You’ve just established an Architecture Review Board (ARB). Congratulations. Your nascent board should serve two fundamental, primary purposes:
1: It’s a Rubber stamp – for better or worse.
Solutions have to make some sense relative to business goals and objectives. The ARB performs a strong gut-check on all technology investments. Does everything fits together? Is the cost-benefit is reasonable? IT should not implement unsupportable or poor-fitting solutions. Prevent an egotistical director from doing things just to look good to management. (It happens!)
2: It should foster productivity.
The ARB encourages new ideas. It should be an environment for solution exploration and cross-knowledge sharing. Business case development and presentations contribute to growing and building the skills of team members. Your developers, analysts and engineers aspire to become architects and business leaders. Help them do so by using the ARB to bring those rising stars into the spotlight.
Maturation of the Board
If and when your Architecture Review Board obtains confidence from management, then it will serve more purposes. Standards should be constructed. Gradually shift the company towards “transformational” technology investments. Ensuring that security is baked into everything. If it’s not secure, do not approve.