Togaf Analysis

21 principles of enterprise architecture for the financial

sector

Thiago Souza Mendes Guimarães (tmendesg@br.ibm.com

)

IT Architect

IBM China

20 November 2012

The article lists the most relevant architectural principles for an IT department to follow in the

financial market, with details about each principle. These principles are essential for an IT

department to take on a strategic role in the company and to indicate actual value generation in

IT decisions within an environment where pressure and business decisions are critical.

Structure of these principles

This article was developed with the purpose of proposing certain principles that must drive an

enterprise architecture initiative. The main motivation that led to the development of this list is

the difficulty of implementing enterprise architecture in an environment as hostile as the financial

market. There is great pressure on the technology segment, which is usually not perceived as

strategic. An even greater challenge is showing that IT decisions can add value and differentials to

businesses.

This list was organized and developed based on the selection and adjustment of the most relevant

principles established throughout my experience in the financial market. Despite being selected

within the financial segment context, most of these principles apply to any type of industry after

only a few minor adjustments.

Definitions

Principles are high-level definitions of fundamental values that guide the IT decision-making

process, serving as a base for the IT architecture, development policies, and standards.

The principles of architecture define general rules and guidelines to use and implement all

information technology (IT) resources and assets throughout a company. They must reflect a level

of consensus between several corporate components and areas, constituting the basis for future

IT decisions.

Each architecture principle must focus mainly on business goals and key...