Principles are general rules and guidelines, seldom amended, that inform and support the way in which an organization sets about fulfilling its mission. Information Technology (IT) principles provide guidance on the use and deployment of all IT resources and assets across the enterprise. They are developed in order to make the information environment as productive and cost-effective as possible. Architecture principles are a subset of IT principles that relate to architecture work. They reflect a level of consensus across the enterprise, and embody the spirit and thinking of the enterprise architecture.

They define constraints on the IT architecture that have to be addressed. They are typically defined by the CIO, but may have other sources.

Also see: Concept: Key IT Architecture Principles and Artifact: IT Strategy