The extent of architecture required on a project can vary. The development of a complete enterprise architecture can be used to describe the overall organisation or enterprise, its business priorities and services, the information used to provide those services across a number of locations, and the technology platform needed to support those business services.
The enterprise architecture is based on the definition of architectural principles and standards, that all systems throughout the enterprise should comply with. The enterprise architecture thus defines the governance processes for technology development and usage across the organisation, with processes for development and enhancement of the architecture, scrutiny and approval of any exceptions to the architecture, and guidance for technology investment decisions.
In many cases, a more targeted solution architecture may be required to set the framework, constraints and rules for a particular project. The solution architecture should address compliance with technology standards within the relevant organisation or industry, how it meets the project outcomes, and set a framework to measure the effectiveness of system in meeting business outcomes.