V. Use of the CSDA

16. Different users at different steps in the process can use the CSDA. We see four different, but related, steps (see Figure 1):

CSDA: a document created and maintained at the statistical community level;
Statistical Organisation Data Architecture: a document created and maintained at the statistical organisation enterprise level;
Solution (Data) Architecture: a document created and maintained at a lower level inside a statistical organisation such as a statistical business division.
Solution: a process or system used by a user (statistician) to do his daily job: producing statistical products.

Figure 1. Use of CSDA

17. In each step, there are two broad groups of people involved. On the one hand, there is the business management, as stakeholders that will use (data) architecture as a means to formulate, communicate and enforce their strategies and policies. On the other hand, there are the experts, such as (business and IT) architects, methodologists, etc. that are the actual users and creators of (data) architectures and solutions.

18. Business Leaders may use the data architectures in two ways, and as a result, they appear on two levels in Figure 1. The data architecture is the vehicle for business leaders to formulate and communicate their policies and strategies. As such, they are the owners of the document. Business leaders may (should) also use it as the book of law to enforce their policies. As such, they act one level below the previous role, because they now must ensure that the next level conforms to those policies as laid down in the data architecture.

CSDA step

19. In this step, the UNECE Data Architect group defines the guidelines for implementing a statistical organisation Data Architecture. The CSDA includes a complete overview of Capabilities (based upon GSBPM), and a growing overview of Conceptual Building Blocks.

20. Roles involved in this step:

Stakeholders: Senior level managers, such as (deputy) Chief Statisticians, CIO's, CISO's, etc., acting as representatives of statistical organisation, collaborating on globally, representing the statistical community as a whole;
Experts: Enterprise architects, methodologists, senior advisors, etc., collaborating in (project) groups.

Statistical Organisation Data Architecture step

21. In this step, the statistical organisation Data Architects will use the CSDA as a basis for the statistical organisation Data Architecture. Not all parts of the CSDA need to be described in a statistical organisation data architecture (although this is strongly recommended). In this step, the Logical Building Blocks (derived from the Conceptual Building Blocks) will be further defined. New projects could initiate the definition of new Logical Building Blocks or reuse of existing Building Blocks based on the Business Requirements. The CSDA should provide the guidelines and knowledge that help in creating new Logical Building Blocks.

22. Roles involved in this step:

Stakeholders: Senior level managers, such as (deputy) Chief Statisticians, CIO's, CISO's, and business division managers that lead and sponsor the development of their organisations, including the development and maintenance of processes and systems. These managers need to ensure that the architecture reflects and supports the strategic goals and policies for the domain.
Experts/Users: statistical organisation Enterprise architects, methodologists, senior advisors, developing (data) architectures on behalf of the senior leaders leading the business domains to which those architectures apply.

Solution (Data) Architecture step

23. In the Solution Architecture step the statistical organisation's Data Architecture will be used to implement new services/components based on the described Logical Building Blocks. If Capabilities/Building Blocks are not yet developed in the statistical organisation's Data Architecture, the CSDA could be used to start developing/implementing the missing Building Blocks. In addition, existing CSPA services and/or Logical Building Blocks of other statistical organisations can be considered here for inclusion in the Solution.

24. Roles involved in this step:

Stakeholders: Business leaders for domains needing (new) solutions such as (business) processes and systems.
Experts/Users: Solution architects, methodologists, etc. involved in the design, development and maintenance of processes and systems.

25. In general, the target audience (those involved in the definition) and user groups (those that are informed) for Data Architecture, consist of the following types of people:

Audience:
Managers
Business people (subject matters, process owners)
Design authority, high-level committee on investments
Enterprise Architects
Solutions/IT Architects (logical layer, mapping with applications)
Users:
External data providers for Data Collection
Audit agencies
External solution providers

26. The following use cases show how the CSDA can be used by the various roles:

As a manager, I want to understand how a Data Architecture can deliver on strategic outcomes (like data integration, new data sources etc.) so that there is a common high level approach
As a manager or expert, I want to be able to share solutions between different agencies
As a business leader or expert, I want to (be facilitated to) influence managers to get Data Architecture and Enterprise Architecture adopted as a discipline
As a business person, I want to be guided by a common framework so I can design my solutions without reinventing any wheels, keeping the cost down and lead-times minimal
As the Design Authority, I want to review and endorse so that a Data Architecture is delivered that is aligned to objectives and policies but that can also be translated into something that can be implemented.

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