management and business relationship management. These additional resources include publications, webcasts, conference sessions and forum discussions.
The toolkit describes enterprise architecture and the essential architectural domains and does not prescribe any particular framework, methodology, or tools.
With the new emphasis on business architecture, NASCIO is rereleasing the toolkit. View and download the complete work or individual sections.
Enterprise Architecture Development Toolkit Version 3.0 (2004) (830 page PDF)
Toolkit Sections
1 | Introduction & Architecture Governance
This section describes what enterprise architecture is and why it is essential to delivering on the mission of state government. Governance is defined including the components, roles and responsibilities that comprise effective governance. Examples of governance structures from across the states are provided as examples.
2 | Business Architecture
This section defines business architecture and describe its purpose, components and roles and responsibilities. Business architecture guides all of the other architectural domains and remains a dynamic ever-evolving blueprint of state government.
State governments are complex organizations that are difficult to describe. Complex processes and relationships operate in a culture driven by budget. Foundational is the explicit strategic intent of state government and then the deployment of effective processes, roles and technologies to deliver that intent. Strategic intent will change and evolve over time therefore business architecture is an ongoing continually evolving discipline.
3 | Information Architecture
This section of the toolkit describes the discipline for managing state government information. Information is the lifeblood of state government. State government information is analyzed for insights and understanding that informs decisions makers throughout the state government enterprise. As one state government’s most valuable assets, information must be managed proactively to ensure that it is protected and its quality is maintained. Information Architecture provides a demonstrable, repeatable approach in assuring the alignment of information management with the mission of state government.
4 | Solution Architecture
This section describes the development of business and technology capabilities that enable strategic intent as described in the business architecture. Solution architecture delivers the means for doing things, for enabling and supporting business processes, for delivering government services including the necessary internal processes for supporting those services.
Solutions architecture relies on the guidance and bounding provided by business architecture, information architecture and technology architecture to deliver the means for enabling the delivery of business functionality that is in line with established principles, guidelines and standards.
“Solutions” must be described within a comprehensive business case that explores the costs, benefits and risks. The portfolio of solutions being evaluated will necessarily apply a robust set of criteria to determine investment decisions.
5 | Technology Architecture
Technology Architecture is a disciplined approach for documenting the enterprise’s current, emerging and retiring technologies in order to leverage the investment in those resources and maximize their potential as solutions for enabling the business of government. It includes explicit standards that were developed for guiding investment decisions and typically provide necessary guidance for ongoing innovation while avoiding unnecessary proliferation of technologies. This is accomplished through effective enterprise portfolio management. Technology Architecture examines the underlying technologies that are required to run the enterprise and develops a unified vision of the target model of the enterprise’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
6 | Appendices
The appendices presents a glossary of terms, examples of domain descriptions, and a chart of roles and responsibilities.
7 | Facilitation Guides
Facilitation Guides
The facilitation guides section presents approaches from a number of states for addressing the people side of enterprise architecture, how to engage people to participate productively in the ongoing delivery of enterprise architecture.
Recommendations and patterns of success are presented for a number of topics including:
- establishing teams and team membership
- gaining participation from team members
- keeping the team spirit alive
- maintaining productive working relationships
- researching new technologies
8 | Examples of Domains
This section present some successful pattens for documenting domains that comprise state government enterprise architecture.
9 | Templates
Templates are available as examples. Word versions of these are available in the NASCIO Community State Members Forum (member login required).
