Information Technology Bulletin

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Governor's Office of Administration/Office for Information Technology

ITB Number: / ITB-APP015
ITB Title: / Web Development Frameworks
Issued by: / Deputy Secretary for Information Technology
Date Issued: September 18, 2008 / Date Revised: October 25, 2010
Domain: / Application
Discipline: / Application Development
Technology Area: / Frameworks
Revision History
Date: / Description:
10/25/2010 / ITB Refresh

Abstract:

The purpose of this Information Technology Bulletin (ITB) is to establish enterprise-wide standards and guidance for Web development frameworks.

A Web application development framework is a software framework designed to support development of dynamic Web sites, Web applications and Web services. Using a framework eases tedious and repetitive programming tasks and alleviates the overhead associated with common activities like setting up session management and database access. An application framework provides structure and services and is deployed along with the application.

General:

This ITB applies to all departments, boards, commissions and councils under the governor’s jurisdiction. Agencies not under the governor’s jurisdiction are strongly encouraged to follow this policy to ensure they develop and implement applications that facilitate enterprise-wide interoperability and standardization.

Policy:

New application development projects requiring Web development frameworks are to use the current Web development frameworks as defined in STD-APP015A Web Development Frameworks: Technology Standard.

Major revisions to existing applications that are not using the current standards will be reviewed as part of the ITB-EPM003 IT Procurement/Waiver Review Process to determine if the investment warrants a change in standards at that time. For application development projects using Web development frameworks classified as “Retire,” a date for migration off this technology has been established.

Because a framework’s code is usually deployed as an integral part of the application, agencies are to compare the capabilities of the frameworks to determine which best suits the project.

All IT projects Web development frameworks are to be subject to review prior to inception for compliance with this standard through the Communities of Practice (CoP) Review and/or the Procurement Review Processes.

Refresh Schedule:

All standards identified in this ITB are subject to periodic review and possible revision, or upon request by the Enterprise Architecture Standards Committee (EASC).

Exemption from This Policy:

In the event an agency chooses to seek an exemption, for reasons such as the need to comply with requirements for a federally mandated system, a request for waiver may be submitted via the Community of Practice Procurement and Architectural Review (COPPAR) process. Requests are to be entered into the COPPAR Tool located at WWW.COPPAR.STATE.PA.US. Agency CIO approval is required. Contact your agency CoP Planner for further details or assistance.

Questions:

Questions regarding this policy are to be directed to .

Policy Supplements:

STD-APP015A: Web Development Frameworks: Technology Standard

References:

ITB-EPM003: IT Procurement/Waiver Review Process

ITB-APP015 Web Development Frameworks – Page 1 of 2