                            |
|
Zachman framework model
development
Explore The Enterprise
Architecture
Toolkit
The Zachman Framework was designed to
include IS Architecture representations for all participants
involved in the development, management, maintenance, and usage of
the organization's information systems. Each such perspective
provides a unique and valuable point of view on the IS Architecture.
These perspectives are often successive ones: there is an obvious
chronological sequence from planner to owner to architect to builder
to subcontractor to user. However, the subsequent perspectives are
NOT a step-wise refinement of IS Architecture detail. Each of these
perspectives provides requirements and constraints on the IS
Architecture. Each perspective is therefore a complete
representation of the IS from a particular point of view. Together
they provide a complete description of the architecture. Each of the
perspectives (rows) of the framework is further described
below:
|
SCOPE |
|
Perspective
of: |
Planner |
|
Description: |
The
planner is concerned with a general description of the
IS and the positioning the IS in the contexts of its
internal and external environment. Planning not only
identifies the major components of the IS but also
addresses its financial viability (costs and benefits),
constraints (often inposed internally by legacy systems
and externally by the need to connect with other
organizations), and scope (what will be part of the IS
and what will not). |
|
|
ENTERPRISE
MODEL |
|
Perspective
of: |
Owner |
|
Description: |
In
general, the owner is interested in the business
deliverable, its functionalities, and how it will be
used. Within the established plan, the owner usually
imposes specific constraints and requirements on the
system, such as organizational policies and practices,
the need for flexible data retrieval, and required
response times. |
|
|
SYSTEM
MODEL |
|
Perspective
of: |
Architect/Designer |
|
Description: |
The
architect needs to understand the IS from both the
business perspective and the technical perspective. The
architect works with the IS specifications provided by
the planner and the owner to produce a design that will
both fulfill the owner's functional expectations and can
be technically realized by the builder. Consequently the
architect must not only be able to correctly interpret
the owner's requirements and constraints but he or she
must also be aware of technical possibilities and
limitations of IS development platforms, the required
interactions with existing systems, government
regulations which affect implementation (such as data
transmission), and so forth. Often this requires the
architect to develop matching sets of functional
representations and technical
specifications. |
|
|
TECHNOLOGY
MODEL |
|
Perspective
of: |
Builder |
|
Description: |
The
builder manages the process of producing and assempling
the components of the IS. This requires a thorough
understanding of the architect's specifications for the
system. In addition, the builder must know the materials
to work with (databases, programming languages,
operating systems, etc.) the tools to work with
(CASE-tools, compilers, etc.) and the ways in which the
development work can be organized to meet completion
deadlines. |
|
|
COMPONENTS |
|
Perspective
of: |
Subcontractor |
|
Description: |
The
subcontractor builds specific parts of a product. Often
these parts are produced out-of-context (which in many
cases ensures their reusability) based on very detailed
component specifications provided by the builder. It is
the builder's responsibility to provide the
subcontractor with sufficiently detailed component
specifications. It is the subcontractor's responsibility
to produce the component exactly according to the
provided specifications. By the way, a subcontractor may
be external to the organization but does not have to be.
Subcontractor views can also be useful for communicating
product specifications in a large, highly specialized
Information Systems division of an
organization. |
|
|
FUNCTIONING
SYSTEM |
|
Perspective
of: |
User |
|
Description: |
The
user's perspective is the interface and functionality of
the final product. The user perspective, then, is the
product of all planning, designing, and development
activities that went before. When the information system
has been completed, it can be compared against the
original objectives and requirements of the planner and
the owner. Changes from these objectives and
requirements should be either justified or else may
become problematic in the future. |
|
QUICK
PERSPECTIVES SUMMARY
|
PERSPECTIVE |
PURPOSE |
PRODUCT |
CONSTRAINT
(Constraints are
additive.) |
|
PLANNER |
Define
scope |
Scope
definition |
Financial
and regulatory |
|
OWNER |
Describe
real-world product |
Business
model |
Policy
and usage |
|
DESIGNER |
Describe
abstract product |
System
model |
Environmental
and technical |
|
BUILDER |
Describe
product construction and assembly |
Technology
model |
Construction
and technological state of the are and available equipment and
tools |
|
SUBCONTRACTOR |
Describe
component construction |
Out-of-context
models |
Implementation
and integration |
- Adapted
from: Inmon, W.H, J.A. Zachman, & J.G. Geiger. (1997) Data
Stores, Data Warehousing, and the Zachman Framework: Managing
Enterprise
Knowledge.
McGraw-Hill Publ., Page 69.
Enterprise Architecture Toolkit: the
definitive resource for Enterprise Architecture
projects
Customers who bought the
Enterprise Architecture Toolkit also bought:
| |
|
