Case report of identifying and measuring IT architecture principles in the Dutch Tax Agency

This case report describes the results of empirical validation of a definition and measurement instrument for IT architecture principles at the Dutch Tax Agency. The key objective was to answer the research question: "can we identify and measure IT architecture principles?" We conducted four case studies, using the measurement instrument we developed. For each case study we describe the business context, the IT system and the use of the IT architecture principles, and we provide reflection on the use of the definition and the measurement instrument. We also describe some overall findings related to the use of IT architecture principals in real-life situations, as well as overall conclusions and recommendations on the measurement instrument used.