Establish OTDI Architecture Board and Reference Architecture
This project will establish a collaborative/cross-functional/cross domain group of architects, IT leaders, and solution engineers within OTDI. The focus of this group will be on continuous improvement, improving quality, establishing baseline & maintaining target and reference architectures, publishing documentation standards, guardrails, workflow processes and the delivery of outcomes for shared business concerns and alignment.
Key Contacts: Glenn Donaldson, CK Bhatia
What strategic pillars does it support?
- Teaching
- Research
- Outreach
- Operational Excellence & Innovation
- Culture of Belonging
Why is it important?
The Architecture Board plays a crucial role in optimizing technology investments, ensuring alignment with business or academic goals, and driving efficient and effective IT strategies throughout the organization or university. It promotes a holistic view of technology and its impact on the institution's operations and success.
Some specific benefits:
- Collaboration across areas.
- Addressing holistic end to end processes & perspectives of all areas.
- Alignment with business goals.
- Technology evaluation and adoption.
- Cost efficiencies and alternatives.
- Consistency and standardization.
- Documented decisions and solutions.
Who will benefit?
OTDI, Technology Partners, and stakeholders across the university will benefit by the alignment to strategy, investments, and direction especially in the technology/solution spaces which are helping achieve the desired business outcomes and goals. In turn the more efficient, effective, and aligned the solution providers become, the greater the impact for/on the faculty, staff, students, researchers, and other constituents of the university.
What is the timeline?
- When will work start? The Architecture Board will begin meeting in August 2023.
- When will work finish? This effort is ongoing. Focuses and steps may change, but the need for the outcomes and this type of collaborative group will endure.
Who are our partners and sponsors?
This effort is a cross-organization/team effort. Representatives from each area of OTDI will be represented on the Architecture Board and have a voice regarding the standards, guardrails, and reference architectures produced. The Architecture Board is under the CIO and the Senior Leaders purview and will also work with the other areas/subgroups of the overall IT Governance.
How will success be measured?
- # of artifacts produced for best practices, solution architecture, #projects referred to the board,
- Increase in reuse of existing resources - APIs, databases, integrations, instead of building new
- $ savings stemming from reuse, licensing
- Building out a consolidated data hub for key Master & Reference data domains such as Student, Faculty, Course
