Higher Education Reference Models:

Version 3.1.0 Release Highlights

Overview
The Higher Education Reference Models are global industry-standard enterprise
architecture reference models that support strategic business and technology
planning in higher education. This document highlights the significant changes
introduced by Version 3.1.0 of the Higher Education Reference Models (HERM), and
signals the direction of enhancements and extensions that will be explored for future
releases.

HERM artefacts are curated and evolved by the Higher Education Reference Models
Working Group (HERM-WG), a sub-group of the Enterprise Architecture Community of
Practice within the Council of Australasian University Directors of Information
Technology (CAUDIT).

The work of the HERM-WG occurs in warm, sustained, and formalised partnerships
with corresponding communities in the UCISA, EUNIS, and EDUCAUSE associations.
The collaboration with EUNIS is acknowledged as particularly valuable, as the
maturity of their use and application of the HERM, alongside ongoing work
translating the models into languages other than English, continues to inform and
provoke future HERM improvements and extensions.

The HERM Working Group commends this latest version of the Higher Education
Reference Models to all practitioners and interested parties, and looks forward to
engaging further with the wider community as the HERM continues to be further
developed and evolved.

Change Highlights
Core Artefacts
Version 3.1.0 of the HERM includes the same core artefacts as the previous version:

1. Business Model Canvas (BMC)

2. Business Capability Model (BRM)
3. Data Reference Model (DRM)
4. Application Reference Model (ARM)

…and introduces one significant new core artefact:

5. Technology Reference Model (TRM)

Overview
With the exception of delivering the new Technology Reference Model, the HERM
Version 3.1.0 release introduces only minor changes to the existing artefacts. Every
change introduced since the previous HERM version is detailed by the included
changelogs. In overview, the:

● Business Model Canvas has received typographical corrections to its explainer

documentation.

● Business Capability Model has received a small number of business-capability

name or description changes, and the display sequence has been refreshed to
improve consumability.

● Data Reference Model has received a small number of new data entities and
description improvements and its accompanying explainer document has been
refreshed.

● Application Reference Model has received several additions and improvements,

most of which originated from community feedback provided since the ARM was
first published with the HERM Version 3.0.0 release.

● Technology Reference Model is a new addition to the HERM that complements

the Business, Data, and Application models and stands alongside the ARM,
providing an industry-agnostic technology-services taxonomy. This first release
will trigger questions and comments, and the HERM Working Group looks
forward to engaging with the community to understand how the TRM can be
strengthened in future iterations.

Explainer Documentation
Work has begun to improve the supporting document provided with the HERM,
providing explanatory metadata, commentary on design principles and common
use-cases, advice on getting started, and recommended practices. The first
"explainer" documents are included in the Version 3.1.0 release, covering the
Business Model Canvas, the Data Reference Model, the Application Reference Model,
and the Technology Reference Model. In future releases, driven by community
feedback, this collection will be improved and expanded.

Usage and Licensing

The HERM is offered freely under CC BY-NC-SA licencing (i.e., the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence: for details, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). A note explaining the intent
of this licensing and providing interpretative guidance is included with the HERM
distribution as the file "HERM-V310-licence-note.pdf".

Higher Education Reference Models Version 3.1.0 Release Notes — Page 2

Model File Types
The HERM distribution includes poster-style versions of each core artefact as PDF
files. Alongside these are provided usable models that have been supplied in
ArchiMate and Visio formats. Version 3.1.0 saw all poster-style artefacts fully rebuilt
using draw.io (https://www.drawio.com/), which offers many advantages over the
tooling used previously. Consequently, the model file types now included in the
HERM Version 3.1.0 distribution have changed, and now include:

● PDF poster versions of each core artefact, scaled to A1 page size

● ArchiMate model versions of the ARM, BRM, DRM, and TRM
● draw.io model versions of each core artefact
● Visio (VSDX) model versions of the BMC and the BRM

HERM Future Features

HERM Version Next
The HERM Working Group anticipates a Version 3.2.0 release to be made available in
mid-2025, including:

● Business Model Canvas: seeking further community feedback and opportunities

to update and improve the pre-populated HERM Business Model Canvas.

● Business Capability Model: delivering an explainer document, creating some

additional recipe cards, and introducing sundry changes based upon community
feedback and analysis of the wider environment.

● Data Reference Model: describing further pattern cards, potential mappings to

other schemes, and introducing various features as summarised in the DRM
explainer document.

● Application Reference Model: additional changes are anticipated based upon

further community feedback, arising both from ongoing exposure to and use of
the ARM and from the interaction with the new Technology Reference Model.

● Technology Reference Model: the introduction of this new artefact is expected to

trigger substantial community feedback, all of which will be triaged and
considered for improvements in the next release of the HERM.

Future Release Items and Potential Improvements

About the HERM Working Group
The HERM Working Group meets weekly to ensure continuous improvement, to
sustain momentum, and to ensure that input from colleagues and collaborators is
discussed and considered in a timely and respectful fashion — every item of

Higher Education Reference Models Version 3.1.0 Release Notes — Page 3

feedback received is entered into curated backlog-style lists of proposals and
suggestions for future adjustments, improvements, and new features for the HERM.

The HERM Working Group broadly follows the "5E" approach to improving the HERM,
and these factors are considered when determining which new features will be
included in future releases:

● Evolution: introducing new attributes and features that add value

● Enrichment: providing richer descriptive assets to improve consumability
● Evangelism: storytelling and sharing use-cases about how the models are used
● Extension: pointing to lower-level process and operational structures
● Extrapolation: mapping from the HERM to other relevant schemes and
frameworks

Potential new features and packaging improvements for future HERM releases are
considered and scheduled in close collaboration with partner Enterprise Architecture
Special Interest Groups — notably with those in UCISA, EUNIS, and EDUCAUSE.
Currently-known possibilities are summarised in the sections below. Please discuss
and consider these within your practices and within your communities.

The following sections indicate areas where future effort could be directed. Any and
all input from the HERM community is assessed and positioned in this context, and
feeds into the overall HERM planning and development roadmap.

Business Capability Model

The Business Capability Model is the most-mature and most-stable artefact in the
HERM, and no substantial structural changes to it are anticipated. Instead, future
releases will continue to augment this model with supporting and interpretative
artefacts that further assist practitioners in its adoption and use.

Some inspiring and advanced work is beginning to form and describe Value Streams.
A future HERM release could include a Value Stream toolkit, provided with samples
and commentary to facilitate the use of Value Streams in enterprise business
architecture practices. This work is progressing, but remains at an early stage of
assessment and consideration.

Hosting Platform and Licensing

There is enduring commitment to removing impediments from achieving equitable
access to, use of, and making contributions to Higher Education Reference Models.
Adjacent to ongoing examination of the licence under which the HERM is offered
(currently CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) is an intention to migrate the HERM to a suitable
open-access hosting and collaboration platform. There is moderate effort involved
in the retooling necessary to realise this, and the destination and timing of migration
are continuing to be considered.

Higher Education Reference Models Version 3.1.0 Release Notes — Page 4

Acknowledgements
HERM Version 3.1.0
The ongoing evolution and enrichment of the Higher Education Reference Models
would be impossible without the warm global collaboration between the CAUDIT
HERM Working Group, our colleagues in the United Kingdom through UCISA, other
European colleagues through EUNIS, and our North American colleagues through
EDUCAUSE. The value and usefulness of the HERM is enriched, amplified, and
increased enormously by the expertise, engagement, and generous contributions of
the worldwide higher-education enterprise architecture community.

Heartfelt acknowledgement is extended to the following associations, people,

colleagues and community members. Where relevant, roles are indicated as being
Co-Chair† of the relevant Enterprise Architecture Special Interest Group or being
Co-Convenor‡ of a HERM-related working group. The depth, richness, and quality of
these collaborations and the relationships that underpin them cannot be overstated.

CAUDIT Higher Education Reference Models Working Group

● Nigel Foxwell, James Cook University†‡
● jeff kennedy, The University of Auckland‡
● Alan Dent, AUT
● Sasenka Abeysooriya, The University of Queensland
● Dominic Peterson, Queensland University of Technology
● Christopher Albone, The University of Sydney
● Vivek Pande, Swinburne University
● Galen White, FromHereOn

UCISA Enterprise Architecture Special Interest Group

● Rosie Coffey, University College Cork†‡
● Russell Boyatt, The University of Warwick†‡
● Lex Wilkinson, Sheffield Hallam University‡

EUNIS Enterprise Architecture Special Interest Group

● Patrik Maltusch, Aalto University†
● Esa Suominen, University of Helsinki†
● Markus von der Heyde, SemaLogic
● Andreas Hartmann, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK Leipzig)

EDUCAUSE Enterprise, Business, & Technical Architects (Itana)

● Beth Schaefer, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee†
● Dana Miller, Itana‡

Higher Education Reference Models Version 3.1.0 Release Notes — Page 5

CAUDIT Community Award
CAUDIT established a new CAUDIT Community Award in 2024 designed to recognise
the significant and sustained contributions people have made through participation
beyond their normal institutional responsibilities in activities that are beneficial to the
wider community.

Acknowledging the value and global uptake of the Higher Education Reference
Models, the first CAUDIT Community Awards were issued to the people who have
contributed to the HERM initiative for at least one year and in visible ways. The
award was back-dated to the HERM establishment in 2016.

The HERM Working Group is very grateful to CAUDIT for extending the privilege of
this recognition to this cohort of significant HERM contributors:

CAUDIT EUNIS
● Ric Phillips ● Patrik Maltusch
● Nigel Foxwell ● Esa Suominen
● jeff kennedy ● Andreas Hartmann
● Alan Dent
● Markus von der Heyde
● Sasenka Abeysooriya
● Dominic Peterson UCISA
● Chris Albone ● Rosie Coffey
● Vivek Pande ● Russell Boyatt
● Sarah Ellison ● Lex Wilkinson
● Karen Modena ● Stéphane Pajon
● Michelle Phillips
● Paul Tasker FromHereOn
● Galen White
EDUCAUSE ● Mac Lemon
● Dana Miller ● Jolyon Suthers
● Pieter Steyn

Share Your Thoughts

The HERM Working Group welcomes and invites your thoughts, feedback, and
suggestions about any changes that will make the HERM more valuable to the
people and institutions that use it. Please do:

● engage with your local Enterprise Architecture Special Interest Group

● provide feedback, thoughts, questions, and share-alike submissions to the HERM

Working Group by email to [email protected]

[ end of release-notes document ]

Higher Education Reference Models Version 3.1.0 Release Notes — Page 6

HERM Usage and Licensing Note
Purpose
This note provides guidance about the usage and licensing terms under which the
Higher Education Reference Models (HERM) are offered.

The HERM is freely available to all higher-education institutions, as it has been since
it was first released in 2016. The HERM is now being used and consumed by more
than a thousand institutions worldwide. The majority of users enjoy natural access
to the HERM from their home higher-education information-technology associations
(e.g., EDUCAUSE, EUNIS, UCISA). Additionally, CAUDIT fulfils access requests from
other institutions individually, and requests from commercial vendors are evaluated
on a case-by-case basis.

Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-NC-SA

The HERM is offered under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International1 licence. The
NonCommercial term has caused the most uncertainty about HERM usage. The
primary goals of offering the HERM under this licence are to ensure: continued
evolution as a global standard; contributions and improvements remain available
equitably to the entire community; nobody is charged a fee to access and use the
HERM.

The high-level definition is that "NonCommercial means not primarily intended for or
directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation"2. Creative
Commons notes that clarifying statements may be provided about how
NonCommercial should be interpreted (e.g., "Some licensors or website providers
state expectations or interpretations about what NC means.").

Creative Commons discourages providing such interpretations if the intent is to

tighten the definition — the clarification here seeks to widen the ability of people to
access and use the HERM, without varying the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence formally.

1
For details, see the Creative Commons site at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

2
See, for example, the Creative Commons "interpretation guide" for NonCommercial element of CC licences at
https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/NonCommercial_interpretation
For clarification, the NonCommercial term in the HERM licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
licence is:

●​ intended to discourage and prevent commercial providers, large or small, from

bundling the HERM with their products and services and then charging the
community a separate additional fee for the privilege of using it.

●​ intended to encourage and remove barriers to higher-education institutions

using the HERM to improve their business outcomes. All higher-education
institutions are encouraged to request that the professional-services
engagements they form do make use of the HERM. Similarly, no barrier exists
to commercial providers recommending to higher-education institutions that
the HERM forms the basis of their engagements (though not for an additional
"HERM usage" fee). Similarly, enterprise architecture tool vendors can offer
HERM artefacts for import and use in their products (though not for an
additional "HERM usage" fee).

Future Arrangements
There is more complexity in these distribution arrangements than there needs to be,
and impressions exist that present barriers to the intended uptake and use of the
HERM. It is planned that the HERM will eventually be hosted and published in an
open-access platform.

Further Information
Queries about HERM usage and licencing and are welcome to be addressed to the
HERM Working Group by email to [email protected]

[ end of usage-and-licensing note ]

HERM Version 3.1.0 Usage and Licensing Note — Page 2

 HIGHER EDUCATION BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
KEY PARTNERSHIPS KEY ACTIVITIES VALUE PROPOSITIONS CUSTOMER CUSTOMER SEGMENTS
RELATIONSHIPS
Communities Learning & Teaching Learning & Teaching Prospective Students
Government Orgs Research Career Prospects Self-Service Domestic Students
Non-Government Orgs Fundraising Recognised Credentials Personal Assistance International Students
Commercial Orgs Engagement Skills & Competencies Lifelong Learning Undergraduate Students
Education Providers Outreach Knowledge Pastoral Mentorship Postgraduate Students
Regulatory Bodies Extension Socioeconomic Standing Alumni Network Governments
Labour Unions Collection Curation Collaborative Alumni
Academia Commercialisation Research & Innovation Consultative Researchers
Research Institutes Incubation Reputation Industries
Industry Bodies Accelerated Insights Communities
DESCRIPTION
The Business Model Canvas provides a structured approach to Alumni Innovative Approaches
capturing, describing, evaluating, and communicating business Recruitment Agents Discovery
strategy. Proposed by Alex Osterwalder in 2004 and now
promoted and made available by the consulting firm Strategyzer, Indigenous Peoples Output
the Business Model Canvas is a fundamentally-important Outcome
artefact of the business architecture landscape.
Impact
Whereas the Business Capability Model is a quite stable artefact, KEY RESOURCES Valorisation CHANNELS
the Business Model Canvas is expected to be flexible and
adapted readily and playfully to reflect the characteristics of
different jurisdictions and the individual institutions within them. Brand Engagement In-Person
Data Critic of Society Digital
Using the Business Model Canvas, institutions can better
understand the implications of their strategies and scenario- Staff Conscience of Society Telephone
based planning. People using the Business Model Canvas are Facilities Fellowship Print Media
encouraged to adapt and adjust it however they see fit to best
reflect the context, aspirations, and goals of their own institution. Research Infrastructure Mainstream Media
Collections Social Media
The Business Model Canvas can provide an institution with
guidance on how best to configure its business capabilities, given Curriculum
its motivations and constraints and given the outcomes that it Partnerships
seeks.
Technology
There is usually a strong relationship between the Key Activities
and the Key Resources from the Business Model Canvas and the
Business Capability Model. Additionally, the Key Activities can
often translate well into value chains, and the Value Propositions
into value streams.

COST STRUCTURE REVENUE STREAMS

Staff Learning & Teaching Partnerships & Engagement
Physical Estate Fees Philanthropy
Digital Estate Government Funding
Business Services Financial Management
Business Operations Research & Innovation Investments
Utilities and Consumables Research Grants Endowments
Research Contracts
Research Commercialisation Service & Operation
Events
Facilities

Version 3.1.0, © 2024 CAUDIT; The Higher Education Reference Model is maintained by the CAUDIT Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice. The model is offered under the Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-NC-SA license, and may be used
freely by educational institutions but may not be bundled, sublicensed, or used for commercial purpose. Extensions to the reference model must be shared with CAUDIT to enable ongoing evolution and to maximise benefit to the wider
community. Elements of this model have alignment with the APQC open standard. CAUDIT acknowledges warmly the generous contribution of FromHereOn Pty Ltd to the Higher Education Reference Model. Please visit https://caudit.edu.au/
for more information, and email [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, questions, and share-alike submissions.
This Business Model Canvas is based upon the Strategyzer template: https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas
Higher Education Reference Models:
Supporting information for the HERM
Business Model Canvas
Status
The HERM Working Group encourages everybody using the reference models to understand
and experiment with this Business Model Canvas, adapt it to the needs and requirements of
their own institutions, and provide feedback on its utility and value.

Purpose
This document is intended to support people wishing to use the Business Model Canvas
included with the Higher Education Reference Models. The HERM Business Model Canvas
was developed to provide a more-flexible approach to describing the various entities and
collections that were in previous versions displayed at the "edges" of the Business Capability
Model (e.g., Stakeholders and Partners, Services and Products).

Use
Whereas the Business Capability Model is a quite-stable artefact, the Business Model
Canvas is expected to be flexible and adapted readily and playfully to reflect the
characteristics of jurisdictions and the individual institutions within them. Using the
Business Model Canvas, institutions can better understand the implications of their
strategies and scenario-based planning. People using the Business Model Canvas are
encouraged to adapt and adjust it however they see fit to best reflect the context,
aspirations, and goals of their own institution.

Context

What is a Business Model Canvas?

The Business Model Canvas provides a structured approach to capturing, describing,
evaluating, and communicating business strategy. Proposed by Alex Osterwalder in 2004
and now promoted and made available by the consulting firm Strategyzer, the Business
Model Canvas is a fundamentally-important artefact of the business architecture landscape.
The Business Model Canvas is composed of nine elemental building blocks:

● Key Partnerships
● Key Activities
● Key Resources
● Value Propositions
● Customer Relationships
● Channels
● Customer Segments
● Cost Structure
● Revenue Streams

These building blocks have been pre-populated in the Business Model Canvas that is now
included within the Higher Education Reference Model. More information is provided later in
this document about each building block and the items it contains.

Business Model Canvas and Business Capability Model

The Business Model Canvas can provide an institution with guidance on how best to
configure its business capabilities, given its motivations and constraints and given the
outcomes that it seeks.

There is usually a strong relationship between the Key Activities and the Key Resources from
the Business Model Canvas and the Business Capability Model. Additionally, the Key
Activities can often translate well into value chains, and the Value Propositions into value
streams.

How is a Business Model Canvas Useful?

The Business Model Canvas can be very useful in considering the implications of different
potential future-state scenarios. Examples from the higher-education community have
included the modelling of scenarios and outcomes such as:

● requirements for the successful implementation of a Strategic Plan

● learning and teaching in 2050
● post-pandemic business conditions
● adapting to the implications of artificial intelligence
● increasing the proportion of postgraduate students
● achieving environmental sustainability goals and becoming nature-positive
● introducing remotely-taught microcredentials and nanodegrees
● merging with another higher education institution
● increasing the amount of commercial and consulting activity

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 2

What is the HERM Business Model Canvas?
The Business Model Canvas included with the HERM artefacts is pre-populated to provide a
starting point for those wishing to use it.

A deliberately-pragmatic approach was taken to pre-populating the Business Model Canvas,

with the goal of providing a useful and usable artefact. Throughout, a representative and
reference-model viewpoint has been maintained, with, where appropriate, clear linkages to
the Business Capability Model and to the Data Reference Model.

The result is a set of building blocks that will be applicable to most every higher education
institution. However, the 80/20 approach taken has not attempted to provide an exhaustive
smorgasbord of elements in every building block to cover all the great many conceivable
requirements and activities that might exist, and that are important to, specific institutions.
For example, if your institution has a strong medical-research focus, prioritises postgraduate
students, and undertakes most of its key activities within its own teaching hospitals, you
should adapt the pre-populated Business Model Canvas to reflect those characteristics.

Should You Change the HERM Business Model Canvas?

Absolutely! You are encouraged to use this as a starting point.

The HERM Business Model Canvas is intended to be changed and explored by everybody
using it. The changes are required to represent the specific characteristics and goals of your
institution and its goals. Do use the Business Model Canvas to represent motivations and
alternative scenarios, to better understand the changes your institution will need to make (or
will have forced upon it) to its business model and to the configuration of your business
capabilities.

Building Blocks

Overview
Some rationale is provided below for how each of the nine building blocks was pre-populated
in creating the HERM Business Model Canvas. Each section opens with a reference to the
relevant definitions published at the Strategyzer website1, and everybody using the Business
Model Canvas is encouraged to become familiar with the concepts and tools involved.

1
https://www.strategyzer.com/library/the-business-model-canvas

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 3

Key Partnerships
"The Key Partnerships Building Block describes the network of suppliers and partners that
make the business model work."2

For the Key Partnerships, assume that the definitions of any commonly-named items are
aligned with the intent expressed in the accompanying Data Reference Model, particularly
with the [External Organisation] and [Group] topics.
Key Partnerships Examples Notes

Communities Potentially all of Community,

Collective, Cohort, and
Indigenous Peoples as per
the Data Reference Model.

Government Orgs Australian Research Council (AU),

Ministry of Business, Innovation, &
Employment (NZ), Department of
Education (US).

Non-Government Orgs Médecins Sans Frontières,

World Wide Fund for Nature.

Commercial Orgs Ernst & Young, Google, Boeing, Any for-profit private
Spotless, Tesco, Walgreens. organisations, which might
be providing products or
services, or could be
involved in activities such as
placement, apprenticeship,
research, and innovation
partnership.

Education Providers Sheffield Hallam University (UK), Other tertiary institutions,

Nelson Marlborough Institute of compulsory-sector
Technology (NZ), Pimlico State High schooling, private training
School (AU). organisations, further
education colleges, etc.

Regulatory Bodies Tertiary Education Quality and

Standards Agency (AU), CUAP (NZ),
Food and Drug Administration (US).

Labour Unions Transport Workers Union of

America (US), National Association
of Schoolmasters Union of Women
Teachers (UK), National Tertiary
Education Union (AU).

Academia Collectively and globally,

academics and the
academic body of
knowledge.

2
https://www.strategyzer.com/business-model-canvas/key-partnerships

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 4

 Key Partnerships Examples Notes

Research Institutes Malaghan Institute (NZ), Clay

Mathematics Institute (USA),
Garvan Institute of Medical
Research (AU), The Alan Turing
Institute (UK).

Industry Bodies Association of Consulting Engineers

of New Zealand, Australian Tourism
Export Council, National
Association of Manufacturers (US),
The Association of British Travel
Agents.

Alumni

Recruitment Agents International Students

Indigenous Peoples Aboriginal and Torres Strait In some countries,

Islanders (AU), Māori (NZ) indigenous peoples are also
known as First Peoples,
Aboriginal Peoples, or
Native Peoples.

Individual institutions are encouraged to use and tailor these building blocks in any way they
see fit. Also considered, but not included in the Key Partnerships building block of the
prepopulated HERM Business Model Canvas, were:

● Employers: because the use-cases considered for partnership seemed to be covered by

Commercial Organizations and by Industry Bodies.

Key Activities
"The Key Activities Building Block describes the most important things a company must do to
make its business model work."3
Key Activity Example Notes

Learning & Teaching Learning and teaching is a

primary value chain for
institutions and includes the
development and delivery of
curriculum, assessment, and
the management of the
student lifecycle.

Research Research is a primary value

chain for many institutions
and includes the planning,
delivery, dissemination, and
management of research
activities and their impact.

3
https://www.strategyzer.com/business-model-canvas/key-activities

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 5

 Key Activity Example Notes

Fundraising Fundraising gathers voluntary

contributions of money or
other resources. Fundraising
is vital to maintaining the
broad mission of institutions
by supplementing primary
revenue sources.

Engagement Engagement facilitates

dialogue with specific groups
to understand their needs and
enable collaborative
decisions.

Outreach Outreach Management

broadcasts targeted
information and invitations to
engage into relevant groups.

Extension Extension enables the transfer

of knowledge and research
outcomes by the institution for
application by targeted
groups.

Collection Curation Collection Curation manages

an institution's collections,
that they house in various
formats, which are critical to
the storage and dissemination
of knowledge in support of
Learning & Teaching and
Research.

Commercialisation Commercialisation activities

translate research into
practical applications that can
be monetised.

Incubation Incubation provides the

"healthy hothouse" conditions
for start-ups and innovators to
thrive, or to fail safely.

Also considered, but not included in the Key Activities building block of the prepopulated
HERM Business Model Canvas, were:

● Clinical Work: because this is probably not a key activity. Should this be a key activity for
a particular institution then that institution is free to add this to their version of the
model.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 6

● Library and Museums and Cultural Heritage: because this is covered at a high level by
Collection Curation, Outreach, Engagement, Extension. However, there are institutions
that operate and care for very-significant galleries and museums, and if those represent
key activities for your institution then they should be included here.

● Governance: because although governance is an important aspect of running a

business, it is more of an enabling-operational-hygiene meta-activity and set of
processes and practices than it is a "key" activity. However, if your own business model
is around governance (e.g., providing governance to other institutions) then this should
be considered for addition to your own Business Model Canvas.

Key Resources
"Your Key Resources describe the most important assets required to make your business
model work."4
Key Resource Examples Notes

Brand Logo, marketing materials, Intellectual resources

website, social media
accounts, digital marketing
assets

Data Research data, student data, Intellectual resources

staff data, institutional data
sets

Staff Teaching staff, research staff, Human resources

professional staff, technical
staff, support staff

Facilities Campus, buildings, lecture Physical resources

theatres

Research Infrastructure Laboratories, testing facilities, Physical resources

libraries, synchrotrons,
spectrophotometers

Collections Archives, art collections, Intellectual or physical

special collections resources

Curriculum Course, subject, modules Intellectual resources

Partnerships Commercial partnerships, Partnerships may be in any

partnerships with other area of institutional activity,
institutions, community e.g., learning & teaching,
partnerships research, outreach.

Technology Virtual learning environments, Intellectual resources

databases, lecture capture,
machine learning models

4
https://www.strategyzer.com/business-model-canvas/key-resources

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 7

Also considered, but not included in the Key Resources building block of the prepopulated
HERM Business Model Canvas, were:

● Intellectual Property: because that can be positioned between Collections, Curriculum,

Data, and Technology.

● Academic expertise (intellectual): because that is viewed as an integral element of our

Staff.

Value Propositions
"Your Value Proposition describes the bundle of products and services that create value for a
specific Customer Segment."5

Note that the Value Propositions have been split out for each of the core value chains in the
Business Capability Model.

Learning & Teaching

Value Proposition Examples Notes

Career Prospects Association with brand institutions;

minimum floor of educational
attainment for roles; attainment of
industry/commercial-ready skill sets
and capabilities

Recognised Credentials Degree credentials; skills and

capability credentials and
certifications; microcredentials

Skills & Competencies Communication and Groupwork; The list of skills examples
Attitudes and Values; Practical and offered given here are from
Professional; Research and Critique; the CAPRI assessment
Innovation and Creativity framework (Thompson, D.
(2016). Marks should not be
the focus of assessment —
But how can change be
achieved? Journal of
Learning Analytics, 3(2),
193–212.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18608/jl
a.2016.32.9

Knowledge Academic discipline, or academic

field (domain-specific knowledge)
includes sub categorisations of:
humanities, social sciences, natural
sciences, formal sciences, and
applied sciences.

5
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 Value Proposition Examples Notes

Socioeconomic Standing Impact on social and

financial prospects through
career prospects.

Research & Innovation

Value Proposition Examples Notes

Reputation Association with acknowledge

research leaders

Accelerated Insights Collaboration with discipline

leadership; access to specific
research infrastructure; review and
critique from credentialled peers

Innovative Approaches Research utilising novel techniques

implied by cutting-edge research
findings

Discovery

Output findings, publications, research data Refer to the definition of

sets [Research Output
Management] in the HERM
Business Capability Model.

Outcome Refer to the definition of

[Research Outcome
Management] in the HERM
Business Capability Model.

Impact Refer to the definition of

[Research Impact
Management] in the HERM
Business Capability Model.

Valorisation "Knowledge valorisation is

the process of creating
social and economic value
from knowledge by linking
different areas and sectors
and transforming data,
know-how and research
results into sustainable
products, services, solutions
and knowledge-based
policies that benefit
society."6

6
EU Valorisation Policy:
https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/eu-val
orisation-policy_en

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 9

Engagement
Value Proposition Examples Notes

Critic of Society Ability to challenge and

debate conventional
wisdom and norms freely
and openly from a protected
position as trusted advisors
and experts.

Conscience of Society Ability to question and

challenge societal beliefs
and practices freely, with a
view to define and shift what
is accepted as "good"
through fairness, justice,
equity, and sustainability.

Fellowship Belonging, Association, Community,

Membership, Affiliation

Customer Relationships
"Your Customer Relationships describe the types of relationships your company establishes
with specific Customer Segments."7
Customer Relationship Examples Notes

Self-Service Interactions through FAQ, Chatbots, Customers interact with

automated forms, knowledge bases, institutions using tools to
and digital humans. find information and access
services without direct
contact from staff.

Personal Assistance Assistance, guidance,

support, and advisement
provided personally by a
staff member.

Lifelong Learning The institution develops an

ongoing relationship with
these customers

Pastoral Mentorship Provide stewardship, care,

and guidance to people for
non-academic concerns.

Alumni Network Network-based persistent

relationships between
people, including University
staff and other Alumni.

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 Customer Relationship Examples Notes

Collaborative Student Co-Design, Collaborative

Learning,

Consultative Engagement and customer

relationships based upon
the provision of expertise
and consultancy.

Channels
"Your Channels describe how your company communicates with and reaches your Customer
Segments to deliver your Value Proposition."8
Channels Examples Notes

In-Person Face-to-face (in-class) curriculum Can be used to deliver,

delivery of lectures, tutorials, promote and provide
laboratories, and seminars; support around the value
face-to-face academic advisement proposition of the
and interviews; in-person institution.
attendance at physical events.

Digital Online curriculum delivery, Digital is a channel

videoconferencing, virtual labs. irrespective of campus
presence or not. Digital can
be used in situations such
as the online delivery of
curriculum, tele-medicine,
and virtual tours.

Telephone Requesting assistance to change

programmes.

Print Media Internal newsletters; pamphlets and Advertisement of

flyers, signage. programmes and courses,
campaigns and brand,
includes signage on
buildings, buses, and trains,
etc.

Mainstream Media Major news sources available via Used for press releases,
television, radio, online, or sponsored content and
magazines. editorials, interviews, and
other purposes through any
mainstream media channel.

Social Media Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Promotion of events,

Twitter, YouTube, WeChat. customer engagement and
advice.

8
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Customer Segments
"Your Customer Segments are the different groups of people or organizations your enterprise
aims to reach and serve. This includes users who might not generate revenues, but which are
necessary for the business model to work."9
Customer segments Examples Notes

Prospective students A person with the potential

to become an applicant and
eventually a Student.

Domestic students A person with eligible

citizenship who is admitted
to an Academic Programme
offered by the Institution.

International students A person whose citizenship

makes them ineligible for
admission to the institution
as a domestic student.

Undergraduate students

Postgraduate students A student undertaking

further study at an
advanced level.

Governments

Alumni

Researchers This includes people doing

research, regardless of
whether the research
activity is unfunded,
institution-funded, or
externally-funded by either
private or public sources.

Industries See "Industry Bodies" in the

Key Partnerships building
block above.

Communities See "Communities" in the

Key Partnerships building
block above, and reference
the "Group" entity in the
Data Reference Model.

9
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Cost Structure
"Your Cost Structure describes all costs incurred to operate your business model."10
Cost Structure Examples Notes

Staff Salaries, Bonuses, Travel, Expenses, "Staff" covers staff and

Occupancy. contractors and others
comprising the "workforce".

Physical Estate Buildings, Groundskeeping, Includes rent/lease costs

Machinery and Plant, Maintenance, for land/space.
Solar Farm, Campus Security, Halls
of Residence, Waste Management.

Digital Estate Storage, Telephone, Internet of All things related to the

Things, Servers, Software Licences, digital operation of the
Data and Information, institution, encompassing
High-Performance Computing. "Information &
Communication
Technology".

Business Services Advertising, marketing, sponsorship Any services, in-house and

and promotions, database and outsourced, that an institute
journal and other subscriptions, requires to support its key
brand management, consulting activities and customer
services such as legal, external segments.
audit, and treasury, student
recruitment agent fees.

Business Operations Food and Retail, Childcare, Any operations, in-house

Recreation and Wellness, and outsourced, that an
Healthcare. institute requires to support
its key activities and
customer segments.

Utilities and Consumables Coffee, Electricity, Gas, Water,

Steam, Stationery, Internet.

Revenue Streams
“Your Revenue Streams represent the ways your company generates cash from each
Customer Segment.”11

In the HERM Business Model Canvas, the Revenue Streams have been separated into key
categories based loosely on the value chains in the Business Capability Model: Learning &
Teaching, Research & Innovation, and various commonly-collected business capability
families chosen from the Enabling Capabilities with relevance to the context of this Business
Model Canvas (e.g., Partnerships & Engagement, Service & Operation).

10
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11
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 Revenue Streams Examples Notes

Learning & Teaching

Fees Tuition fees, Accommodation,

Material and Equipment fees,
Library fines.

Government Funding Government-subsidised places,

Teaching grants.

Research & Innovation

Research Grants The Australian Research Council This includes any

(ARC), The National Health and grant-based research
Medical Research Council income arising from
(NHMRC). governments,
non-government
organisations, research
institutes or industry
partners.

Research Contracts Research activity and

consultancy work
commissioned by the
private sector.

Research Commercialisation As well as products,

commercialisation includes,
services: e.g., licences.

Partnerships & Engagement

Philanthropy Gifts, Donations.

Financial Management

Investments Revenue from investments.

Endowments Revenue from endowments.

Service and Operation

Events Plays and performances, gallery and

museum admissions, concerts,
athletic and esports events.

Facilities Accommodation (conferences,

summer camps), Spaces
(conferences, teaching), Equipment
and Specialised Assets.

Also considered, but not included in the Revenue Streams building block of the prepopulated
HERM Business Model Canvas, were:

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 14

● Medical: because the proportion of institutions that earn a significant proportion of their
revenue from the operation of medical facilities is reportedly small. This also includes
activities such as offering gymnasium memberships to the public. If medical facilities
do provide a significant revenue stream for your institution, or if you are examining a
specific scenario related to their operation, then please do add them into your Business
Model Canvas, and let us know!

● Library Readers: because this is typically a very small proportion of an institution's

revenue, and could be covered in a future version of the HERM Business Model Canvas
by the introduction of something broader such as "memberships".

● Research Infrastructure: because this could be broadly covered by a combination of

"Research Contracts" and "Facilities" (e.g., leasing to other institutions or individual
researchers time on specific research equipment and research infrastructure).

● Accreditations and Joint Ventures: because these are viewed as falling into either
"Research Contracts" or "Facilities".

Further Information

Acknowledgements

Strategyzer
We acknowledge the important and foundational work of Alex Osterwalder in creating the
Business Model Canvas, and the ongoing promotion and support for the Business Model
Canvas that is led by the consulting firm Strategyzer. Please visit and explore Strategyzer's
website for more information and other resources:
● https://www.strategyzer.com/business-model-canvas/

Higher Education Community

The prototype of the HERM Business Model Canvas was created by members of the CAUDIT
Higher Education Reference Models Working Group, and received valuable review, feedback,
and suggestions for improvement from the UCISA Enterprise Architecture Special Interest
Group and from the EDUCAUSE Itana Business Architecture Working Group. We thank and
acknowledge these groups for the significant contributions they have made to this work.

Distribution
The Higher Education Reference Model distribution (known colloquially as the "HERM") is
maintained by the CAUDIT Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice. The models are
offered under the Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-NC-SA licence, and may be used freely by
educational institutions. Extensions to the reference model must be shared back with
CAUDIT to enable ongoing evolution and to maximise benefits to the wider community.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 15

Providing Feedback
If you have any feedback or suggestions about the Higher Education Reference Models,
please collaborate directly with your local Enterprise Architecture Special Interest Group, or
contact the HERM Working Group directly by email to [email protected]

[ end of document ]

HERM Version 3.1.0 Business Model Canvas Explainer — Page 16

 HIGHER EDUCATION BUSINESS CAPABILITY MODEL
CORE CAPABILITIES
LEARNING AND TEACHING
DESIGN RECRUIT ENROL DELIVER ASSESS CONFER
Curriculum Management Student Recruitment Student Admission Student Enrolment Curriculum Delivery Student Assessment Completion
Management
Curriculum Planning Curriculum Design Domestic Student International Study Application Learning Enrolment Student Allocation Learning & Teaching Learning & Teaching Learning Completion Award
Recruitment Student Recruitment Management Recognition Resource Resource Assessment
Management Preparation Management
Curriculum Curriculum Matriculation Timetable Learning & Teaching Student Supervision Student Research
Production Accreditation Management Delivery Assessment

Offering Curriculum
Management Improvement Student Management

Curriculum Scholarship Student Liability Financial Aid Student Academic Cross-Institutional

Disestablishment Management Management Management Progress Study
Management
DESCRIPTION Placement Examination Special Research Student Misconduct
The Higher Education Business Capability Model describes a standard set Management Management Consideration Candidature Management
Management Management
of Business Architecture elements relevant to Higher Education. It can be
used as a reference for Business Stakeholders, Enterprise Architects, and Student Support
Technology Strategists to engage in discussion regarding business
effectiveness, needs, and challenges. Standing alongside the Academic Advice Core Skills Careers Advice Financial Advice Student Grievance
accompanying Business Model Canvas, the Business Capability Model Development Management
elaborates the core value chains for higher education and their
underlying business capabilities.
RESEARCH
UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS CAPABILITIES
A capability model supports the development of strategies by viewing the PLAN FUND ASSURE CONDUCT DISSEMINATE
business as a collection of capabilities that can be adjusted in response to Research Opportunities & Planning Research Funding Research Assurance Research Management Research Activity Research Dissemination
the demands of the business environment. This models WHAT the
organisation is capable of doing. It presents the business capabilities Research Collaborative Research Fund Research Ethics Research Integrity Research Funds Research Data Research Creation Research Output Research Outcome
Opportunity Opportunity Sourcing Management Management Management Management Management Management
within the wider business context of WHO it serves, relies on, and Management Management
answers to, extending beyond organisational boundaries. A Business Research Project Research Grant Research Research Quality Research Research Research Resource Research Impact Research
Capability is a particular logical combination of People, Process, Design Management Performance Management Programme Infrastructure Management Management Commercialisation
Information, and Technology necessary to deliver a discrete required Management Management Management Management
outcome to achieve a specific business objective. The capabilities support
the realisation of an institution's strategies.
ENABLING CAPABILITIES
BUSINESS MOTIVATION CAPABILITY
Strategy Management Business Capability Management Governance, Risk, & Compliance Library Administration
INFLUENCERS People
Vision & Strategy Business Planning Enterprise Customer Business Process Service Management Policy Management Quality Management Risk Management Compliance Business Continuity Library Collection
Development Architecture Experience Management Management Management Management
Process Management
MEANS ENDS OUTCOMES
Strategic Plan Change Portfolio & Project Management Product Benefits Incident Investigation Internal Audit Complaint & Collection Access
Information Management Management Programme Management Management Management Management Compliment Management
Management Management
ASSESSMENT Technology
Advancement Management Marketing Management Engagement & Relationship Management Legal Services Information & Communication Technology
USAGE Management
Alumni Management Development & Market Research Brand Management Marketing Planning Communications Engagement Relationship Legal Advisory Contract Alignment, Planning, Build, Acquisition, &
The Business Capability Model serves as an anchor for assessing Fundraising Management Management Management Management & Organisation Implementation
perspectives such as strategic importance, maturity, business operational
pain points, capital investment, and organisational structure. It presents a Donor, Sponsor, & Campaign Advertising Merchandising Outreach Extension Dispute Resolution & Delivery, Service, & Monitoring,
Philanthropist Management Management Management Management Litigation Support Assessment, &
view of the organisation with traceability from business objectives Management Evaluation
through to the information, technology, and other resources required to
support them. Human Resource Management Financial Management

Organisational Workforce Planning Talent Acquisition Workforce Training Remuneration & Financial Planning & Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable General Accounting Price Modelling Tax Payroll Management
MAJOR CONCEPTS Design & Development Benefits Analysis Management
Typically an ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE would be included to provide Management
context for the scope of the model. Workforce Resource Workforce Workforce Relations Human Resource Bank Management Procurement Project Accounting Asset Management Investment Treasury
Management Performance Management Support Management Management Management
VALUE CHAINS capture how the institution generates value through Management
Learning & Teaching and Research.
Information Management Facilities & Estate Management Supporting Services
CORE CAPABILITIES that directly support the Value Chains are organised Facilities Property Campus Housing & Gallery & Museum Childcare Healthcare Health, Safety, &
Business Intelligence Advanced Analytics Data Management Information
under the relevant Value Chain Segment. & Reporting Governance Management Management Transportation Accommodation Management Management Management Wellbeing
Management Management Management
ENABLING CAPABILITIES support the core capabilities across the value Identity & Access Information Security Enterprise Content Records Campus Security Commercial Tenancy Cleaning & Waste Membership Sport & Recreation Intercollegiate Retail Management Travel Management
chains and keep the institution running. Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Management Athletics
Management
Groundskeeping Environmental Space Utilisation
FURTHER INFORMATION Intellectual Property
Management
Artefact & Collection
Management
Digital Preservation
Management Sustainability Management
Event Management Venue Management Printing
Management
Mail Management
Definitions of each model element are provided in the accompanying Management
Business Reference Model Catalogue, and supporting commentary is
provided in the accompanying Business Reference Model Explainer.

Version 3.1.0, © 2024 CAUDIT; The Higher Education Reference Model is maintained by the CAUDIT Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice. The model is offered under the Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-NC-SA license, and may
be used freely by educational institutions but may not be bundled, sublicensed, or used for commercial purpose. Extensions to the reference model must be shared with CAUDIT to enable ongoing evolution and to maximise benefit
to the wider community. Elements of this model have alignment with the APQC open standard. CAUDIT acknowledges warmly the generous contribution of FromHereOn Pty Ltd to the Higher Education Reference Model. Please visit
https://caudit.edu.au/ for more information, and email [email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, questions, and share-alike submissions.
Recipe Card Template
Primary Ingredients

Value Chain:
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
● Business Capability

Value Chain:
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
● Business Capability

Enabling Capabilities:
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
Recipe Card Template
Ingenio et Labore.

Value Chain:
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
● Business Capability

Value Chain:
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
● Business Capability

Enabling Capabilities:
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
● Business Capability
Recipe Card: IT Governance
Primary Ingredients

Enabling Capabilities:
● Enterprise Architecture
● Benefits Management
● Policy Management
● Risk Management
● Workforce Training & Development
● Procurement Management

Information & Communication Technology

Management:
● Alignment, Planning, & Organisation
● Build, Acquisition, & Implementation
● Delivery, Service, & Support
● Monitoring, Assessment, & Evaluation
Recipe Card: IT Governance
IT Governance is "...the processes that ensure the effective and efficient use of IT in enabling an organization to achieve its goals"1. A wide range of
frameworks and operating models are applicable to IT Governance, including COBIT2, IT4IT3, NIST4, ITIL5, and The Business Technology Standard6.

The business capabilities whose configurations most define IT Governance outcomes are those in [Information & Communication Technology
Management].

However, the institutional climate in which "IT" operates to a great extent enables or constrains the effectiveness of IT Governance, with the scope and
maturity of [Enterprise Architecture] making fundamental contributions.

Attention must also be paid to the configuration of the [Governance, Risk, & Compliance] business capabilities [Policy Management] and [Risk
Management], with the concerns of [Data Management] and [Information Security Management] also playing a significant role here. On a day-to-day
basis, decisions and control frameworks enacted by [Procurement Management] are also material to IT Governance outcomes, and raising the
awareness and capability of staff about the implications of decisions they make is also key through [Workforce Training & Development].

IT Governance that seeks very-broad influence across enterprise decisions about particular work that is chosen to be done, about the identification
and management of technical debt, and about the control of business processes will also need to examine the configuration of other items under
[Business Capability Management], particularly for design, delivery, and solution-selection through [Project Management] and [Product Management]
and for performance-and-control considerations through [Business Process Management].

Depending upon the scope and nature of a particular IT Governance instantiation and the outcomes it it is expected to deliver, both direction from
[Strategic Plan Management] and specific outcomes from [Customer Experience Management] will also come into the frame here.

Footnotes: 1. https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/it-governance; 2. https://www.isaca.org/resources/cobit; 3. https://www.opengroup.org/it4it;

4. https://www.nist.gov/; 5. https://www.axelos.com/certifications/itil-service-management/; 6. https://www.managebt.org/
Recipe Card: The Open Group IT4IT™
Primary Ingredients

Enabling Capabilities:
● Information & Communication
Technology Management
● Strategy Management
● Business Capability Management
● Governance, Risk, & Compliance
● Information Management
● Financial Management

P P D R P B S S R The IT4IT™ Level 1 functional groups are

P P P B B R
mapped to the HERM Business Capability
P S P B
D R Model with these symbols:
S S S
● P = Plan (Strategy to Portfolio)
S S S D ● B = Build (Requirement to Deploy)
S ● D = Deliver (Request to Fulfill)
D R R
S ● R = Run (Detect to Correct)
● S = Supporting Functions
Recipe Card: The Open Group IT4IT™
The Open Group IT4IT™ Forum† describes a reference architecture standard that manages "...the business of IT, enable business insight across the
Digital Value Network, increase focus on business outcomes, and improve agility."

Many institutions using the HERM also subscribe to IT4IT™. This recipe card offers an initial illustrative mapping from the IT4IT™ Level 1 functional
groups to Level 2 business capabilities of the HERM Business Capability Model. The IT4IT™ Level 1 functional groups and the mapping codes used
overleaf are:

● P = Plan (Strategy to Portfolio)

● B = Build (Requirement to Deploy)
● D = Deliver (Request to Fulfill)
● R = Run (Detect to Correct)
● S = Supporting Functions (referenced functions that are not normative definitions in the IT4IT™ Standard)

All mappings in this recipe card are made from IT4IT™ Level 1 functional groups to Enabling Capabilities of the HERM business Capability Model, and
some contextual notes are provided below:

● Given its importance to the digital ecosystem, [Environmental Sustainability Management] is included as a mapping to IT4IT™
[Supporting].[Intelligence & Reporting]
● Selected business capabilities from [Financial Management] are mapped to IT4IT™ [Supporting].[Financial Management]
● Selected business capabilities from [Human Resource Management] are mapped to IT4IT™ [Supporting].[Workforce Management]

† Refer to https://pubs.opengroup.org/it4it/3.0/snapshot/Metamodel.html#def-functional-groups
Recipe Card: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging
Primary Ingredients
Learning & Teaching:
● Student Recruitment
● Learning & Teaching Delivery

Enabling Capabilities:
● Policy Management
● Talent Acquisition
● Workforce Training & Development
● Health, Safety, & Wellbeing Management
Recipe Card: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion outcomes are crucially important for higher-education institutions and to the communities they serve (look at EDUCAUSE and
McKinsey, etc). These are the ingredients, the business capabilities whose configurations will have the greatest impact on DEI. Institutions must configure
deliberately the business capabilities that most contribute to achieving these outcomes. Very often committed in strategy declarations and in policy settings, DEI
outcomes are particularly sensitive to these business capabilities:

Learning & Teaching

● Student Recruitment: engagement and outreach, shaped by deliberate segment-and-cohort strategies, can deliver more-equitable student recruitment,
admission, and enrolment outcomes
● Learning & Teaching Delivery: fostering and ensuring academic success for every learner is affected directly by the approach taken to delivering learning
and teaching, to the provision of academic advice, and to how the institution manages the academic progress of its students

Human Resource Management

● Talent Acquisition: decisions about how the institution attracts, develops, retains, and progresses its staff determine strongly the extent to which diversity,
equity, and inclusion goals can be achieved
● Workforce Training & Development: through soft skills training, building cultural awareness, and providing staff with the skills and capabilities they need to
create an organisational culture that is resilient, anti-racist, and welcoming to all

Wider Enabling Capabilities:

● Policy Management: while it is hoped that diversity, equity, and inclusion goals do not have to be legislated by institutional policy, there will nevertheless
need to be clear policy guidelines and encouragements in place, potentially down the level of standard operating procedures
● Health, Safety, & Wellbeing Management: crafting an organisational and operational environment that facilitates psychological safety and provides
case-management and community-care systems and processes
● Enterprise Content Management: ensuring the language, imagery, media, and conversational features of the institution's content surfaces invite and
encourage participation by the widest-possible range of people
Recipe Card: Organisational Culture
Primary Ingredients

Enabling Capabilities:
● Vision & Strategy Management
● Business Capability Management
● Policy Management
● Communications Management
● Engagement Management
● Human Resource Management
● Business Intelligence & Reporting
● Facilities & Estate Management
● Health, Safety, & Wellbeing Management
Recipe Card: Organisational Culture
Organisational Culture is crucially important to an institution's performance and affects directly the quality of the customer
experiences it provides. However, organisational culture is a mercurial mixture of behaviours and beliefs, practices and
expectations, and standards and values that shape the experiences, agency, and feelings people have at work. Organisational
Culture is a complex consequence of many contributing factors, not all of which are directly observable or able to be known.
What this recipe card offers is a common collection of business capabilities whose configurations have demonstrated
connections with the organisational culture of an institution. This recipe card offers a good place to begin, rather than an
exhaustive preparation to follow that will realise a specific "flavour" of organisational culture. Notes on selected highlights are
included below:

Enabling Capabilities:
● Vision, Strategy, and Policy: The "why" and the "what" of an institution are signalled by its Vision and Strategy, which often
contain explicit statements of organisational values. Setting the values into play with organisational policy can be helpful
in setting cultural norms and defining behavioural expectations.
● Business Capability Management: "How we do things here" and "We care about one another" is demonstrated to an
institution's staff by the outcomes and expectations established by business capabilities such as Customer Experience
Management and Business Process Management and Service Management.
● Human Resource Management: The qualities of an institution's leadership and its management, its operating models, and
its ability to communicate and uplift the skills and capabilities of its staff are key determinants of organisational culture.
The business capabilities Organisational Design, Workforce Resource Management, Workforce Relations Management,
Workforce Training & Development, Remuneration & Benefits Management are all involved here.
● Facilities & Estate: Both the condition and maintenance of the physical estate and the extent to which campus and its
facilities are uplifting and aspirational play an important role in determining organisational culture.
Recipe Card: Student Success
Primary Ingredients

Learning & Teaching:

● Curriculum Design
● Learning & Teaching Delivery
● Learning Assessment
● Student Academic Progress Management
● Financial Aid Management
● Academic Advice
● Careers Advice
● Financial Advice
● Core Skills Development

Enabling Capabilities:
● Customer Experience Management
● Business Process Management
● Advanced Analytics
● Business Intelligence & Reporting
● Workforce Training & Development
● Engagement Management
● Relationship Management
Recipe Card: Student Success
This recipe card is focused upon establishing conditions and practices that maximise the academic success of students. Core considerations drawn
from a variety of sources, include the selection referenced below, typically include:

1. Student-Centric approaches to experience design and service provision

2. Innovative approaches to curriculum design;
3. Adaptive and responsive pedagogies for curriculum delivery and learning assessment;
4. Ensuring that learning resources are accessible and available equitably;
5. Identifying and removing barriers to student participation and persistence;
6. Building data-and-analytics models that suggest where interventions might benefit students
7. Establishing observable feedback loops that demonstrate the efficacy of various interventions and enable their performance to be optimised;
8. Removing administrative friction from student-facing business processes.

1. Pelletier, K. (2019) Student Success: 3 Big Questions, EDUCAUSE Review, available at https://er.educause.edu/articles/2019/10/student-success--3-big-questions — Colleges and universities
embrace the aspiration of student success yet are still grappling with big questions about how to define, measure, and structure student success, all while keeping the student at the center. 2. Carballo,
S. (2023) 2024 Guide: What is Student Success in Higher Education?, Element451, available at https://element451.com/blog/what-is-student-success-in-higher-education; 3. Student Success
Journal, available at https://studentsuccessjournal.org/; 4. Flaherty, C. (2023) Changing the Conversation: Promoting Student Success, Inside Higher Ed, available at
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/02/13/why-everyone-should-be-talking-about-student-success — Early actors in the student success movement discuss how the landscape has
changed over the past decade and why everyone needs to be talking about student success. 5. Brown, M. (2022) Put Data and Analytics to Work in Higher Education to Impact Student Success,
Gartner Research, Article ID #G00777287, available at https://www.gartner.com/document/4021372 — Delivering data and analytics that foster student success is an ongoing challenge for
educational institutions. Higher education CIOs can play a key role in boosting student enrollment, retention and on-time completion rates by applying the appropriate analytics to address institutional
goals. 6. Brown, M. (2023) Boost Higher Education Student Retention by Using Faculty Engagement Analytics, Gartner Research, Article ID #G00786848, available at
https://www.gartner.com/document/4314899 — Connected and engaged faculty have a positive impact on student success and retention. Higher education CIOs play a key role
in supporting retention efforts by leveraging existing technologies to capture faculty engagement analytics, which academic leaders can leverage to impact student outcomes.
 HIGHER EDUCATION DATA REFERENCE MODEL
CORE TOPICS
Curriculum Student Management Learning & Teaching Research

Programme of Study Application Financial Assistance Timetable Research Research Application

Learning Opportunity

Area of Learning Enrolment Placement Learning Activity Research Award Research Project

Unit of Learning Student Progress Credit Learning Resource Research Resource Research Data

Element of Learning Award Assessment Research Output Research Outcome

DESCRIPTION Learning Outcome Research Impact

The HERM Data Reference Model describes a standard set of Data
Architecture elements relevant to Higher Education. It identifies the
business nouns that define a common language for Business
Stakeholders, Enterprise Architects, and Technology Strategists to
communicate clearly. The primary component of the Data Reference
Model is the embedded conceptual data model, which captures these
nouns as high-level data entities, grouped into topics.

UNDERSTANDING DATA ENABLING TOPICS

Data are a set of facts, representing a specific concept or concepts. Planning & Governance & Risk Legal & Compliance Service & Operation Finance Asset Human Resource Facility Advancement
Value is added to data when they are combined and presented to users Performance
within a context, turning them into meaningful information to support Strategy Policy Contract Service Account Financial Asset Entitlement Facility Gift
business decisions and enable operational activities.

DATA + CONTEXT = INFORMATION Plan Risk Obligation Campaign Budget Physical Asset Position Utility

USAGE Programme Incident Record Communication Expense Intangible Asset Competency

There are three established levels defined in data modelling:
conceptual, logical, and physical. This conceptual data model focuses Project Event Financial Liability Collection Talent Acquisition
only on the data entities to describe the language of an institution and
has an enterprise-wide scope to provide a strategic view of information.
Revenue
The purpose of this model is to define the agreed terminology and key
business concepts. The model can be used to identify which data
General Ledger
entities are assembled or reused in various information assets, data
quality risks, who is responsible for governing the data, and where data
are stored. The top-level conceptual data entities also provide the basis
for more-detailed conceptual, logical, and physical data models that
further specify relationships and attributes as inputs to business
technology solutions design.
FOUNDATION TOPICS
MAJOR CONCEPTS Individual Role Group Location Time
A topic is a collection of data entities that share a common theme. This
is not the same as a subject area. In a modelling context, a subject area
Person Prospect Applicant Organisation Building Calendar
(e.g., Research) may contain data entities from multiple topics, such as a
Person (Individual topic) with a Staff role (Role topic) is contributing to a
Research Project (Research topic). Creature Student Staff Cohort Campus

CORE TOPICS contain data entities that typically support the core
business capabilities as defined in the HERM Business Capability Model. Machine Alum Customer Collective Site

ENABLING TOPICS contain data entities that typically support the Stakeholder Supplier Community Space
enabling business capabilities as defined in the HERM Business
Capability Model.
Sponsor Donor Indigenous Peoples
FOUNDATION TOPICS contain commonly-found data entities that
typically support the core and enabling topics — for example, a Person
(Individual topic) with a Student Role (Role topic) is admitted to a Volunteer
Programme of Learning (Curriculum topic).

FURTHER INFORMATION
Definitions of each model element are provided in the accompanying
Data Reference Model Catalogue, and supporting commentary is
provided in the accompanying Data Reference Model Explainer.

Version 3.1.0, © 2024 CAUDIT; The Higher Education Reference Model is maintained by the CAUDIT Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice. The model is offered under the Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-NC-SA license, and may be used freely by
educational institutions but may not be bundled, sublicensed, or used for commercial purpose. Extensions to the reference model must be shared with CAUDIT to enable ongoing evolution and to maximise benefit to the wider community. Elements of
this model have alignment with the APQC open standard. CAUDIT acknowledges warmly the generous contribution of FromHereOn Pty Ltd to the Higher Education Reference Model. Please visit https://caudit.edu.au/ for more information, and email
[email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, questions, and share-alike submissions.
HERM Data Reference Model Explainer
Introduction
The Higher Education Data Reference Model (DRM) describes a standard set of
Data Architecture elements relevant to Higher Education. It identifies the business
nouns that define a common language for Business Stakeholders, Enterprise
Architects, and Technology Strategists to communicate clearly.

Model Anatomy
Model Context
Modelled at the conceptual level, the DRM supports the other HERM models, and
enables institutions to focus on strategic and governance concerns regarding their
data, rather than detail-oriented uses such as systems design or interoperability that
are more appropriately addressed at the logical and physical layers.

Model Structure
The primary component of the DRM is the embedded conceptual data model, which
captures these nouns as high-level data entities, grouped into topics. The topics are
collected into three layers:

● Core: Topics and entities supporting the core higher education business
capabilities, as represented in the HERM Business Capability Model. Core data
are specific to a higher education context.

● Enabling: Topics and entities that support the enabling higher education
business capabilities, as represented in the HERM Business Capability model.
Enabling data are common across most industries or sectors.

● Foundation: Fundamental topics and entities that are required to support both
the Core and Enabling layers. Data in this layer are ubiquitous.

Model Attributes
The model attributes are described in the DRM catalogue as follows:

● Topic | Entity Name: The name of each DRM model element.

● Parent Topic: A Data Entity’s parent Data Topic.

● Topic Type | Parent Topic Type: The model layer in which each model element is
located (i.e., one of Core, Enabling, or Foundation).
● Topic ID | Data Entity ID: The unique identifier assigned to each model element
(DT### for Data Topics and DE### for Data Entities). These identifiers are never
reassigned or recycled.

● Alternative Names: Synonyms and equivalent nouns for the Data Topic or Data
Entity name.

● Common Sub-Classes: A non-exhaustive listing of lower-order variants of the

parent topic or entity sub-classes (e.g., Undergraduate Curriculum as a sub-class
of Curriculum; Postgraduate Student as a sub-class of Student).

● Data Topic | Entity Description: A concise description of the topic or entity, free
from enumerations and motivations.

● Comments: More expansive commentary on the topic or entity which may

include examples, enumerations, and recognition of differences across higher
education institutions and sectors.

● TOGAF Enterprise Metamodel Entity: A mapping between DRM data entities and
the TOGAF metamodel, full details of the TOGAF Enterprise Metamodel entities
and their definitions are available from The Open Group at
https://pubs.opengroup.org/togaf-standard/architecture-content/chap02.html#t
ag_02_03

Design Principles
The key design principles underlying the DRM guided its creation, and inform its
ongoing expansion and maintenance. When preparing to use the DRM for the first
time, the following two principles are particularly important. Understanding these
two principles will help you understand the scoping and levelling considerations that
underpin the DRM and its entities.

● Data Entities are Fully-Formed: All DRM data entities implicitly contain all the
information elements required to operate. Those information elements include:
● metadata (and descriptive data)
● master data (people, places, products, etc)
● reference data (postcodes, standard classification codes, country codes, etc)
● transactional data (grades, salaries, orders, etc)
● summarised data (reports, etc)
● audit and log data (machine-readable log files, etc)

● Avoid Over-Specialisation: As a conceptual reference model, the DRM represents

a high-level "list of things important to the business". In order for that list of
things to maintain consistent levelling, lower-order variants are not represented
directly in the DRM — for example, the DRM contains the role [Student] and not
its common sub-classes such as "undergraduate student" or "postgraduate
student".

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 2

Common Sub-Classes
Common Sub-Classes identify lower-level things that are encountered commonly but
cannot be declared in the top-level DRM while maintaining levelling consistency.
Examples include:

● the sub-classing of the [Financial Assistance] entity into "grant", "scholarship"

and "bursary"
● the sub-classing of the [Incident] entity into "digital incident", "physical incident",
and "behavioural incident".

Common Sub-Classes appear in the DRM catalogue, but are not displayed in the
DRM poster. They are not exhaustive, and should not be confused with Alternative
Names. Common Sub-Classes may be defined at the topic or at the entity level.
When declared on a topic, Common Sub-Classes also apply to all child entities.

Common Use-Cases
A number of use-cases for the DRM are documented in the HERM use-case
compendium, including:

● forming the basis of an institution’s data governance practise

● as the foundation of an institutional common data model

● communicating data concepts between institutions

● understanding which parts of the data estate that projects will impact

● mapping applications to data entities

Getting Started
While the DRM can be used as is, the first step to embed it in an institution is usually
to customise the entities in the Curriculum topic to match the local nomenclature,
Appendix 1, Curriculum Modelling in the Data Reference Model, describes this
process in detail.

A high-level alignment with the institutional terminology glossary may also be

required. The DRM catalogue includes an Alternative Names column that lists
synonyms for some entities — these names can simply be swapped with the entity
name.

Institutions with existing TOGAF-aligned enterprise architectures may wish to use the
DRM TOGAF mapping to analyse and integrate the DRM into their existing
architecture. If you do not use TOGAF, the mapping can still usefully assist you in
addressing basic consistency of architectural terminology.

From this point onwards, the DRM should be ready to be applied to your institutional
use-cases.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 3

Recommended Practices
While there are no hard and fast rules around how you use the DRM, others have
found the following practices useful.

● Start Small: Begin with an achievable goal that is largely in your control, e.g.,
identify the organisational areas likely to be data custodian for DRM entities.
This can be the start of a data governance framework.

● Focus on Communication With People: The DRM is built for conversations with
business people. It is an excellent tool for understanding the data components of
business capabilities, defining data governance domains, and forming the
foundation for localised institutional data models. It complements institutional
logical data models, it is not meant to replace them. Instead, align the DRM with
your institutional logical data models for effective use in tasks such as detailed
solution design.

● Draw Upon It: When using the DRM as a starting point for understanding the
impact of projects or changes on the data estate, print out the models and let
teams highlight the areas of importance to them.

● Customise as Required: Never be afraid to consider customising the DRM for

your institutional needs. As part of the HERM, the DRM is an industry-level
reference model and cannot possibly cover every conceivable variation, local
context or nuance. Prioritise local utility over modelling purity. Change the
names of the entities to what your business users expect to see. If there is
something deeply important to your business users that is not in the DRM, add it.
Your use of the DRM can, and will change over time. The DRM is a two-way
communication tool.

● Share Your Findings: The HERM is an open, international collaboration. Sharing

your findings, your thoughts, your customisations, and your questions
strengthens the models. Details on how to provide feedback can be found at the
end of this document.

Potential Futures
Model Extension
The DRM will continue to evolve with each new HERM release through consultation,
feedback, and the generous contributions and support of the world-wide Higher
Education community.

Pattern Cards and Relationships

This document includes a set of curriculum pattern cards in the appendix. The
pattern cards explain the implicit relationships and hierarchy within the Curriculum
topic. In future DRM releases additional pattern cards may be included to explain the
relationships between key topics and their entities.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 4

Data Reference Model Mappings
DRM entities are mapped to TOGAF enterprise metamodel entities. The value and
purpose of these mappings is to enable better navigation of the level of abstraction
in the model and to provide richer context. This mapping addresses the basic
consistency of architectural terminology, helping to categorise the data, and
maintain contextual reference.

Future releases of the HERM may include mappings between some or all of the
component models — specifically, the BRM, DRM, ARM, and TRM.

Mappings to lower-level logical or physical reference models have been consistently

suggested by the community. While there is obviously a latent demand for such
mappings, they have been difficult to realise due to the disparate nature of the
suggested models. The suggested models have often been constructed for different
purposes, or are product-specific, making mapping to the DRM or HERM difficult to
achieve.

Alignment with lower-level models will continue to be investigated as opportunities

arise, even if entity-level mapping is not feasible.

Providing Feedback
This document evolved from community feedback requesting information about the
relationships between DRM entities and an explanation of the implicit relationships
within and between DRM topics.

If you have any feedback or suggestions about the Higher Education Reference
Models, please collaborate directly with your local Enterprise Architecture Special
Interest Group, or contact the HERM Working Group directly by email to
[email protected]

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 5

Appendix 1: Curriculum Modelling in the Data
Reference Model

About the Curriculum

The Curriculum is the foundational and fundamental basis of an institution’s
Learning & Teaching. Despite being common to all higher-education institutions,
Curriculum does not have universally-agreed standard terminology. While curricula
are observably constructed from a small number of common components, the
naming of those components is internationally, nationally, and sometimes even
intra-institutionally inconsistent. To address this, the DRM naming and definitions of
the majority of Curriculum entities are neutral. When working with the Data
Reference Model (DRM) in the context of your own specific institution it is important
to map your local terminology correctly. This document explains how, covering:

● The Curriculum entity hierarchy

● How to map your Curriculum to the DRM
● Common Curriculum Patterns

The DRM is a collection of core concepts, represented by business nouns. In

practice, the recommended approach is not to replace the terminology your
institution uses to describe its Curriculum Components with the terminology that the
DRM uses to describe Curriculum Components. Instead, the recommended
approach is to relabel the DRM concepts with terminology that is recognisable and
meaningful to your stakeholders.

If your institution calls the DRM [Programme of Learning] entity a Programme of

Study, Programme, Course, Degree, or any other variant of the term, consider
relabelling the DRM entities as appropriate. The Curriculum Mapping Template
detailed below is provided to assist institutions with this relabelling activity.

The Curriculum Entity Hierarchy

Entities in the Curriculum topic are arranged by size from largest to smallest on the
DRM poster and in the accompanying catalogue, where descriptions and other
contextual information is also provided. The resulting sequence of Curriculum
entities is therefore:

● Programme of Learning
● Area of Learning
● Unit of Learning
● Element of Learning
● Learning Outcome

Not all types of Curriculum will contain or reference every Curriculum entity, as
illustrated below in the Common Curriculum Patterns. Note also that common
alternative names are provided for many data entities in the accompanying DRM
catalogue.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 6

Mapping Your Curriculum to the DRM
Due to the wide variation in the naming of Curriculum entities across higher
education, it is impossible to provide a mapping of every possible terminology
combination. Some institutions may use different terms for the same entity,
depending on the context. For example, an undergraduate [Programme of Learning]
may be called a Degree (e.g., "Bachelor of Science Degree"), while a postgraduate
Programme of Learning may be called a Programme (e.g., "Master of Business
Administration Programme"). This approach presents visualisation challenges that
are best addressed on a case-by-case basis, but maintaining a mapping to the
underlying entities will assist in maintaining conceptual consistency in the models
you create and share for your own institution.

The following Curriculum Mapping Template can be used to identify your own
Curriculum entities and map them to the DRM. From left to right, the columns in this
Curriculum Mapping Template contain:

● How to Identify: When mapping your institution's Curriculum to the elements of

the DRM Curriculum, look for the Things that fit the behavioural and catalogue
descriptions and that match the examples provided.

● Examples: Common examples of each Thing are provided here as an aid to

recognising these Things in your own institution (e.g., "Bachelor of Fine Arts").

● Your Names: These blank spaces are provided for you to enter the names by
which your institution refers to each of these Things in its Curriculum (e.g., your
"Unit of Learning" might be known as a "Subject" or a "Unit" or a "Paper").

● DRM Names: This column lists the names of each Thing as it appears in the
[Curriculum] topic in the DRM.

● DRM Definitions: This column contains, for context, the description of each
[Curriculum] topic data entity as it appears in the accompanying DRM catalogue.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 7

 Curriculum Mapping Template
How to Identify Examples Your Names DRM Names DRM Definitions
Thing 1 Bachelor of Science
What do you call the Thing that you recruit Programme of Learning data
students into? Programme of describe the intention, rules,
and composition of an
Thing 1 might be called: Academic Programme, Learning institution’s qualifications.
Course, Degree, Degree Programme, Programme,
or Programme of Study at your institution.
Thing 2 Major in Chemistry
Area of Learning data describe
What, if anything, do you call groups of Thing 3s the structure, rules, and
that might be offered in Thing 1? Area of composition of a specialised
field, and define the
Thing 2 might be called: Area of Study, Field, Learning relationship with other
Major, Minor, Plan, Specialisation, Stream,
Curriculum Components.
Sub-Plan, or Tripos at your institution.
Thing 3 Advanced Chemical Analysis Unit of Learning data describe
What do you call the Things that students must the intention, rules and
study and complete successfully to graduate Unit of composition of the sequence
of learning activities that, on
from Thing 1?
Learning successful completion,
Thing 3 might be called: Course, Module, Paper, guarantees credit towards a
Subject, or Unit at your institution. qualification.
Thing 4 Thing 1 Level: Undergraduate Academic Integrity
What, if anything, do you call groups of similar Element of Learning data
content or activities either undertaken as part of Thing 2 Level: Chemistry Laboratory Safety describe the intention, rules,
Things 1–3 or standing alone (as lifelong
Thing 3 Level: Mass spectrometry analysis
Element of and composition of a small
learning)? sequence of learning activities
Learning that will be recognised on
Thing 4 might be called: Microcredential, or Stand-alone: Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis
successful completion.
Module at your institution. techniques.

Thing 5 Thing 1 Level: Communicate clearly, convincingly, and ethically

What do you call the Things that describe the to scientific audiences. Learning Outcome data
knowledge of skills outcomes students achieve describe the expected
through successful completion of a Thing 1–4? Thing 2 Level: Apply critical and analytical skills and methods knowledge, skills, or
to the identification and resolution of chemical problems. Learning competency that should be
acquired on successful
Thing 5 is usually called: Learning Outcome.
Thing 3 Level: Demonstrate proficiency…
Outcome completion of a Curriculum
Component, and their
Thing 4 Level: Demonstrate competency in sample preparation measurements.
and the use of GCMS equipment for analysis.
Common Curriculum Patterns
About Curriculum Patterns
Curriculum Patterns provide examples of commonly-encountered Curriculum
structures and the relationships between the entities in the pattern context. There is
only one Curriculum relationship common to all Patterns:

● Every ‘Thing of Learning’ entity must have at least one Learning Outcome.

Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate Curriculum Pattern

This pattern represents the bulk of all Programmes of Learning at most institutions
and is characterised by Curriculum Components being taught and assessed.
Successful completion leads to a qualification.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 9

Research with Taught Component Curriculum Pattern
This pattern represents Programmes of Learning that are primarily conducted by
supervised independent research, with a small number of taught Curriculum
Components. Successful completion leads to a qualification.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 10

Pure Research Curriculum Pattern
This Data Pattern represents Programmes of Learning that are conducted entirely by
supervised independent research. Successful completion leads to a qualification.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 11

Short Learning Curriculum Pattern 1
This pattern represents short-cycle tertiary education based on a Unit of Learning.
Successful completion may be recognised via a badge, certificate of completion,
microcredential, etc, and possibly later credited towards a qualification, though this
is not guaranteed.

Short Learning Curriculum Pattern 2

This pattern represents short-cycle tertiary education based on an Element of
Learning. Successful completion may be recognised via a badge, certificate of
completion, microcredential, etc, and possibly later credited towards a qualification,
though this is not guaranteed.

[ end of document: data reference model explainer ]

HERM Version 3.1.0 Data Reference Model Explainer — Page 12

HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATION REFERENCE MODEL
LEARNING AND TEACHING APPLICATIONS
Curriculum Student Attraction Student Administration Learning Content Curriculum Delivery Student Success Learning Assessment
Management
Curriculum Lifecycle Student Recruitment Student Admission Student Credit & Articulation eLearning Authoring Learning Academic Academic Integrity ePortfolio
Management Management Management Advisement Management
System
Curriculum Agent Management Candidature Financial Aid Scholarship Digital Learning Placement Learning Analytics Examination Remote Proctoring
Accreditation Management Management Object Management Management Management

Timetable Exchange & Transfer Student Conduct Digital Media Specialist Learning Career Support Results
Management Management Management Management Tool Management

Student Portal Credential Platform Graduation

Management

DESCRIPTION
The HERM Application Reference Model describes the application
software required to implement the business capabilities defined in RESEARCH APPLICATIONS
the HERM Business Capability Model. Research Management Research Activity Research Data Research Metrics
Management
USAGE Research Fund
Sourcing
Research Grants
Management
Research
Infrastructure
Virtual Laboratory Research Data
Management
Research
Performance
The Application Reference Model (ARM) can be used by Enterprise Management Planning Metrics
Architects, Solution Architects, and other stakeholders to develop Research Ethics Innovation Laboratory Electronic Research Identifier Research
future strategies and plans for an institution's application portfolio. Management Management Information Laboratory Management Dissemination
The ARM supports fundamental Enterprise Architecture use-cases by Management Notebook Metrics
providing a consistent taxonomy of applications to support reuse Intellectual Property Research Portal Specimen Animal Management Research Output
& Commercialisation Management Repository
across the enterprise; simplify architecture governance; focus on
exceptions to architecture standards; optimise the application Clinical Trials Specialist Research Reference
portfolio; support solution architecture with a consistent framework; Management Tool Management
and otherwise provide shared views of application architecture
across the higher-education sector.

MAJOR CONCEPTS
The ARM consists of three primary elements: ENABLING APPLICATIONS
APPLICATION DOMAINS are the top-level categorisation of Governance Change & Service & Operation Digital Identity Engagement & Financial Management Facilities & Estate Library & Museum
application capabilities. The "Learning & Teaching" and "Research" Transformation Relationship
Policy Management Strategy Service Management Case Management Identity Governance Community Financial Planning & Expenses Environmental Collection
domains are specific to Higher Education, whereas the "Enabling" Management & Administration Engagement Analysis Sustainability Management
domain represents non-specific, industry-agnostic application
capabilities. Risk Management Enterprise Business Continuity Childcare Notice & Consent Alumni Billing Royalty Space Management Library
Architecture Management Management Management Management
APPLICATION CAPABILITIES represent a conceptual application
capability required to support an institution's business capabilities. Quality Management Portfolio Healthcare Practice Health & Safety Entitlement Fundraising Payment Accounting Facilities
Management Management Management Management
APPLICATION COMPONENTS represent a collection of application Audit Management Programme & Inventory Hazardous Material Identity Card Mentoring Budgeting Tax Management Maintenance
functional behaviour that provides a unique logical application Project Management Management Management Management
component and could be mapped to a specific application instance.
Contract Product Emergency Travel Management Voice of Customer Payroll Procurement Building
FURTHER INFORMATION Management Management Management Management
System
Definitions of each model element are provided in the accompanying
Legal Matter Event Management Equipment Booking Survey & Evaluation Asset Management Treasury Fixed Asset
Application Reference Model Catalogue, and supporting commentary Management Customer Relationship Management Campus Life
is provided in the accompanying Application Reference Model Management
Explainer. Meeting Transportation Marketing CRM Brand Management Wayfinding Accommodation
Management Management Human Resources

Digital Voting Sales CRM Marketing Tools Workforce Planning Talent Acquisition Physical Access Clubs & Societies
Control Management

Customer Service Social Media Workforce Time & Attendance Workspace Booking Sport & Recreation
CRM Management Administration

Digital Commerce Workforce Skills Management Parking Retail

CRM Scheduling

Workforce Training
& Development

Version 3.1.0, © 2024 CAUDIT; The Higher Education Reference Model is maintained by the CAUDIT Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice. The model is offered under the Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-NC-SA license, and may be used freely by
educational institutions but may not be bundled, sublicensed, or used for commercial purpose. Extensions to the reference model must be shared with CAUDIT to enable ongoing evolution and to maximise benefit to the wider community. Elements of
this model have alignment with the APQC open standard. CAUDIT acknowledges warmly the generous contribution of FromHereOn Pty Ltd to the Higher Education Reference Model. Please visit https://caudit.edu.au/ for more information, and email
[email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, questions, and share-alike submissions.
HERM Application Reference Model
Explainer

Introduction
The HERM Application Reference Model (ARM) was introduced in Version 3.0.0 and
provides a Higher Education sector-specific model of application capabilities and
components. It was initiated following community feedback that a model to
represent the classifications of business applications used in higher education and
research would be a useful addition. The ARM acts as an accelerator for those
building or redefining their application portfolio, and supports a wide range of
enterprise architecture use cases.

Model Anatomy
Model Context
The development of the ARM for the Higher Education sector is driven by our unique
requirements, including distinct business capabilities and specialised application
categories. The model is structured to align with and support the Business Capability
Model, and be used in conjunction with the Technology Reference Model (TRM).

It is important to note that the ARM and the TRM are interdependent, but should be
used together to provide a complete model of an institution’s overall digital
landscape.

The relationship between applications and technologies can be mostly simply

described as:

Applications provide functionality that supports specific business processes;

Technologies support applications and other technologies.

Following from this description, the ARM and TRM are distinct models, as their
taxonomy and categorisation are required to be fundamentally different. Applications
are grouped according to their relationship to business processes and functions, and
technologies are grouped by their primary functionality.
In developing the ARM and the TRM, the HERM working group has made decisions to
place components in one of either the ARM or the TRM, when a logical argument
could be made for different decisions than we have made. The considerations below
have guided these decisions, but it is recognised that not every placement decision
will align with the requirements of individual users of the models.

An application is software that supports specific business capabilities, performs a

defined task, or analyses specific information. Applications hold relevance for
business users, who will understand their purpose and recognise their name.
Software that exists to provide support to other software or hardware, acts as a host
or an application platform, is considered a technology and is placed into the
Technology Reference Model.

Generally, applications have the following attributes:

● Interact directly with users.

● Execute business processes and address business requirements.
● Specialise for specific, task-oriented functions.
● Depend upon technology to function.

Large applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship

Management represent the top of the software stack and deliver functionalities or
business processes directly to users. They are recognised by their users for these
functions, and are considered discrete entities within the applications ecosystem.

The distinction between applications and technologies is essential for effective

modelling and management of business systems, and yet is not always easy to apply
definitively in practice. The HERM Working Group has endeavoured to maintain
consistency in the definition of applications across the ARM and technologies in the
TRM, though some compromises were needed to align with design principles.

Model Structure
The ARM consists of three primary elements. Application Components are grouped
into Application Capabilities, and further grouped into Application Domains, as
detailed below:

● Application Domain: The top-level categorisation of Application Capabilities

(e.g., "Research").

● Application Capability: The high-level capability required to support the

institution’s business capabilities (e.g., “Research Management”).

● Application Component: The collective application functionality that represents a

composite and definable unit of software (e.g., “Research Ethics Management”).

HERM Version 3.1.0 Application Reference Model Explainer — Page 2

Model Attributes
The accompanying catalogue provides definitions for each element in the ARM.

● Application Domain | Capability | Component Code: A unique identifier for each

model element, in the form AD### for Application Domains, AP### for
Application Capabilities, and AC### for Application Components. These codes
are never reassigned or recycled.

● Application Domain | Capability | Component Name: The name of the ARM model
element.

● Application Capability | Component Parent Capability: The name of the parent

Application Domain (for Application Capabilities) or the parent Application
Capability (for Application Components).

● Application Domain | Capability | Component Description: A brief description of

the unique scope of each ARM model element.

● Application Domain | Capability | Component Comments: Additional explanatory

descriptive commentary on the nature of the ARM model element.

● Application Product Examples: Currently-available products that are examples of

the specific Application Component being defined. The Application Product
Examples provided in the catalogue are offered on a purely-illustrative basis that
is intended to guide HERM users to better understand and use the ARM and its
Application Components in a higher-education context. Particularly:
● inclusion as an example implies neither endorsement nor recommendation.
● examples given are never intended to be an exhaustive list nor a "buyer's
guide".
● community feedback ensures the examples offered are refreshed
periodically.

Design Principles
The ARM development is guided by principles focusing on logical components
(responsible for specific functionalities, typically with an interface and SLAs),
functionality (primary function the component is known for), granularity (level
allowing for reuse), and naming conventions (recognisable by SMEs, search engines,
and industry analysts, typically pointing to known products). The TOGAF definition of
application encapsulation has informed this approach, emphasising structured
functionality within an application's architecture.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Application Reference Model Explainer — Page 3

The following design principles outline how we define and name the components of
the application reference model to ensure a coherent, functional, and scalable
reference model.

● Logical Application Components are responsible for certain functionality,

typically expose an interface, and offer distinct service-level agreements.
● The functionality identified for an Application Component should be the primary
functionality the component is well-known for, and procured by an institution.
● The granularity of components needs to be at a level where you can expect reuse
for a specific business functionality.
● Application Component names should be recognisable by subject-matter
experts, contemporary online application catalogues, referred to by industry
analysts, and typically point to known products offering the application
component functionality.
● The application services will be decomposed in a clear and encapsulated way.

Other than the above, we continue to be guided by our general design principles of all
HERM components:

1. Models Should be Useful: for our communities in higher education, globally.

2. Models Should be Usable: able to be rapidly adopted and deployed with minimal
or no customisation.

3. Models Should be Comprehensive: covering all the relevant aspects of their

domain, suited to the higher education sector.

4. Models Should be Complete: over time, the models should provide enough detail
to support the other principles.

Common Use-Cases
The ARM is generally useful in modelling complex business systems, focusing on
creating a structured representation of applications within an institution. This
involves identifying how different applications relate to each other and to the
business capabilities they support, which is crucial for effective enterprise
architecture management, planning, and analysis.

A number of primary use cases are supported and benefits arise from having an
ARM, specifically one which is aligned to the Higher Education sector:

HERM Version 3.1.0 Application Reference Model Explainer — Page 4

● Mapping applications to business capabilities, facilitating alignment and
identifying supporting structures.
● Supporting application standardisation and consolidation efforts, helping to
reduce redundancy and promote efficient use of technology resources.
● Facilitating communication and understanding among stakeholders by providing
a common language and reference for applications within the organisation.
● Supporting consistent information sharing across community members: e.g.,
“what application do you use for research management?”
● Providing a consistent way of categorising applications that helps to identify
duplicates and gaps, and aids in re-use (e.g., anchoring your application
roadmaps).
● Simplifying the population and structure of an EA repository or application
portfolio tool.

A number of use-cases for the ARM are also documented in the HERM use-case
compendium.

Getting Started
The ARM should be able to be put into use quickly, to start applying it to the use
cases in this document. The primary preparation for most use cases is having an
understanding of your application catalogue in use currently. When used in
conjunction with the TRM, you will be able to map your application and technology
portfolio in its entirety.

Recommended Practices
The following practices will help ensure a successful adoption and effective use of
the ARM within your organization:

● Share the ARM with Your Team: Enlist the help of your colleagues and broader
team members to encourage widespread understanding and usage of the model.
Collaboration fosters consistency and allows the ARM to provide maximum
value.

● Validate the Model Against Your Application Catalogue: Compare the ARM with
your current list of business applications. This validation step helps identify
gaps, discrepancies, and opportunities for alignment.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Application Reference Model Explainer — Page 5

● Map Your Applications: Your institution's applications should mostly map to a
single Application Component. However, in some instances a single application
instance could map to multiple Application Components, and that is to be
expected with large platforms and versatile solutions.

● Adapt the ARM to Suit Your Institution: Modify the ARM as necessary to reflect
the unique characteristics of your institution. If you encounter applications that
cannot be mapped, share this feedback with the HERM Working Group to
contribute to the ARM’s ongoing improvement.

● Leverage the ARM for EA Repository Updates: Use the ARM to populate or update
your Enterprise Architecture (EA) repository. Even a simple spreadsheet can help
you get started.

● Engage Application Portfolio Managers: Discuss the ARM with individuals

responsible for application portfolio management or the Configuration
Management Database (CMDB). This dialogue can ensure alignment and
enhance the model's relevance across teams.

● Apply Consistent Mapping Criteria: Use clear, consistent criteria to map

applications to the ARM. Adding elements that do not meet these criteria can
complicate future analysis and decision-making.

● Balance Detail Levels: Avoid over-complicating your mappings by breaking

application components into overly granular modules or functions. While useful
in some contexts, excessive detail can quickly become unmanageable.

Providing Feedback
If you have any feedback or suggestions about the Higher Education Reference
Models, please collaborate directly with your local Enterprise Architecture Special
Interest Group, or contact the HERM Working Group directly at
[email protected]

[ end of document: application reference model explainer ]

HERM Version 3.1.0 Application Reference Model Explainer — Page 6

HIGHER EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE MODEL
END-USER COMPUTING COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION DIGITAL IDENTITY TECHNOLOGY OPERATION
End-User Computing End-User Computing Collaboration Communication Audio-Visual Authentication Authorisation Identity Information Technology Technology Observation
Endpoints Environment Services Administration
Personal Computing Endpoint Operating Collaboration Email Media Production Single Sign-On Access Management Directory Services Configuration Monitoring &
System Platform Management Alerting

Portable Computing End-User Utility Calendar & Meeting Instant Messaging Extended Reality Multi-Factor Privileged Access Federation Services Remote Support IT Asset Discovery
Software Authentication Management

Wearable Computing End-User Remote File Sharing Services Telephony Biometrics Secrets Management Software Asset
Access Management

Digital Signage Printing & Scanning Interactive Voice Certificate IT Cost Management
Response Management

End-User Call Distribution Decentralised

Manufacturing Identity Services

DESCRIPTION
The HERM Technology Reference Model describes the
industry-agnostic domain of technology services and things
that are required to implement applications and business
capabilities in higher education.
SOFTWARE DELIVERY AND EXECUTION DATA AND INFORMATION
USAGE
The Technology Reference Model (TRM) provides a taxonomy Software Development Software Testing Software Delivery Application Business Process Enterprise Information Data & Analytics Data Repository Data Integration Data Management
Programming Interface Technologies Management
that facilitates the inspection, understanding, and planning of Programming Software Functional Runtime API Gateway Business Process Document Business Intelligence Relational Database Messaging Data Quality
an institution's current-, transition-, and future-state Language Testing Environment Analysis Management Management
technology estate. These artefacts can be used by Enterprise
Architects, Solution Architects, Technology Leaders, and other Development Software Non- Application Server API Management Business Process Records Data Analytics Non-Relational Enterprise Service Master Data
stakeholders to support technology-portfolio rationalisation Framework Functional Testing Management Management Database Bus Management
and optimisation, simplify architecture governance, enable the
Version Control Software Security Web Server API Portal Robotic Process Web Content Visual Analytics Data Warehouse Data Movement Reference Data
ICT strategic planning, and support benchmarking activities. Testing Automation Management Management

MAJOR CONCEPTS Continuous Digital Accessibility Content Delivery API Protection Workflow Digital Asset Artificial Intelligence Data Lake Data Virtualisation Metadata
The ARM consists of three primary elements: Integration & Network Orchestration Management Management
Continuous Delivery
TECHHNOLOGY DOMAINS are the top-level categorisation of Low-Code Test Management Process Mining Knowledge Base Geographic Data Streaming Data Loss Prevention
Application Platform Information System
technology elements.
Task Mining Enterprise Search Managed File
TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES are more-granular collections of Transfer
similarly-capable technology services and things.
TECHNOLOGY COMPONENTS represent discrete elements of
technology features and behaviours that provide a unique
logical component and can be mapped to a specific INFRASTRUCTURE CYBERSECURITY
technology instance. Compute Storage Network Advanced Computation Technical Equipment Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Network Security Endpoint Security
Intelligence & Response
FURTHER INFORMATION Server Operating File Storage Core Network Personal Area High-Performance Data Centre Security Information Vulnerability Firewall Antimalware
Definitions of each model element are provided in the System Network Computing Management & Event Assessment
Management
accompanying Technology Reference Model Catalogue, and
Server Virtualisation Block Storage Local Area Network Wide Area Network High-Throughput Operational Threat Detection & Physical Security Secure Remote Mobile Device
supporting commentary is provided in the accompanying Computing Technology Response Access Management
Technology Reference Model Explainer.
Containerisation Object Storage Network Address Load Balancer Instrumentation User & Entity Distributed Denial Endpoint Data Loss
Services Behaviour Analytics of Service Mitigation Prevention

Data Backup & Network Network Hardware

Recovery Visualisation

Data Archive Wireless

Storage Virtualisation

Version 3.1.0, © 2024 CAUDIT; The Higher Education Reference Model is maintained by the CAUDIT Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice. The model is offered under the Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-NC-SA license, and may be used freely by
educational institutions but may not be bundled, sublicensed, or used for commercial purpose. Extensions to the reference model must be shared with CAUDIT to enable ongoing evolution and to maximise benefit to the wider community. Elements of
this model have alignment with the APQC open standard. CAUDIT acknowledges warmly the generous contribution of FromHereOn Pty Ltd to the Higher Education Reference Model. Please visit https://caudit.edu.au/ for more information, and email
[email protected] with any feedback, suggestions, questions, and share-alike submissions.
HERM Technology Reference Model
Explainer
Introduction to the Technology Reference Model
The Technology Reference Model (TRM) was introduced in HERM Version 3.1.0 to
provide an industry-agnostic model of technology capabilities and technology
components to underpin the business, application, and data domains. The TRM is a
response to community feedback that having a technology classification model
would be useful. The TRM acts as an accelerator for those building or redefining
their digital estate and the technology portfolio within it, and supports a wide range
of enterprise-architecture use cases.

Model Anatomy
Model Context
The TRM concept is long-standing and referenced in many Enterprise Architecture
frameworks. The HERM TRM was established by analysing several existing models
to generate initial working versions, subsequently refined by the HERM Working
Group and substantial community review to realise the HERM Version 3.1.0 release.

It is important to note that the HERM Application Reference Model (ARM) and the
TRM are interdependent, and must be used together to provide a complete model of
an institution’s overall digital landscape. The relationship between applications and
technologies can be most-simply described as:

Applications provide functionality that supports specific business processes;​

Technologies support applications and other technologies.

Following this approach, the ARM and TRM are separate models, as their taxonomy
and categorisation are fundamentally different. Applications are grouped according
to their relationship with business capabilities, whereas technologies are grouped
according to their primary functionality.

Please refer to the HERM Application Reference Model Explainer for further
explanation of how the categorisation assignments between applications and
technologies have been made.
Model Structure
The TRM consists of three primary elements. Technology Components are grouped into
Technology Capabilities, and further grouped into Technology Domains, as detailed
below:

●​ Technology Domain: The top-level categorisation of technology elements (e.g.,

"Data & Information").

●​ Technology Capability: More-granular collections of similarly-capable technology

services and things (e.g., "Data Repository").

●​ Technology Component: Discrete elements of technology features and behaviours

that provide a unique logical component and can be mapped to a specific
technology instance (e.g., "Data Lake").

Model Attributes
●​ Technology Domain | Capability | Component Code: A unique identifier for each
model element, in the form TD### for Technology Domains, TP### for Technology
Capabilities, and TC### for Technology Components. These codes are never
reassigned or recycled.

●​ Technology Domain | Capability | Component Name: The name of the TRM model
element.

●​ Technology Capability | Component Parent Capability: The name of the parent

Technology Domain (for Technology Capabilities) or the parent Technology
Capability (for Technology Components).

●​ Technology Domain | Capability | Component Description: A brief description of the

unique scope of each TRM model element.

●​ Technology Domain | Capability | Component Comments: Additional explanatory

descriptive commentary on the nature of the TRM model element

●​ Technology Product Examples: Currently-available products that are examples of the

specific Technology Component being defined. The Technology Product Examples
provided in the catalogue are offered on a purely-illustrative basis that is intended to
guide HERM users to better understand and use the TRM and its Technology
Components in a higher-education context. Particularly:
●​ inclusion as an example implies neither endorsement nor recommendation.
●​ examples given are never intended to be an exhaustive list nor a "buyer's guide".
●​ community feedback ensures the examples offered are refreshed periodically.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Technology Reference Model Explainer — Page 2

Design Principles
The design principles that have guided the specification of the TRM include those
brought to bear across the whole of the HERM, intersections with those applicable to
specification of the ARM, and other examples including:

●​ Technology Services: In general, the TRM is intended to be a self-similar taxonomy

of Technology Services, rather than layered collections of different elements, and
broadly avoiding physical things. That is, the TRM will become gradually consistent
as a taxonomy of technology services that is generalised and abstracted to a level
that makes sense and is able to provide enduring value. The intention is to work at
a level that ensures the TRM and its elements are relatively stable year-on-year as
the underlying implementations change.

●​ Purpose-Agnostic: Being positioned as a collection of technology services, the TRM

is positioned necessarily as an industry-agnostic reference model that is designed
to stand alongside and complement the ARM and the other domains comprising the
HERM. For that reason, the TRM includes elements such as Advanced Computation
that may be (and are often) used to enable research activity, but, as this is not the
only purpose to which such technologies may be applied, and as this is not the
entire scope of research-enabling technologies, there is no specific naming or
suggestion here of "Research Computing".

●​ Market-Led: TRM elements are typically evidenced by in-market solutions that have
shaped the identification and categorisation of the technology services represented
in the model. As marketplace offerings evolve and consolidate, so too will the TRM,
though with the expectation that there will be relatively greater effects seen in the
Technology Component layer than at higher layers of the model.

Use-Cases for the TRM

Many primary use-cases are enabled by having a TRM, including:

●​ Mapping your technology estate to the TRM to enable visibility that informs
governance, identifies gaps, and highlights potential opportunities for
consolidation and rationalisation.

●​ Scoping the technology footprint to inform strategic decision-making and

prepare for transformation (platforms, cloud, etc).

●​ Assigning technology fitness, value, and cost as inputs to defining technology

standards that lead to greater fleet reusability and lower technical debt.

HERM Version 3.1.0 Technology Reference Model Explainer — Page 3

●​ Matching effort, cost, and staffing and skills to the technology estate in order to
understand Total Cost of Ownership and workforce skills gaps and gluts.

●​ Overlaying current-state and expected-state Recovery Time Objective and

Recovery Point Objective across the technology estate to enable business
continuity planning.

●​ Modelling and performing what-if analysis of Environmental Sustainability

performance across the technology estate.

A number of use-cases for the TRM are also being documented in the HERM
use-case compendium.

How to Get Started

Mapping your digital estate into the TRM and the ARM is a good way to get started,
thinking during the process of doing that about the lifecycle status, fitness and value,
supportability, sustainability, and business criticality of each mapped element.

Recommended Practices
●​ Work hand-in-hand with the Application Reference Model.
●​ Think just-enough about current-state architecture and further about your desired
future-state and about the various transition states required to get there.
●​ Share your TRM feedback, questions, challenges, and successes with the HERM
community.

Providing Feedback
If you have any feedback or suggestions about the Higher Education Reference Models,
please collaborate directly with your local Enterprise Architecture Special Interest Group,
or contact the HERM Working Group directly at [email protected]

[ end of document: technology reference model explainer ]

HERM Version 3.1.0 Technology Reference Model Explainer — Page 4