1.4 Information System Architecture-Data)
Stages of enterprise architecture development methods-Information System Architecture
The construction of the information system architecture focuses on clearly supporting various data and applications of the enterprise's business architecture. Therefore, the construction of the information system architecture can be divided into the construction of the Data Architecture and application architecture. In this chapter, we will discuss the construction of the data architecture.
1.4.1 Objectives
The goal of data architecture construction is to define the types and sources of data necessary to support the business through a complete, consistent, stable and understandable method. It should be noted that the construction of the data architecture does not focus on the database design, that is, the data architecture is not designed for the logic or physical aspects of the storage system, it defines enterprise-related data entities (however, the association between existing files and databases needs to be clarified and important improvement areas should be clarified ).
1.4.2 Method
The methods involved in data architecture construction include the following:
Main considerations for Data Architecture
- Data Management: When an enterprise wants to undertake large-scale architecture transformation tasks, it is very important to understand and solve Data Management problems, A structured and comprehensive data management rule can promote the effective use of data and take full advantage of its competitive advantages. For data management, enterprises or organizations should consider the following aspects:
- Application components used to act as the data record and reference system of business owners must be clearly defined.
- Are there enterprise-level standards that need to be followed by all application components?
- A clear understanding of how business functions, processes, and services use data entities.
- A clear understanding of where enterprise data entities are and how they are created, stored, transmitted, and reported.
- What is the complexity of data conversion to support information exchange requirements between applications?
- What are the requirements for software to support data integration between enterprise customers and suppliers? (For example, what are the requirements for the ETL (Extraction-Transformation-Loading) tool used during data migration and the data analysis tool used to evaluate data quality ?)
- Data Migration: when existing applications are replaced, Data Migration for new applications will become a very important requirement. The data architecture should identify data migration requirements and provide indicators on data conversion and cleaning levels, which express the format requirements of the target application for converted data. In addition, the Organization needs to ensure that there is a general data definition that supports enterprise-level data conversion.
- Data Governance: Data Governance ensures that enterprises or organizations have sufficient capabilities to facilitate Data conversion. This includes the following:
- Structure: this dimension is about whether an enterprise has the necessary organizational structure and standard system to manage data entities.
- Management System: enterprises should have necessary management systems and data-related procedures to manage their governance throughout the lifecycle of data entities.
- Personnel: this dimension expresses the enterprise's requirements for various data-related skills and roles required for data conversion. In the absence of such resources and skills, enterprises need to consider training existing resources through a series of well-developed training courses, or directly obtain from the outside.
Use architecture resource library
In the activities of the current phase, the architecture team should consider whether there are available resources related to the data architecture in the architecture resource library, especially general data models related to the industry where the organization is located. For example:
- ARTS: Association for Retail Technology Standards defines a data model for the Retail industry.
- Energistics has also defined a data model for the oil technology industry.
1.4.3 Input and Output
The input materials required in the current phase and the deliverables output in this phase are summarized as follows:
Input Inbound |
References |
Architecture references |
Non-Intrusive Input |
Architecture work requirements |
Capability Evaluation |
Communication Plan |
Intrusive Input |
Enterprise Architecture organization model, including:
- Scope of affected organizations
- Maturity evaluation, gaps and solutions
- Roles and responsibilities of the Architecture Team
- Constraints on architecture work
- BUDGET REQUIREMENTS
- Governance and support policies
|
Customized architecture frameworks, including:
- Customized architecture Method
- Customized architecture content (deliverables and products)
- Configuration and deployment tools
|
Data principles (if any) |
Architecture statement of work passed |
Architecture Vision |
Architecture resource library, including:
- Reusable Building Blocks
- Public and available reference models
- Organization-specific reference model
- Organization standards
|
Draft Architecture Definition document, including:
- Baseline Service Architecture Version 1.0
- Baseline Technical Architecture version 0.1
- Baseline data architecture version 0.1
- Baseline application architecture, version 1.0 or 0.1
- Target Business Architecture Version 1.0
- Target Technical Architecture version 0.1
- Target Data Architecture version 0.1
- Target application architecture, version 1.0 or 0.1
|
Draft architecture requirements, including:
- Result of Gap Analysis
- Applicable to technical requirements at this stage
|
Business Architecture components of the Architecture Roadmap |
Input Output |
Deliverables in the improved and updated Architecture Vision phase, including:
- Architecture work instruction (modify if necessary)
- Verified data principles or new data principles (if generated)
|
The updated draft Architecture Definition document includes:
- Baseline data architecture Version 1.0
- Target Data Architecture Version 1.0
- Business Data Model
- Logical Data Model
- Data Management Process Model
- Data entity/Business Function Matrix
- Various views from the perspective of stakeholders
|
Updated architecture requirements draft, including:
- Result of Gap Analysis
- Data interoperability requirements
- Applicable to the technical requirements of this architecture development cycle Evolution Stage
- Constraints on the technical architecture to be designed
- Updated Business Requirements
- Updated Application Requirements
|
Data Architecture components in the architecture Roadmap |
Step 1.4.4
The steps to be performed in the current phase are summarized as follows:
- Select reference models, perspectives, and tools
- Develop baseline data architecture model
- Development target data architecture description
- Perform Gap Analysis
- Define roadmap Components
- To clarify and solve the impacts of the entire architecture landscape
- Conduct formal stakeholder review
- Final determination of Data Architecture
- Create Architecture Definition document
1.5 Information System Architecture-Application)
As another component of the information system architecture, the application architecture describes various application systems that support the business architecture and process various data defined in the data architecture. In this chapter, we will discuss the construction of the application architecture.
1.5.1 Objectives
The purpose of application architecture construction is to define various main application systems for processing data and supporting enterprise businesses. It should be noted that the construction of application architecture does not focus on the specific design of application systems, but on defining the types of enterprise-related application systems, it also needs to manage data and display information to users. The application mentioned here is not a computer system, but a logical grouping of application system capabilities. These application system capabilities are used to manage data defined in the data architecture and support various business functions defined in the Business architecture. The definition of these applications and capabilities does not depend on specific implementation technologies. Therefore, these definitions are relatively stable, but their implementation technologies are not.
1.5.2 Method
In the activities of the current phase, the architecture team should consider whether there are available resources related to the application architecture in the architecture resource library, especially the following resources:
- General application models related to The industry in which The Organization resides, such as The application models related to The telecom industry developed by TMF (The TeleManagement Forum, and software models related to specific industries (such as healthcare, transportation, and finance) developed by some field teams in OMG.
- Application models related to general high-level business functions, such as e-commerce and supply chain management.
In addition to the above content, you can also refer to the following content for application architecture construction:
- The Open Group also provides an Integrated Information Infrastructure Reference Model ), it includes a variety of application-level components and services required to integrate information infrastructure.
- EbXML (electronic Commerce business using eXtensible Markup Language) is also one of the optional tools. It aims to provide an open XML-based infrastructure, therefore, the electronic business information can be used in a secure and unified manner in an interactive manner.
1.5.3 Input and Output
The input materials required in the current phase and the deliverables output in this phase are summarized as follows:
Input Inbound |
References |
Architecture references |
Non-Intrusive Input |
Architecture work requirements |
Capability Evaluation |
Communication Plan |
Intrusive Input |
Enterprise Architecture organization model, including:
- Scope of affected organizations
- Maturity evaluation, gaps and solutions
- Roles and responsibilities of the Architecture Team
- Constraints on architecture work
- BUDGET REQUIREMENTS
- Governance and support policies
|
Customized architecture frameworks, including:
- Customized architecture Method
- Customized architecture content (deliverables and products)
- Configuration and deployment tools
|
Application Principles |
Architecture statement of work passed |
Architecture Vision |
Architecture resource library, including:
- Reusable Building Blocks
- Public and available reference models
- Organization-specific reference model
- Organization standards
|
Draft Architecture Definition document, including:
- Baseline Service Architecture Version 1.0
- Baseline Technical Architecture version 0.1
- Baseline data architecture, version 1.0 or 0.1
- Baseline application architecture version 0.1
- Target Business Architecture Version 1.0
- Target Technical Architecture version 0.1
- Target data architecture, version 1.0 or 0.1
- Target application architecture version 0.1
|
Draft architecture requirements, including:
- Result of Gap Analysis
- Applicable to technical requirements at this stage
|
Business and data architecture components in the architecture Roadmap |
Input Output |
Deliverables in the improved and updated Architecture Vision phase, including:
- Architecture work instruction (modify if necessary)
- Proven application principles or new application principles (if any)
|
The updated draft Architecture Definition document includes:
- Baseline application architecture Version 1.0
- Target application architecture Version 1.0
- Process System Model
- Location System Model
- Time System Model
- Personnel System Model
- Various views from the perspective of stakeholders
|
Updated architecture requirements draft, including:
- Result of Gap Analysis
- Application interoperability requirements
- Applicable to the technical requirements of this architecture development cycle Evolution Stage
- Constraints on the technical architecture to be designed
- Updated Business Requirements
- Updated data requirements
|
Application Architecture components of the Architecture Roadmap |
Step 1.5.4
The steps to be performed in the current phase are summarized as follows:
- Select reference models, perspectives, and tools
- Development baseline application architecture description
- Development target application architecture description
- Perform Difference Analysis
- Define roadmap Components
- To clarify and solve the impacts of the entire architecture landscape
- Conduct formal stakeholder review
- Final determination of application architecture
- Create Architecture Definition document
