Overview

Placement in NORA: Section I (5.1.2) — Principles of Enterprise Architecture, 32 principles spread across the six domains.
Each of the six domains has a list of principles that frame the main considerations when its components are developed.
The list is not exhaustive. Entities can extend it in coordination with the relevant subject-matter specialists.
Applying the principles brings standardisation, consistency, and alignment to components inside the same domain, and helps with compliance to the regulations tied to it.
Every principle is recorded with a code, a name, a description, the rationale for applying it, and the implications of doing so.

Principles Catalog by Domain

Business Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
BA 01	Strategic Alignment	Apply the entity’s strategic requirements and directions to business architecture components, and connect them to the other EA domains.
BA 02	Innovation and Creativity	Bring innovation and creativity into the way components are developed, and point investment decisions toward modern and emerging technologies during gap analysis and roadmap building.
BA 03	Co-creation & Interoperability	Work jointly across internal units and with external stakeholders when business architecture components are developed.
BA 04	Unified Approach to Document and Execute Services and Processes	Follow one set of reference standards when documenting the entity’s capabilities, services, and processes, and execute them in a single consistent way against the approved templates.
BA 05	Business Continuity	Keep critical capabilities, services, and processes running at the target level under any conditions.
BA 06	Compliance with Regulations & Mandate	Comply with internal and national laws, regulations, and policies when business architecture is developed, and pick solutions that support the entity in carrying out its mandate.

Beneficiary Experience Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
XA 01	Beneficiary Centricity	Apply the directions set in the Beneficiary Centricity Policy issued by the Digital Government Authority across its three pillars: empowerment, execution, and continuous improvement.
XA 02	Beneficiary Segmentation	Study every beneficiary segment of the entity’s services when experience architecture components are developed, and examine each segment’s needs and expectations.
XA 03	Life Experience	Build the experience architecture components around life-experience concepts, and keep searching for integration and inclusion solutions in how services are delivered.

Application Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
AP 01	Fit for Purpose	Pick application functions that fit the business requirements being digitised, align them with the entity’s capabilities, and take existing investments in the digital landscape into account.
AP 02	Development Based on Standards	Build the entity’s applications on internationally recognised standards from trusted bodies covering the different IT areas, and stay within the related regulations.
AP 03	Ease of Use	Design the entity’s applications to be easy to learn, to make day-to-day work simpler, and to be reachable through more than one channel.
AP 04	Secured by Design	Build security considerations into the architectural and engineering designs of every EA component: applications, data, technical components, and security controls.
AP 05	Adaptable & Scalable	Design applications to absorb changes in business requirements, workload, and data growth in a systematic and standardised way.
AP 06	Reusable	Build application modules so they can run independently and be reused in functional contexts beyond the one they were first written for.

Data Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
DA 01	Single Request for Data	Ask the beneficiary for data once. If the data already exists inside the entity, in another government body, or with a service provider, build the technical integration that pulls it from its source.
DA 02	Single Data Source	Lean on one trusted source to define and catalogue every data entity, have the data owner document its attributes, and avoid storing it in more than one operational system.
DA 03	Data Management & Governance Compliance	Stick to the entity’s approved requirements and standards for data management and governance, and reflect them in the data architecture components in both their current and target states.
DA 04	Support Analysis & Decision Making	Use data to back leadership decisions, shape business rules, and follow performance indicators against numbers that are highly trustworthy.
DA 05	360-Degree View	Document data entities in full, showing how they connect to the systems, sources, and other components around them, so the data architecture components and their blueprints come out complete and accurate.

Technology Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
TA 01	Cloud First	Make cloud computing a core part of the technology architecture strategy, using its flexibility, scale, and efficiency to cut down on owning data centres, hardware, and the operational load that comes with them.
TA 02	Compliance with Standards	Stick to national standards issued by bodies such as NCA, NDMO, DGA, CST, and SAMA, and to international standards such as ISO, NIST, Uptime Institute, and PCI-DSS.
TA 03	Business-led Changes	Respond to business needs and requirements, and plan the changes in applications and technology around them.
TA 04	Control Technical Diversity	Keep technical diversity in check to lower the cost of holding the right technical knowledge and integrating different systems, and standardise the technologies and platforms across the entity to simplify operations and management.
TA 05	Resilience and High Availability	Infrastructure that holds up against failures and outages, with redundancy for critical resources and automatic failover that keeps service availability high.
TA 06	Cost Optimization and Efficiency	Design the technology infrastructure for the best use of cost and higher efficiency, balancing performance needs against resource use to reduce both spend and waste.
TA 07	Scalability and Performance	Design technology solutions that can scale with rising demand and perform well under different workloads, while planning for the systems’ future growth.
TA 08	Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility	Account for environmental sustainability, reduce the carbon footprint of infrastructure solutions, and encourage environmentally friendly practices, energy-efficient designs, and responsible resource management.

Security Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
SA 01	Least Privilege	Hold application user permissions at the minimum their roles and tasks actually need.
SA 02	Defense in Depth	Run a security strategy made of multiple layers of controls spread across different levels of the entity’s technology architecture.
SA 03	Zero Trust Architecture	A security model built on “never trust, always verify”, on the assumption that threats can come from inside the entity’s network as well as from outside it.
SA 04	Implement a Strong Identity Foundation	Set up a full Identity and Access Management (IAM) framework so that only authorised users and devices reach the entity’s resources.

Benefits of Applying the Principles

When the principles are applied for real they raise the efficiency of documenting and developing EA components and viewpoints, hold the standardisation, consistency, and alignment together inside each domain, deliver compliance with the regulations tied to each one, get value out of every methodology stage, contribute to spend efficiency in investment decisions, and improve EA governance and decision-making.

Governance Note

The list above is not exhaustive. The entity can add to it with principles that fit its work in coordination with the relevant specialists, as long as every principle is recorded with its code, name, description, rationale, and implications the way the EA framework lays it out.

Six EA Domains

EA Viewpoints

General Component Model

Overview

Placement in NORA: Section I (5.1.2) — Principles of Enterprise Architecture, 32 principles spread across the six domains.
Each of the six domains has a list of principles that frame the main considerations when its components are developed.
The list is not exhaustive. Entities can extend it in coordination with the relevant subject-matter specialists.
Applying the principles brings standardisation, consistency, and alignment to components inside the same domain, and helps with compliance to the regulations tied to it.
Every principle is recorded with a code, a name, a description, the rationale for applying it, and the implications of doing so.

Principles Catalog by Domain

Business Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
BA 01	Strategic Alignment	Apply the entity’s strategic requirements and directions to business architecture components, and connect them to the other EA domains.
BA 02	Innovation and Creativity	Bring innovation and creativity into the way components are developed, and point investment decisions toward modern and emerging technologies during gap analysis and roadmap building.
BA 03	Co-creation & Interoperability	Work jointly across internal units and with external stakeholders when business architecture components are developed.
BA 04	Unified Approach to Document and Execute Services and Processes	Follow one set of reference standards when documenting the entity’s capabilities, services, and processes, and execute them in a single consistent way against the approved templates.
BA 05	Business Continuity	Keep critical capabilities, services, and processes running at the target level under any conditions.
BA 06	Compliance with Regulations & Mandate	Comply with internal and national laws, regulations, and policies when business architecture is developed, and pick solutions that support the entity in carrying out its mandate.

Beneficiary Experience Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
XA 01	Beneficiary Centricity	Apply the directions set in the Beneficiary Centricity Policy issued by the Digital Government Authority across its three pillars: empowerment, execution, and continuous improvement.
XA 02	Beneficiary Segmentation	Study every beneficiary segment of the entity’s services when experience architecture components are developed, and examine each segment’s needs and expectations.
XA 03	Life Experience	Build the experience architecture components around life-experience concepts, and keep searching for integration and inclusion solutions in how services are delivered.

Application Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
AP 01	Fit for Purpose	Pick application functions that fit the business requirements being digitised, align them with the entity’s capabilities, and take existing investments in the digital landscape into account.
AP 02	Development Based on Standards	Build the entity’s applications on internationally recognised standards from trusted bodies covering the different IT areas, and stay within the related regulations.
AP 03	Ease of Use	Design the entity’s applications to be easy to learn, to make day-to-day work simpler, and to be reachable through more than one channel.
AP 04	Secured by Design	Build security considerations into the architectural and engineering designs of every EA component: applications, data, technical components, and security controls.
AP 05	Adaptable & Scalable	Design applications to absorb changes in business requirements, workload, and data growth in a systematic and standardised way.
AP 06	Reusable	Build application modules so they can run independently and be reused in functional contexts beyond the one they were first written for.

Data Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
DA 01	Single Request for Data	Ask the beneficiary for data once. If the data already exists inside the entity, in another government body, or with a service provider, build the technical integration that pulls it from its source.
DA 02	Single Data Source	Lean on one trusted source to define and catalogue every data entity, have the data owner document its attributes, and avoid storing it in more than one operational system.
DA 03	Data Management & Governance Compliance	Stick to the entity’s approved requirements and standards for data management and governance, and reflect them in the data architecture components in both their current and target states.
DA 04	Support Analysis & Decision Making	Use data to back leadership decisions, shape business rules, and follow performance indicators against numbers that are highly trustworthy.
DA 05	360-Degree View	Document data entities in full, showing how they connect to the systems, sources, and other components around them, so the data architecture components and their blueprints come out complete and accurate.

Technology Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
TA 01	Cloud First	Make cloud computing a core part of the technology architecture strategy, using its flexibility, scale, and efficiency to cut down on owning data centres, hardware, and the operational load that comes with them.
TA 02	Compliance with Standards	Stick to national standards issued by bodies such as NCA, NDMO, DGA, CST, and SAMA, and to international standards such as ISO, NIST, Uptime Institute, and PCI-DSS.
TA 03	Business-led Changes	Respond to business needs and requirements, and plan the changes in applications and technology around them.
TA 04	Control Technical Diversity	Keep technical diversity in check to lower the cost of holding the right technical knowledge and integrating different systems, and standardise the technologies and platforms across the entity to simplify operations and management.
TA 05	Resilience and High Availability	Infrastructure that holds up against failures and outages, with redundancy for critical resources and automatic failover that keeps service availability high.
TA 06	Cost Optimization and Efficiency	Design the technology infrastructure for the best use of cost and higher efficiency, balancing performance needs against resource use to reduce both spend and waste.
TA 07	Scalability and Performance	Design technology solutions that can scale with rising demand and perform well under different workloads, while planning for the systems’ future growth.
TA 08	Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility	Account for environmental sustainability, reduce the carbon footprint of infrastructure solutions, and encourage environmentally friendly practices, energy-efficient designs, and responsible resource management.

Security Architecture

Code	Principle	Description
SA 01	Least Privilege	Hold application user permissions at the minimum their roles and tasks actually need.
SA 02	Defense in Depth	Run a security strategy made of multiple layers of controls spread across different levels of the entity’s technology architecture.
SA 03	Zero Trust Architecture	A security model built on “never trust, always verify”, on the assumption that threats can come from inside the entity’s network as well as from outside it.
SA 04	Implement a Strong Identity Foundation	Set up a full Identity and Access Management (IAM) framework so that only authorised users and devices reach the entity’s resources.

Benefits of Applying the Principles

EA Principles

Overview

Principles Catalog by Domain

Benefits of Applying the Principles

Governance Note

Six EA Domains

EA Viewpoints

General Component Model

EA Principles

Overview

Principles Catalog by Domain

Benefits of Applying the Principles

Governance Note

Six EA Domains

EA Viewpoints

General Component Model

Overview

Principles Catalog by Domain

Benefits of Applying the Principles

Governance Note

Related

Six EA Domains

EA Viewpoints

General Component Model

Overview

Principles Catalog by Domain

Benefits of Applying the Principles

Governance Note

Related

Six EA Domains

EA Viewpoints

General Component Model