Ardoq

For New Users | Resources for Current Users | FAQ

Ardoq is a flexible, data-driven Enterprise Architecture tool that documents and visualizes WashU’s IT ecosystems from multiple perspectives. It supports strategic decision-making by providing a method by which to analyze the relationships between people, technology, and data.

With Ardoq, WashU IT can plan, implement, and anticipate the impact of changes across people, projects, strategies, applications, infrastructure, and capabilities.

For New Users

Access to Ardoq

Who can use Ardoq:

Edit access in Ardoq is currently restricted to the Solutions Architecture team and selected members of other IT teams.
View access is available to all Central IT teams and selected members of other teams across the University. Access can be granted to other groups by request.

How to request access: For View access to Ardoq, contact the team using the Ardoq Service Request form in ServiceNow.

Resources for Current Users

Training & Resources

Ardoq Quick Start (Word)

A basic guide to Ardoq navigation.

Ardoq Lookup (Word)

Explore a collection of embedded Ardoq Dashboards and reports, as well as links to other resources. Note that many of these dashboards and reports are live data feeds from Ardoq and do NOT require Ardoq access to work.

Explore the following:

Applications
Integrations, Data and DRAs
Application Rationalization
Organizations and People

Applications by Department viewpoint

Explore applications for a given WashU department along with owners and experts.

To see the viewpoint,

Login to Ardoq using SAML.
Hover over the left pane menu to open it. Select Viewpoints.
Scroll to the bottom and select WashU Applications by Department. Confirm “Open Viewpoint”.
Scroll to select a department, e.g. Accounting Services and select Open on lower right.
A display of applications owned by Accounting Services will open.
Use the left hand drop-down to switch to another department.

Presentations About Ardoq

Select a link below to view recent presentations about Ardoq:

Ardoq: Re-envisioning Architecture (PPT in Box)
September 2025 IT All Hands Meeting
Recording (in Microsoft Stream – 27:38)

Support

For more help using Ardoq, contact the team using the Ardoq Service Request form in ServiceNow.

FAQ

What are Application Capabilities?

Application Capabilities refer to the specific functions or services that an application provides to support business operations. These capabilities are used to map applications to business needs, helping organizations understand what each application does, identify overlaps, and make informed decisions about rationalization, integration, or retirement.

They are often categorized by domain—Learning & Teaching, Research, Enabling, Technical, or Clinical—and further broken down into areas like Campus Life, Digital Identity, or Customer Relationship Management.

There are three capabilities models used in Ardoq:

HERM ARM: Higher Education Reference Model – Application Reference Model (List in Box)
HERM TRM: Higher Education Reference Model – Technical Reference Model (List in Box)
KLAS Clinical Capabilities Model

Key Concepts Defined:

Key Concept	Defintion	Survey Example*
Application Domain	The broad area of business: Teaching & Learning, Enabling, Research, Technical, or Clinical.	Research
Application Area	A high-level function or process supported within the domain.	Research Management
Application Capability	The specific software or system functionalities supporting the Application Areas.	Research Ethics Management

*The survey example above is for a hypothetical application named “ResearchManager”.

What is Application Criticality?

Application Criticality refers to the degree to which a software application is essential to an organization’s operations, security, and continuity. It evaluates how disruptive it would be if the application were to fail or become unavailable. This assessment helps prioritize applications for disaster recovery, cybersecurity, and resource allocation.

Our WU Critical Applications dashboard contains live data regarding critical applications at WashU. To view the WU Critical Applications dashboard, select this link. Be sure you are logged into Ardoq and have access. To see the data behind any chart, hover over the chart and select the report icon on the top right.

What is an Application Inventory? Why is it important?

An Application Inventory acts as a centralized catalog of the tools used across the University.

It empowers departments and teams to make more informed decisions when evaluating and adopting applications for specific needs. By consulting the inventory, teams can use resources more efficiently and help reduce redundancies in the University’s application landscape. Keeping the inventory up to date also enables WashU IT to better identify and address security risks and to support disaster recovery efforts more effectively.

I received an Ardoq Survey. What should I do?

Ardoq uses surveys as a way to keep data up to date. Different surveys are used to gather data. If you have questions about how to complete the survey, please reach out to the team by filling out the Ardoq Service Request form.

I would like to add an application to Ardoq.

Use the Ardoq Service Request form in ServiceNow to submit your request.

What is Application Rationalization?

Application Rationalization is a framework to examine our IT application portfolio(s) consistently and empower us to answer ‘as is’ questions “in an easily digestible, factual form to drive discussions and prioritize options.”* It helps us identify opportunities to reduce IT risk and complexity as well as eliminate unnecessary functional overlaps.

*Gartner “How to Assess Your Application and Product Portfolio for Business and Technical Fitness, ID G00373556, Published 17 October 2018