GC Enterprise Architecture/Framework

GC Enterprise Architecture	GC Enterprise Architecture Review Board, GC EARB
GC Service & Digital Target Enterprise Architecture	When to come
Enterprise Architecture Framework	Forward Agenda
Business Capability Model (BCM)	Past Sessions
Exemplar and Reference Architectures	10 Things You Need to Know
Enterprise Solutions	Governance for Digital Solutions
Working Groups	EA and GC EARB Overview – Presentation
Other References

This is a DRAFT STREAMLINED COPY of the proposed updates to the GC Enterprise Architecture Framework(formerly GC EA Standards) for assessment

In the past few weeks, the GC EA team has re-reviewed and streamlined all the inputs received from the various SMEs and departments and came up with the below proposed streamlined copy of the Architecture Assessment framework. The remaining input will be placed into an upcoming GC EA Playbook/Guidelines. This proposed streamlined updates will be going another iteration of reviews with the SMEs.

Changes from the previous version are marked as underlined and new additions are marked as italic and underlined

The draft list of questions associated with the new standards can be found here

The GC Enterprise Architecture standard is part of the Directive on Service and Digital. It is listed as Appendix A - Mandatory Procedures for Enterprise Architecture Assessment in the Directive.

To view more detailed info on each point listed below, you can click on the top title for each of the Architecture layer, OR any of the blue link below.

1. Business Architecture Fulfill the Government of Canada users and other stakeholder's needs Clearly identify internal and external users and other stakeholders and their needs for each policy, program and business service Include policy requirement applying to specific users and other stakeholder groups, such as accessibilities, gender based+ analysis, and official languages in the creation of the service Model end-to-end business service delivery to provide quality, maximize effectiveness and optimize efficiencies across all channels (e.g lean process) Architect to be Outcome Driven and Strategically Aligned to the Department and to the Government of Canada Identify which departmental/GC business services, outcomes and strategies will be addressed Establish metrics for identified business outcomes throughout the lifecycle of an investment Translate business outcomes and strategy into business capability implications in the GC Business Capability Model to establish a common vocabulary between business, development, and operation Promote Horizontal Enablement of the Enterprise Identify opportunities to enable business services horizontally across the GC enterprise and to provide cohesive experience to users and other stakeholders Reuse common business capabilities, processes and enterprise solutions from across government and private sector Publish in the open all reusable common business capabilities, processes and enterprise solutions for others to develop and leverage cohesive horizontal enterprise services

2. Information Architecture Collect data to address the needs of the users and other stakeholders Assess data requirements based on users and other stakeholder needs Collect only the minimum set of data needed to support a policy, program, or service Reuse existing data assets and only acquire new data if required Ensure data collected, including from third party sources, are of high quality Manage data strategically and responsibly Define and establish clear roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities for data management Identify and document the lineage of data assets Define retention and disposition schedules in accordance with business value as well as applicable privacy and security policy and legislation Ensure data are managed to enable interoperability, reuse and sharing to the greatest extent possible within and across departments in government to avoid duplication and maximize utility, while respecting security and privacy requirements Contribute to and align with enterprise and international data taxonomy and classification structures to manage, store, search and retrieve data Use and share data openly in an ethical and secure manner Share data openly by default as per the Directive on Open Government and Digital Standards, while adhering to existing enterprise and international standards, including on data quality and ethics Ensure data formatting aligns to existing enterprise and international standards on interoperability. Where none exist, develop data standards in the open with key subject matter experts, in consultation with the Enterprise Data Community of Practice Ensure that combined data does not risk identification or re-identification of sensitive or personal information

3. Application Architecture Use Open Source Solutions hosted in Public Cloud Select existing solutions that can be reused over custom built Contribute all improvements back to the communities Register Open Source software to the Open Resource Exchange Use Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted in Public Cloud Choose SaaS that best fit for purpose based on alignment with SaaS capabilities Choose a SaaS solution that is extendable Configure SaaS and if customization is necessary extend as Open Source modules Design for Interoperability Design systems as highly modular and loosely coupled services Expose services, including existing ones, through APIs Make the APIs discoverable to the appropriate stakeholders

4. Technology Architecture Use Cloud first Adopt the Use of the GC Accelerators to ensure proper Security and Access Controls Enforce this order of preference: Software as a Service (SaaS) first, then Platform as a Service (PaaS), and lastly Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Fulfill Cloud Services through SSC Cloud Brokering Services Enforce this order of preference: Public cloud first, then Hybrid cloud, then Private cloud, and lastly non-cloud (on-premises) solutions Design for cloud mobility and develop an exit strategy to avoid vendor lock-in Design for Performance, Availability, and Scalability Ensure response times meet user needs, and critical services are highly available Support zero-downtime deployments for planned and unplanned maintenance Use distributed architectures, assume failure will happen, handle errors gracefully, and monitor performance and behaviour actively Establish architectures that supports new technology insertion with minimal disruption to existing programs and services Control Technical Diversity - design systems based on modern technologies and platforms already in use. Follow DevSecOps Principles Use continuous integration and continuous deployments (CI/CD) Ensure automated testing occurs for security and functionality Include your users and other stakeholders as part of DevSecOps process

5. Security Architecture and Privacy Build Security into the System Life Cycle, Across All Architectural Layers Identify and classify risks associated to the service’s business objectives, goals, and strategy Design security measures according to business and user needs, risks identified, and security categorization of the information and assets; integrate security across all architectural layers (BIAT) Use the DevSecOps approach to address security requirements throughout all the stages of the system development life cycle, including using threat modeling to harden systems against cyber threats and vulnerabilities Design security mechanisms to support service continuity. This includes designing processes to restore the service, system/data back-ups and contingency plan Design measures to adequately protect data at rest and data in transit, and ensure that data received from external parties is profiled and validated prior to its use Ensure Secure Access to Systems and Services Identify and authenticate individuals, processes and/or devices (including Cloud accounts) to an appropriate level of assurance, based on clearly defined roles, before granting access to information and services. Leverage enterprise services such as Government of Canada trusted digital identity solutions that are supported by the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework; where custom authentication services are needed, use modern password guidance from GC Cyber For hybrid Cloud architectures, follow applicable GC cybersecurity and SSC guidance to secure the Cloud-to-ground connectivity. Ensure designs include measures to audit and monitor access to systems and services Maintain Secure Operations Integrate aggregate outputs from security assessment and authorization activities into security architecture lifecycle processes, to ensure reference artefacts remain relevant and valid Design processes to operate and manage services securely, and continuously monitor system events and performance in order to detect, prevent, and respond to attacks Establish processes to monitor security advisories, and apply security-related patches and updates to reduce exposure to vulnerabilities. Apply appropriate risk-based mitigations when patches cannot be applied Privacy by Design Perform Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to support risk mitigation activities when personal information is involved Perform Algorithmic Impact Assessment (AIA) to support risk mitigation activities when deploying an automated decision system as per Directive on Automated Decision Making. For more info, please go to this link Implement security measures to assure the protection of personal information and data Take into consideration the 7 Foundational Privacy Design Principles (English only) when designing services

Need help? Contact us. ZZCIOBDP@tbs-sct.gc.ca GC EA CoP Collab GC EA Connex