Technology · The technology estate · Component
Integration map
The connections between systems — what each carries, how it is carried, and what fails downstream if it stops.
The deliverable
What it is
Integrations are the part of an estate nobody buys and everybody depends on. They are built one project at a time, often by different people with different methods, and the resulting web is seldom drawn until something breaks.
The map records each connection as a thing in its own right, with an owner and a failure consequence. What the data means, and who may see it, belongs to Data Core; the map records the route, not the content.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
Interface record
Each connection between two systems, with its direction, its mechanism and how often it runs.
4 attributes: From system · To system · Mechanism · Frequency
LearnFailure consequence
What stops, degrades or silently goes wrong elsewhere when this particular connection fails.
3 attributes: Downstream effect · Failure visibility · Time to detection
LearnInterface owner
Who is responsible for the connection working, since neither system owner automatically is.
2 attributes: Owner · Last verified
Learn
Mark the silent failures first. A connection that stops without an error message is the one that costs a quarter’s decisions.
The other components in the technology estate
System landscape
The organisation-wide catalogue of systems, each with an owner, a purpose, a criticality and a place in its lifecycle.
LearnArchitecture principles
The short set of rules every addition to the estate is tested against, derived from how standardised and integrated the business intends to be.
Learn