Architecture: work in progress
Enterprise architecture principles
- Last reviewed
- 14 October 2026
- Owner
- Head of Architecture
General rules and guidelines that inform and support decisions about how DfE should deliver services, to align with its vision and objectives.
The principles are designed to last and should not often change. They reflect a level of consensus across the organisation (our ‘enterprise’) and embody the spirit and thinking of the enterprise architecture.
Discovery, user research and requirements gathering provide user needs (and wants), which inform what a service does. Principles provide guidance on how services should be architected to meet those needs.
These principles should be applied alongside the GOV.UK Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice.