Which statement best defines architecture governance?

• A. Oversight of the organizational IT policy only.
• B. Management of day-to-day software development tasks.
• C. Procurement of hardware across the enterprise.
• D. Oversight of enterprise architecture to ensure alignment with strategy, standards, and interoperability.

Answer: (D)

Architecture governance is the framework of processes, policies, and decision rights that guides how the enterprise’s architecture is defined, maintained, and enforced. Its goal is to ensure that architecture decisions support the organization’s strategy, adhere to established standards, and enable interoperability across systems. The best statement reflects this oversight role over the entire enterprise architecture to keep it aligned with strategic objectives, consistent with standards, and capable of working together across the landscape. It isn’t about day-to-day software development tasks, hardware procurement, or only IT policy—those are separate governance areas or functional domains. For example, an Architecture Review Board evaluates proposed changes to ensure they fit the target architecture, comply with standards, and remain interoperable with other systems.