I/T Architecture Group

Memorandum to: Department Heads, Laboratory and Center Directors, and Administrative Officers
From: Robert A. Brown, Provost
John R. Curry, Executive Vice President
Date: May 15 , 2000

Subject: MIT Information Technology Architecture Group

We write to announce that we have chartered the MIT Information Technology (I/T) Architecture Group to address I/T architecture and design issues for the Institute. The decision to charter this group now is motivated by work of the MIT Council on Educational Technology, whose co-chair Professor Harold Ableson has been instrumental in the Group’s formation, and many on-going projects in administrative computing.

By formally recognizing an I/T Architecture Group at this time, the Institute strives to ensure a single coherent I/T architecture. In the past, I/T architecture efforts at MIT have been associated with informal cross-organizational groups, central organizational units, large Institute projects such as Project Athena, or some combination of these efforts. This newly chartered group will be instrumental in forming the I/T foundation for many important projects in both the academic and administrative areas of MIT. The group’s membership links to the MIT Council on Educational Technology and to many of the administrative areas of MIT will enhance coordination across Institute I/T groups. The group’s charter and list of members follow.

Charter

The MIT Information Technology (I/T) Architecture Group is charged with defining, maintaining, improving, and communicating to the community about MIT’s I/T architecture, including data and objects. This Institute reference architecture should provide a framework for a coherent, effective, secure, robust, scalable, and adaptable infrastructure which enables applications that address MIT’s educational and business needs.

The I/T Architecture Group will set directions and make recommendations for the Institute’s I/T infrastructure including hardware, operating systems, networks, databases, and infrastructure services, as well as components, data, and the development tools. The group will also coordinate the timely and smooth migration of the MIT I/T infrastructure.

Working with the community, the I/T Architecture Group will set strategy, policy, standards, principles, and guidelines related to information technology architecture, infrastructure, and design of applications. It will provide a forum for the discussion of I/T architecture, standards, design issues, and directions. The group will also promote an understanding of the current architecture and the use of the infrastructure within the I/T community.

The I/T Architecture Group will maintain oversight of information technology infrastructure and application design for new and changing I/T systems and services. By some combination of review, consulting, and technical assistance, the group will ensure that the infrastructure and applications adhere to the Institute’s I/T architecture. In the same way, the group will ensure that applications are designed to work with the I/T infrastructure and integrate into the I/T environment while maintaining their value to the Institute. The group will review any I/T system or service that meets any of the following five criteria. The system or service:

• is critical to MIT’s educational or business mission.
• will be used by MIT community members outside the originating MIT department, lab, center, or organization that is developing it.
• adds to or modifies the I/T infrastructure.
• requires significant use of MIT’s I/T infrastructure.
• entails substantial costs or special Institute funds to implement, operate, or support.

Members