Enterprise Design Standards Custodian (and Auditor)

As enterprise architecture groups grow in response to the changes incurred by an SOA transition, design standards can be authored by multiple experts, each contributing conventions associated with a particular aspect of service design (security, performance, transactions, etc.).

To ensure that design standards are kept in alignment and used wherever appropriate, it may very well be necessary to establish an official custodian for enterprise design specifications. This individual would be responsible for the evolution of the design standards, but also for their enforcement. Therefore, this role often involves performing audits of proposed service or service-oriented solution designs.

The authority required to carry out auditing responsibilities can sometimes raise concerns within IT environments not accustomed to such formal use of design standards. Therefore, this role can be more successfully established within the boundaries of a specific enterprise domain, where a given set of standards applies only to a specific domain service inventory, not the enterprise as a whole.

The authority needed to audit and enforce the use of standards is a requirement for this role to be carried out successfully. This essential requirement relates back to the Discipline sub-section of The Four Pillars of Service-Orientation section.

Figure 1 – Although design standards can impact any part of a service’s lifecycle, this role is primarily concerned with its initial delivery.