Architectural frameworks try to identify a comprehensive set of artifacts and the value each artifact may potentially provide. Some artifacts may be generated from an integrated model artifact, while others are independently created.Īn architect must ensure the integrity and consistency of the specifications across multiple models, diagrams and documents within the set. John Zachman defines architecture as “the set of descriptive representations that are required in order to create an object.” The artifacts represent both requirements specifications and the creative design response to these requirements. In virtually every architectural framework, architecture is a set of specification artifacts. Even for a given stakeholder, different abstract views were needed to describe different aspects of the system. Different stakeholders had different views. When John Zachman first conceived the Zachman Framework, he saw that no single diagram or model could completely represent a complex system. The Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture and other architectural frameworks give ways to think about systems and architecture. The primary goals of enterprise architecture are to:ġ) Align resources and investments with business strategyĢ) To integrate resources to more effectively achieve business goals Simple things do not require architecture, but architecture is essential to meet complex requirements and constraints. Architecture includes standards and how they are applied to meet specific design needs.Īnother paraphrased definition for architecture might be “an organized arrangement of component elements to optimize function, performance, feasibility, cost and/or aesthetics.” Architecture helps attain goals. At each level, standards and protocols help ensure components function together as a whole. There is architecture in the plumbing and wiring within the home, and inside the computer chips that operate home appliances. Architects work with homeowners to design individual homes. City planners design zoning plans and work with developers to design streets, lots and utility services. The principles and activities of architecture help build, understand, and control complex things.Īrchitecture exists at many levels. In each case, architecture is an organized abstraction of the system, not the system itself in its complex entirety. People create architecture for complex things, such as buildings, music, literature, machines, organizations and systems. Architecture may be defined as “the design of any complex object or system.”Īrchitecture is design created to help manage complexity. The second general meaning is more pertinent for this discussion. First, architecture is “the art and discipline of designing buildings” - architecture is a skill, a field of study and a profession. Paraphrasing the definitions for architecture published in several dictionaries, identifies two general definitions of architecture. Start by looking outside the information technology field. When someone refers to their “data architecture,” what are they describing? What is the role of data architecture in enterprise data management? Examining “Architecture” Even when the focus is limited to “ data architecture,” what does that really mean? Ask three data architects what they mean by the term “data architecture.” and one is likely to get four or five different answers! Much like the three blind men who each mistook an elephant for something quite different depending on what part they were holding, perspectives on data architecture differ widely depending on issues and needs. “Architecture” may be the most widely used term in the field of information technology, and probably also the term with the greatest number of different connotations. What is “data architecture,” and why is it valuable?Ī popular credit card commercial asks, “What’s in YOUR wallet?” Perhaps a similar question can be posed to data architects – “What’s in YOUR data architecture?” Data architecture is an essential component and function of all successful organizations.

Data architecture diagram