Thanks Gentlemen - those two architecture blogs were very interesting - especially the entry about defining IT complexity - that is going to be a 'keeper'.
I was aware of the two architecture frameworks but I'm not operating on that level. Frankly in my organisation my work will be re-written to reflect whatever issue of the week has SMT focus. I just need a bun to start the bunfight with ;-)
I've always found Zachman too abstract and DIY but thank you for reminding me about TOGAF - I've got the framework and will at least check my work doesn't conflict with the principles. To give you some clarification on what I'm trying to achieve in the absence of a clear problem statement I was seeing it as more of a design and provisioning checklist for a new service e.g.
Business Architecture
Business Criticality Rating
Business Service(s) e.g. accounts reconiliation
Service Owner: Mr Blah
Service Unit: Financial Operations
Technical Architecture
Identity Service (i.e. authentication)
DR requirements
Virtualisation Potential (yes/no - constraints)
Application Architecture
Tier (i.e. local or enterprise application)
Compents/Operating Environment
Etc. it's the etc I need ;-) And since our latest buzzwords are ITIL and SOA - I'll write up some explanatory material and slot it into those frameworks and that will be enough for the draft. I'll then try and get some good operators involved higher up the chain and try and insure it gets some sensible validation and delivers some value.