Link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Soapbox/~3/hnwTm7c8gZk/at-least-three-views-of-business.html
From Richard Veryard on Architecture
#entarch #bizarch #viewpoints In a previous post, I looked at the five viewpoints of business architecture according to the OMG. In this post, I shall look at the architectural modelling viewpoints indicated in TOGAF 9.1. (Section 8.2). In TOGAF, these viewpoints are presented more as suggestions rather than as a recommended set.
| 1. Hierarchical Activity Models (also called Business Process Models) | Functions, data/information exchanges, activities, inputs, controls, outputs, mechanisms/resources, business rules | General |
| 2. Use Case Models | Business processes, system functions, use case, actor, | General |
| 3. Business Class Models | Information (entities and implementation classes, attributes and relationships), information behaviours | General |
| 4. Node Connectivity Diagram | Nodes (role, org unit, location, facility), information transfer/flow | Defence sector |
| 5. Information Exchange Matrix | Information Exchange | Defence sector |
| 6. Resource-Event-Agent Model | Resources (goods, services or money), Event (transactions and agreements), Agent (people and organizations) | Accounting domain |
According to TOGAF, “a variety of modeling tools and techniques may be employed, if deemed
appropriate”. Items 1-3 are offered as general examples.
Items 4 and 5 are described as follows. “Although originally developed for use in the Defense sector, these
models are finding increasing use in other sectors of government, and
may also be considered for use in non-government environments.”
Item 6 is included in a list of “business models relevant to common high-level business domains”. Whereas the other members of the list are specific industry models, the Resource-Event-Agent (REA) Model appears to be a modelling viewpoint – indeed Wikipedia calls it an ontology. TOGAF asserts that the REA model “has proved so useful for better understanding of business processes
that it has become one of the major modeling frameworks for both
traditional enterprises and e-Commerce systems”, but this assertion is contradicted by Wikipedia which suggests that its main influence has been in the classroom and in the development of such standards as ebXML.
Wikipedia: Resources, events, agents (accounting model)
TOGAF’s set of viewpoints strongly emphasizes the information processing and information exchange elements of business architecture, while neglecting a number of other elements that are included in the OMG five viewpoints or my own six viewpoints.
TOGAF lists a number of additional outputs from the business architecture work, which go beyond the modelling viewpoints it has specified. These are
| Catalogs |
Organization/Actor catalog, Driver/Goal/Objective catalog, Role catalog, Business Service/Function catalog, Location catalog, Process/Event/Control/Product catalog, Contract/Measure catalog |
| Matrixes | Business Interaction matrix, Actor/Role matrix |
| Diagrams | Business Footprint diagram, Business Service/Information diagram, Functional Decomposition diagram, Product Lifecycle diagram, Goal/Objective/Service diagram, Use-case diagram, Organization Decomposition diagram, Process Flow diagram, Event diagram |
Finally, TOGAF includes Business Scenarios, but I think this probably counts more as a requirements gathering technique than an architectural viewpoint.
I should welcome comments, especially from people who are familiar with TOGAF in practice.
