The correct definition is the fundamental organisation of a system, and the principles governing its design and evolution. DAMA-DMBOK2 incorporates the ISO/IEC 42010 architectural concept when establishing the theoretical basis for Data Architecture.
The fuller ISO formulation describes architecture in terms of the fundamental organization of a system embodied in its components, their relationships to one another and to the environment, together with the principles governing design and evolution. DAMA uses this concept to distinguish true architecture from a collection of diagrams or implementation specifications.
Option E is therefore incomplete: architectural artifacts document architecture, but the artifacts themselves are not the architecture. Option C focuses too narrowly on implementation and maintenance, while options B and D describe potential objectives or constraints rather than the definition.
Applied to enterprise data, this means architecture establishes the high-level organization of data assets, information flows, platforms, relationships, and guiding principles by which the data environment evolves.
Data Quality benefits because architectural principles establish where authoritative information originates, how it moves, how duplication is controlled, and where governance and quality controls must operate.
Reference Topics: DAMA-DMBOK2 Chapter 4 — Architecture Definition; ISO/IEC 42010; Enterprise Data Architecture; Architectural Principles; Chapter 13 — Quality by Design.
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