Enterprise architecture supports business decision making processes, drives technology solutions to support business requirements, and provides an enterprise capability that is flexible with both internal and external change. Enterprise architecture artefacts may include a range of documents and frameworks, including - but not limited to - principles, reference models, frameworks, roadmaps, landscape definition and more. Artefacts such as these are unique to an organisation’s business objectives and are developed and delivered in collaboration with key stakeholders.

Application architecture drives the software development process. It describes the function, design and implementation of software to meet business objectives. Application architecture includes the generation of key artefacts including requirements, design documents, component architectures, deployment documents, interface specifications, test plans and more. Application architecture changes with technology and it should ensure applications include supportability considerations. Modern application architectures are developed with flexibility in mind to adapt to technology and business change.

Application development is the creation of software, platform capability and supporting services and processes to deliver a product to its users. Application development requires skills that relate to one or more disciplines as part of the software development lifecycle. Examples include coding, user experience, deployment, testing and more. Application development also includes an understand of different development methodologies and processes relating to code management, requirements assessment, platform and infrastructure deployment and more.

Product development encapsulates a wide range of skills relating to software development such as architecture, software development, testing and more. It also encapsulates additional skills and experience related to completing a product that is ready to ship, managing product features, product functionality and post-release support. Product development takes the software development process to the extreme to ensure a product is robust enough to function in uncontrolled environments.

Cloud FinOps is a topic of high interest with the accelerating use of cloud. FinOps is the creating, or refining of, cultural practices, to mature the understanding and management of cloud costs. FinOps facilitates collaboration between stakeholders and collective ownership of cost management to drive processes and principles to support achieving broader organisational accountability of cloud cost management.

Data underpins applications, decision-making systems, business planning tools and almost any system or process in use today. Data principles continue to evolve as new technologies are released to support innovative ways to use and represent data. Skills to build complex data systems are matured with time and experience but are key to building scalable and flexible data solutions to drive analytics for supporting applications, business capability and decision-making systems.