Create an IT Infrastructure Architecture Blueprint

This page introduces how to create an IT Infrastructure Architecture Blueprint.

On the Dragon1 platform, you can create different architecture blueprints. For instance, if you are an IT architect and need to create one for your technical architecture. If you want to read the why and how on Infrastructure Architecture and Technical Architecture , you need to read this page.

architects create blueprints

Only 1 out of 100 architects create blueprints that board members and directors use.


The benefit of creating an Architecture Blueprint for your IT Infrastructure is that you provide managers and CTOs with opportunities to save costs, reduce complexity, and increase the availability of services and agility of the Architecture Infrastructure.

Three things are holding you maybe back from creating an IT Infrastructure blueprint like this (in PowerPoint or Visio):

  • You lack the right data available
  • You think you do not have the correct visualization skills needed
  • The time it takes to create the blueprint is much too long. The blueprint is needed YESTERDAY, of course. Or once it's created, the time to update the blueprint takes too long.

On Dragon1, we remove all these objections for creating a blueprint. First, you save a lot of time using the Visual Designer web application templates. Secondly, you can start by using the Dragon1 reference model without having your own data. And thirdly, Dragon1 provides all kinds of features, making drawing effective and nice-looking visualizations easier.

If you print out the Dragon1 reference model at A0 size and put it on the wall of your manager or CxO, they will immediately want the real version, and priority is put on providing you with the data needed.

How To Create an Infrastructure Architecture

To create a blueprint like the one in the screenshot, follow the plan. The plan holds six stages: Collect Data, Create a Model, Create a View, Create a Visualization, Publish the Visualization, and Process Feedback. By doing these six steps iteratively, you will, on short time notice, have a blueprint everyone will like and is used by executives to make decisions.

To create an IT Infrastructure Blueprint:

  • Setup Dossier and Folder Structure
    • Go to the Setup Dossier Structure page and read how to create a dossier and folder structure.
    • Create four folders in a dossier called Data: models, views, visual items, and visualizations;
    • In these folders, we will store the data, models, views, and visualizations we will create.
  • Collect Data
    • Collect data from the official sources (databases and people) and put everything in an Excel sheet.
    • Go to the Import Data page and read how to import data.
    • Go to the Enter Data page and read how to enter data.
    • Upload the Excel sheet to get the data in the tool.
    • The data you need to collect is strategy data (stakeholders, goals, and requirements for the IT Infrastructure), architecture data (the concepts, elements, and components of the IT Infrastructure), and transformation data (roadmaps, programs, projects, and deliverables) to implement to need changes of the IT Architectural Infrastructure.
  • Create a Model
    • Go to the Create Model page and read what a model is and how to create a model.
    • Now create one enterprise model with all the data connected to it.
    • Or create per type of data a different stakeholders model, networks model, servers model, etc...
  • Create a View
    • Go to the Create View page and read what a view is and how to create a view.
    • Now create a view that filters out all the data from your model(s) you do not want to have shown on the visualization.
    • You can, of course, create various views to present via various interconnected visualizations.
  • Create a Visualization
    • We have a view of a model of data in place. We can now create a graphical representation of the view aligned with how the stakeholder, to whom it may concern, would like to see it visualized.
    • Go to the Create Visualization page and read how to create a visualization
    • Create a visualization canvas in the Visual Designer
    • Insert a View Layout on the canvas
    • Insert Visual Items on the canvas
    • Connect the Visual Items with the view(s) you created
    • Save your visualization often enough
    • Switch to normal mode to see what the blueprint will look like once published.
  • Publish the Visualization
    • Go to the Publish Visualization page and read how to publish a visualization to the Viewer so that it can be viewed on an iPad (Tablet PC)
    • Select your visualization. Click on the Share button
    • Enter the correct information and press OK
    • Go to the Viewer and look at your visualization
    • Mail the link to the stakeholder and ask them to view the blueprint and comment on it.
  • Process Feedback
    • Read the Process Comments and Feedback page
    • Stakeholders can leave comments behind on the visualizations you created and published to the Viewer.
    • Check regularly if comments are placed or enable and tune the notification (speed) you get when people add comments to your visualizations.
    • You can delete comments and change the visualization, view, model, or data.
    • Automatically, everyone who subscribed to the channel the visualization was placed in is notified of the update.
    • In the Viewer, they can see who has made the update and what the update was.

This concludes the plan to create an IT Infrastructure Architecture Blueprint on Dragon1. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments for us, please feel to mail them to servicedesk@dragon1.com.

Dragon1 PRO Edition

The Dragon1 PRO edition provides you with all the features needed to create the blueprint that is discussed here. Including support or training in using the Dragon1 software to create the blueprint. We even have the service of creating the blueprint for you. For more information, call us at +31 (0)317 411 341 or mail to sales@dragon1.com.

IT Infrastructure Blueprint Example Screenshot