Architecture approval

In architecture assessment, the suitability of a system or application for the Aalto University's existing environment and target architecture is ensured. The following benefits result from this assessment for projects, among others:

1. Ensures compliance that Aalto is committed to following (e.g. IT policies, procurement, accessibility, ethical guidelines)

2. The project receives support in utilizing existing architecture

3. Identification of potential project-related risks

4. Linking the project to the university-wide context

Once the project has an understanding of its scope and objectives, it is good to include architecture in the discussion and review the project plan. Together, a suitable timeline for the official assessment is established, and the availability of documents and resources for the project is ensured. At the same time, support material is reviewed, which will be beneficial for the project in evaluating its own outputs and requirements that need to be taken into account. In this context, the architect brings the project to the attention of the rest of the architecture team so that the team is aware of upcoming projects.

The architecture prepares an assessment document for the project. If significant changes are made to the assessed entity, the assessment must be possibly carried out again.

The amount of work involved in the assessment largely depends on the size and complexity of the project, but is estimated at 1-5 FTEs. In general, the number of days decreases the earlier the architect is involved in project planning and is able to become acquainted with the assessment of the target implementation over a longer period of time.

1.  All projects in the project portfolio (official assessment G2 and G3)

2. Applications that are in university/school-wide use (not just department-specific)

3. Applications where the scope of use is likely to grow from its original narrower scope

4.Applications that utilize sensitive data or data warehouse

5.Applications where user IDs and passwords are stored.

1. Department-specific applications that are not intended for wider implementation
   

2. Projects where the data does not have an impact on the university's overall data set

In these cases, all legal obligations and restrictions, as well as other Aalto University guidelines related to procurement, information security, and data protection, must be taken into account. If you're unsure, please contact architecture team.

The assessment is carried out in the portfolio management process at the G2 and G3 stages. Ideally, architecture should be consulted for the project's development already during the G1 stage. Some of the key prerequisites for a successful assessment are: 

• The project has defined its goals and outputs 
• The project has conceptualized software and hardware requirements 
• There is a written version of the plans so that feedback can be made concrete 
• The budget is at least at an assessable level 
• The assessment should also be conducted before signing any contracts