Solution Architecture
Blueprint and Review Preparation
Template
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<<Project Name>>
<<Date>><<SDLC Phase>>
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Directions
The following template is provided for use during a Solution Architecture (SA)
Review. The blue text provides guidance to the author and it should be deleted before
publishing the document. When saving this file, save this as
[date_projectname_SA_Review.ppt]. Delete this page prior to publishing the
document
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Project Overview
Business Process Impact
Candidate Solution Architecture
Key Assumptions
Key Decision Points
Table of Contents
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Project Overview
Provide a overview of the project to provide context for the reviewers.
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 •If your project completed a project report for Portfolio Planning, you may chose to provide a
copy of that document, and proceed with this template addressing only the architecture items
requested.
•Additionally throughout the preparation of this material, you may provide details for your solution
by referencing other supplemental documents from your project work
Business Background:
o Describe the business need for this solution
o Including the goals and objectives of the project
Time Line:
o Provide high level milestones of the project
o Including the current SDLC stage this project is in (if applicable), and target date for
next stage gate completion
Scope & Approach:
o Provide high level description of the scope of this initiative and how it’s being
approached
o Including overview of project team involved and expected costs
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Required - Business Process Model/Blueprint, if applicable
o Describe the Business Processes involved.
 If available, include any business process models or business solution blueprints (e.g. end to end
process view, value chain diagrams, etc.), that are pertinent to the project team, to help describe the
processes involved
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The following page(s) outlines the possible Architecture Approaches for developing the solution,
starting with the recommended architecture followed by alternatives that were considered
• Recommended Solution:
o Architecture Approach and Rationale
 Describe the proposed architecture (Architecture Approach and Rationale). Highlight key architecture
decisions such as technologies used, changes to the data model, etc.
 If applicable, include any architecture blueprints that have been developed to help describe the solution.
These may include:
 Application architecture, e.g. an application component blueprint
 Information architecture, e.g. a high level data flow model
 Technology Architecture, e.g. a infrastructure landscape diagram
 Security Architecture, e.g. a security model
 Briefly describe why this solution was selected.
 Describe external providers and third-party relationships
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Architecture Tradeoffs
 Describe any architecture trade-offs aligned with the architecture approach (e.g. performance,
scalability, maintainability, etc.)
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The following page(s) outlines the possible Architecture Approaches for developing the solution,
starting with the recommended architecture followed by alternatives that were considered
• Risk/Issues and Mitigations:
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Describe any risks identified or outstanding issues.
What is the impact of these and what gaps have been identified?
What are the plans to address these?
What are the implications beyond the scope of the project?
What is the Solution’s lifecycle?
What dependencies exist to other EA Assets which may conflict with the life-cycle?
What dependencies exist with external providers or third parties (contracts, etc)
Solution Alternatives (optional):
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Describe the alternatives (if any) that were investigated to meet the business requirements
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Optional - Define specific concerns that you want the Solution Architecture Review to
address
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Key Assumptions
Provide a list of key assumptions that were used to base choices around solution
alternatives and trade-offs
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What are the key decision points for the review team to consider and to provide its expert
guidance?
For each major architectural decision made for this solution so far, please describe:
o Issue: what is the issue under review
o Assumptions: List assumptions taken to reach decision
o Motivation: List reasons why issue is being raised
o Alternatives: List other possible solutions that were considered but not chosen
o Decision: State the Review Team’s decision
o Rationale: List reasons behind decision
You may use the solution decision log template to capture these
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Be prepared to provide an overview of the recommended solution’s business architecture.
During the review, the Mission Domain perspective will be concerned with the following:
o What Mission Needs are affected?
o Who are the key stakeholders of the business processes affected?
o Are there integration points across core processes?
o What is the business problem that is to be solved and the associated goals?
o What criteria and metrics are to be used to measure the success of this initiative?
o Does this project involve changes to the business process?
 if so, please include as-is and to-be business models
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If applicable, be prepared to provide an overview of the recommended solution’s
application architecture.
During the review, the Application Domain perspective will be concerned with the
following:
o Describe the impacted application capabilities at a high level
o Was a Reference application architecture used, if applicable
o Was a current/in place application reused or is the application part of U-M’s application
footprint?
o What is the data flow (application communication view) between applications (including
legacy and third parties), application components, and external providers?
o Provide a mapping between application components being currently proposed and the
accompanying business processes
o Does the application have a current application portfolio risk assessment / category and
/or road map?
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Be prepared to provide an overview of the recommended solution’s information
architecture. During the review, the Information Domain perspective will be
concerned with the following:
o What are the key data entities involved in the solution?
 What applications are the system of record for each?
 Are these data entities Master Data objects?
 if so, is the MDM architecture being followed?
What is the data migration plan and conversion process if applicable?
Please provide any data models or data flow diagrams if they where created as part of
this solution.
o If applicable to this solution, describe data relationships with other applications, external
providers or third-parties.
o If this solution has a business intelligence or reporting components, is the BI
Architecture being followed?
o Are data definitions and standards being followed for master and reference data?
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Be prepared to provide an overview of the recommended solution’s Technology
architecture. During the review, the Technology Domain perspective will be
concerned with the following:
o Describe this solutions technical architecture (e.g. component diagram or technical
specification)
o How does this solution fit with U-M’s technology reference architecture?
o Does this solution complement long term technology roadmaps? Does it vary from
those roadmaps?
o What parts of the solution use shared resources? What parts are independent?
o What industry standards are being adopted? Where is an industry standard not being
adopted?
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Be prepared to provide an overview of the recommended solution’s security architecture.
During the review, the Information Assurance perspective will be concerned with the
following:
o Describe mechanisms used for Authentication, Authorization, Logging/Monitoring, Availability
(e.g. clustering), and Asset Protection (e.g. encryption).
o Describe information assets, their sensitivity / classification, key regulatory attributes (e.g.
privacy, financial reporting), and asset ownership, data retention, etc
o Describe the physical, business, and regulatory environments into which the solution is
expected to be deployed
o Describe the distribution of solution components with a focus on data stores, communication
pathways, and system identities (process IDs) used.
o Describe overall solution ownership, training plans, and support organization.
o Describe the significant risks in delivery and on-going operations of the solution.