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Guide Origin: Official | ArcKit Version: [VERSION]

DDaT Role Family: Architecture Framework: UK Government DDaT Capability Framework

Overview

The Enterprise Architect owns the architecture governance framework and is the primary ArcKit user. All ArcKit commands are relevant to this role — you set up principles, define the governance lifecycle, and ensure all architecture artifacts meet organisational standards.

Primary Commands

Commands you typically own and drive:

Command Purpose Guide
/arckit:init Set up project structure with numbered directories and global artifacts Guide
/arckit:principles Define enterprise architecture principles that govern all projects Guide
/arckit:strategy Synthesise strategic artifacts into executive-level Architecture Strategy Guide
/arckit:roadmap Create multi-year strategic roadmap with capability evolution Guide
/arckit:wardley Map strategic landscape with Wardley Maps for build vs buy decisions Guide
/arckit:analyze Run governance quality analysis across all architecture artifacts Guide
/arckit:principles-compliance Score compliance against architecture principles Guide
/arckit:conformance Assess ADR implementation, architecture drift, and technical debt Guide
/arckit:health Scan for stale research, orphaned requirements, and version drift Guide
/arckit:story Generate comprehensive project narrative for governance reporting Guide
/arckit:presentation Create MARP slide deck for Architecture Review Boards Guide
/arckit:pages Publish architecture documentation as a GitHub Pages site Guide

Secondary Commands

Commands you delegate to specialists but review or consume outputs from:

Command Your Involvement Guide
/arckit:plan Review project plans for alignment with architecture governance Guide
/arckit:stakeholders Review stakeholder analysis, ensure all architecture forums captured Guide
/arckit:risk Review architecture risks, ensure mitigations align with principles Guide
/arckit:sobc Review business case for strategic alignment Guide
/arckit:requirements Review requirements for completeness, traceability Guide
/arckit:research Review technology research and build vs buy recommendations Guide
/arckit:adr Chair ADR reviews, ensure decisions align with principles Guide
/arckit:hld-review Lead HLD review against principles and requirements Guide
/arckit:dld-review Lead DLD review for implementation readiness Guide
/arckit:service-assessment Support GDS Service Standard assessment preparation Guide
/arckit:tcop Review TCoP compliance Guide
/arckit:customize Tailor templates to organisational standards Guide

Typical Workflow

principles → plan → stakeholders → risk → sobc → requirements →
research → wardley → adr → diagram → hld-review → dld-review →
backlog → traceability → principles-compliance → conformance →
analyze → story → presentation → pages

Step-by-step

  1. Establish governance: Run /arckit:principles to define the architecture principles that all projects must follow
  2. Initiate project: Run /arckit:init then /arckit:plan for project structure and timeline
  3. Delegate foundation: Assign stakeholders, risk, sobc, requirements to Business Architect / Business Analyst
  4. Guide research: Review outputs from /arckit:research, /arckit:wardley, cloud research commands
  5. Review decisions: Lead ADR sessions, review HLD and DLD via /arckit:hld-review and /arckit:dld-review
  6. Assess compliance: Run /arckit:principles-compliance, /arckit:conformance, /arckit:analyze
  7. Report: Generate /arckit:story and /arckit:presentation for governance boards
  8. Publish: Run /arckit:pages to publish the full documentation set

Key Artifacts You Own

  • ARC-000-PRIN-v*.md — Enterprise architecture principles (global)
  • ARC-{PID}-ANAL-v*.md — Governance quality analysis
  • ARC-{PID}-PRIN-COMP-v*.md — Principles compliance scorecard
  • ARC-{PID}-CONF-v*.md — Architecture conformance assessment
  • ARC-{PID}-STORY-v*.md — Project story
  • ARC-{PID}-STRAT-v*.md — Architecture strategy