Technical Architecture Methodology
Technical architecture is the process for developing a blueprint for making choices about hardware, software and communications procurements for an organization. From it flow standards, specific purchase recommendations, and other investment decisions regarding technology and its use in an organization.
Four factors, when considered together, form the basis of research necessary to develop a technical architecture:
- Business Requirements: First and foremost a technical architecture must support the business requirements of the process(es) it is meant to support. When evaluating an existing product, conduct a "gap analysis" between the current and desired functionality.
- Information Technology Principles: It is helpful to articulate a set of basic, but shared, beliefs about information technology and its role in the organization. These beliefs must be negotiated among all relevant stakeholders – but stable enough once ratified to form the basis for moving ahead and selecting an architecture.
- Understanding of current (de facto) architecture: This step involves careful documentation of current systems and infrastructure in order to understand the constraints and limits that may exist on new product deployment.
- Relevant Industry/Technology trends: Recommendations need to be made in the context of relevent trends and reasonable predictions about the state of the technology marketplace, and specific knowledge about the developments in technology as applied to your industry.