Campus IT Architecture Practice
Purpose
The IT Architecture Practice (ITAP) helps the campus make sound technology decisions. Their focus is ensuring campus IT systems effectively support campus objectives and priorities while maximizing integration, efficiency, reliability, security, and sustainability, and still encouraging innovation.
The ITAP is part of campus IT governance. It provides recommendations, establishes standards, and facilitates future planning across teams.
Value
The ITAP provides expertise and technical leadership for IT initiatives to improve the overall campus IT environment and user experience by reducing risk, duplication, and long‑term inefficiencies. The ITAP also defines technical standards, identifies risks and opportunities, and supports informed decisions about where to invest time and resources.
The ITAP reviews key architectural decisions and technical designs with consideration of existing standards and future-state plans (acts as an Architecture Review Board).
The ITAP provides resources to help teams make technology decisions that support campus objectives and fit within the broader campus environment. It balances innovation with long-term support and integration by encouraging teams to consider:
- Overall value or ROI over the lifetime of the technology
- Existing campus standards and common approaches
- Industry best practices
- Expected technology trends
- Hands‑on experience with specific tools and platforms
How the ITAP Works
The ITAP participates in making and reviewing key technology decisions. This can include advising teams during design, helping shape architectures, and sharing architectural knowledge across campus. When setting standards and making recommendations, the ITAP considers:
- Strategic priorities (campus, school/college/department, and/or IT)
- Current and planned/possible future campus systems
- Data integration needs and options
- Data storage, management, and backup
- How systems are accessed by users and administrators
- Authentication, authorization, and role management
- Monitoring, availability, and failover needs
- Viable alternative approaches, when appropriate
- Long‑term maintenance and sustainability
Membership
ITAP membership is open to campus IT practitioners who either have a role in making strategic technology decisions or are recognized as an expert in a relevant technical domain. ITAP members are expected to attend meetings, prepare in advance, and complete assigned work. Participation should be reflected in position descriptions and performance planning when possible. Some ITAP members have IT architecture responsibilities as part of their roles. Additional subject‑matter experts may be asked to contribute on an ad-hoc basis.
Get Started
If you have additional questions about the ITAP review board, contact oithelp@colorado.edu. If you would like ITAP to help you with your project, initiative or service, please send an email to itap@colorado.edu.