Architecture
Architectural Frameworks, often called Enterprise Architecture, are used to define the structure, behavior, capabilities and organizational aspects of large enterprises or complex systems. Because the enterprises or systems described tend to be large and complex, the models associated with the discipline also tend to be large and complex. To manage this scale and complexity, an Architectural Framework defines different, but complementary, views of the enterprise or system model corresponding to different stakeholders or areas of interest.
For example, with the industry-specific architectural frameworks for military applications, DoDAF and MODAF have the OV-4 diagram that describes the organization and posts similar to an organizational chart, the OV-2 that shows how different areas of the enterprise communicate and the OV-5 views that look at the behavior or activity of the enterprise. To keep the multiple views consistent, avoid duplication and allow for evaluation & analysis – such as trade-off analysis – it is essential that the elements on these views or diagrams are stored in a common database. For example, if an engineer creates a set of PowerPoint slides to document an enterprise architecture, an initial set of pictures is easy to draw, but can quickly become a maintenance nightmare with the inevitable modifications, deletions, and additions quickly becoming overwhelming as the project grows in scope – not to mention that the report generation and quantitative analysis would all need to be completed by hand. Regardless, the DoD, MOD and NATO are all moving towards a more data-centric way of working, where data and not diagrams is the final deliverable.
Artisan Studio has preconfigured profiles for working with and producing DoDAF and MoDAF required diagrams, documents and reusable data dictionary elements. With the power of Studio’s database and customizable profiles, teams can meet the standards required by the many government agencies and company processes. Using out of the box architecture frameworks, allows for consistency checking and automated views and documentation. The architectural frameworks take advantage of both UML and SysML to ensure that teams can communicate throughout the development lifecycle. Finally, Studio’s full lifecycle traceability ensures the ability to show how the Architectural Frameworks have been satisfied to systems (SysML) to code (UML) and test cases (SysML) all in one tool.
For more details download the Architect Design – Data Sheet.
