Overview of EA

Enterprise Architecture (EA) provides a strategic planning framework that relates and aligns information technology (IT) with the business functions that it supports.

The Commonwealth of Virginia's Enterprise Architecture is a collaborative endeavor across Virginia government that has been undertaken to assure that the citizens of the Commonwealth will receive the greatest possible value from investments in information technology. EA does not start with technology. It starts with a strategic framework based in the business of our government and the vision and goals of our leadership. The effective use of information technology must be an integral part of how we conduct our business in state government.

EA is made up of business and technical components and is a cyclical planning process that begins with the highest priority components to ensure that these components remain up-to-date while other components are developed. Because of this continuous renewal, the architecture is always evolving and is never complete.

Overview of the EA website

The EA Website is intended to provide three levels of information regarding the Commonwealth's Enterprise Architecture (EA).

The first level of information (this page, the "EA Overview") is a brief, non-technical introduction to EA.

The second level of information on the website, "EA Definitions and Models" provides:

• Definitions of EA and its component architectures:
• Brief discussions and diagrams of the models that are being used in EA

The third level of information on the Website is the "EA Library", which provides detailed information relative to EA, including EA Policies, Standards and Guidelines (PSGs); source documents; reports; in-depth discussions, etc.