DfE target architecture

How services can use the target architecture

Part of
Architecture: work in progress collection
Last reviewed
14 October 2026
Owner
Head of Architecture

Service interaction diagram showing an example user journey through the architecture. A user interacts with a service through the front-end engine. The front-end engine invokes one or more business engines to apply policy rules or workflows. Business engines retrieve or update operational data using data engines.

Most services built by DfE will combine capabilities from multiple engines. A typical service interaction might follow this pattern:

  1. A user interacts with a service through a front-end engine.
  2. The service invokes one or more business engines to apply policy rules or workflows.
  3. Business engines retrieve or update information through data engines.
  4. Enabling platforms provide supporting capabilities such as authentication, messaging and analytics.

This approach allows services to focus on delivering user outcomes while relying on shared capabilities, where appropriate.