- COTS tools will be available that allow architectures for enterprise-wide IT systems to
be designed and defined using standardized logical and physical components that have well
defined behaviours and can be readily assembled into fully functional systems according to
well understood principles.
- COTS tools will be available that allow an architecture to be captured and communicated
in terms meaningful both to non-technical decision-makers and to IT professionals
responsible for designing and implementing the systems described by the architecture, with
no loss of meaning.
- It will be possible to communicate the semantics of IT architectures in a standard way
between COTS tools, both between different architecture tools, and between architecture
tools and tools used in other phases of the systems life-cycle.
- The task of IT architecture will be a well recognized discipline, in the same way as
systems design, programming, and project management.
The goals of the Open Group Architecture Forum (not limited to 2001):
- Create an open forum for dialog between customer IT architects, IT architecture tools
vendors, integrators, academics / researchers, and IT solutions vendors, that provides
significant value to all participants.
- Use this forum as the vehicle to progress the following separate, but complementary and
synergistic projects:
- Evolve ADML as an open standard Architecture Description Language for IT architecture
tools, providing portability and interoperability of architecture definitions across
different tools from different vendors
- Create a viable market for open tools for IT architecture definition
- Use ADML as the basis for a "Building Blocks Description Language", to define
open, re-usable architecture building blocks:
- Create an open repository in which to store such building block definitions (the
"Building Blocks Information Base", or BBIB)
- Develop certification, testing and branding programs to verify conformance of vendor IT
solutions to the open Building Block definitions
These goals, the technical background, and the market drivers are described in detail
in the prospectus for
the extended focus of the Architecture Program.
The Open Group's Architecture Program has been running since 1994. Until a year ago,
the main focus of the program was on developing and refining The Open Group
Architectural Framework (TOGAF), which is freely available from The Open Group
public web server at http://www.opengroup.org/public/arch/.
TOGAF is now widely known and well proven in number of significant architecture based
projects, and will continue to be evolved as an important part of the Forum's work
program.
Since the fall of 1999 the focus of the Forum has been extended to include enabling an
open market for COTS tools for IT architecture -- both tools that can capture the
semantics of an overall IT architecture, and tools in other parts of the life cycle that
need to access architectural information.
Key to this part of the work program is the Architecture Description Markup
Language (ADML), originally developed by the MCC consortium, building on the Acme
work at CMU. A public web site gives
detailed information about ADML, and our goals for its deployment in the tools market. The aim is to use ADML as the basis of an open standard for the
interchange of architecture definitions, and thereby to foster an open market for COTS
tools in this area.
The Open Group sees ADML as complementary to, and not competing with, the XML/XMI
family of standards.
During 2000 The Open Group adopted ADML Version 1 as a Technical Standard. However, it
is recognized that there needs to be further evolution of ADML. The Architecture Forum
will provide a new forum in which that evolution can happen, with
customer enterprise architects articulating their requirements for an industry standard
for architecture definition and interchange, and tools vendors providing feedback on
implementation.
During 2001 The Open Group plans to work with Carnegie Mellon University in order to
unify its work on ADML, the on-going work of CMU on Acme and related XML-based
architecture description languages, and other relevant architectural advances, with a view
to defining open standards for architectural representation that will be adopted by the
tools vendor community. The development of such a unified family of industry standards is
considered essential in order to achieve an industry standard that commercial tools
vendors will implement, and that will therefore have relevance to the market. Competing
standards in this field are almost guaranteed to create market uncertainty and ensure that
tools vendors invest elsewhere.
ADML offers opportunities in a number of ways:
- As a standard for architecture based product line engineering, which is the focus that
MCC had when developing the ADML technology.
- As the basis for a class of tools that properly support the architecture function.
Currently architects often resort either to simple drawing tools such as Powerpoint, or to
complex tools which are primarily aimed at design/development leading directly to code
generation. This latter class of tools typically support UML. These tools are excellent
for their primary purpose of design/development, but the adequacy of UML for properly
supporting architecture semantics has been widely questioned in technical journals over
the last few years.
- As a standard means of interchanging architectural semantics, both between different
architecture tools, and between architecture tools and tools used at other stages of the
life-cycle, including the design/development tools mentioned above.
- As the basis of a tool-independent "building blocks description language",
capable of encoding architecture building blocks in a tool-neutral format. As part of our
wider vision, we have the aim to set up a "Building Blocks Information Base" - a
database of building block definitions importable by any architecture tool supporting the
ADML standard. This will be analogous to our existing Standards Information Base at: http://www.opengroup.org/sib.htm
Deliverables
Planned projects, deliverables, and Project Leaders [indicated thus], for 2001
are as follows.
- [John Spencer / to be defined] Architecture Description Markup Language
(ADML)
- Formation and growth of new forum
- ADML Version 2.0 – convergence with CMU's xAcme, other XML-based architecture
description languages, and other relevant architectural advances
- TOGAF Version 7:
- [Russ Richards, Chris Greenslade] Rationalize TOGAF’s positioning with
respect to the different architectures mentioned in the TOGAF FAQ (Data, Business,
Applications, IT / Technical)
- Spewak’s recommended order of doing “architectures” / views: (1) Data (2)
Business (3) Applications (4) IT / Technical
- A framework for relating these to each other: Zachmann
- A roadmap of current architecture initiatives
- E.g., Venn diagram showing scope of Zachmann, Spewak, C4ISR, TOGAF, etc. …
- May take the form of a small book
- Guidance on tailoring the ADM to identify the desired line between architecture and
design.
- Guidance on tailoring the ADM to produce an “organization-specific” (generic)
ADM
- [Barry Smith] Work on architecture assessment.
- Discuss methodology concerning analysis and assessment of each of the views
- [Sandra Swearingen] "Relating IT Architecture to the Organization"
section:
- New subsection on IEEE Std 1003.23
- "Other Frameworks" section:
- [Ron Kohl? Mark Maier? Rich Hilliard?] New section on IEEE Std.1471
- [John Spencer] Define and apply a policy for the content of the "Other
Frameworks" section - what kind of content to aim for to simplify maintenance /
ensure currency of information?
- E.g.: Reduce the textual content (perhaps include only the “Relationship to
TOGAF” paragraphs), and hyperlink to the current source.
- [John Spencer] Define and apply a procedure for periodically reviewing the
currency of the information in TOGAF and the links to external materials.
- Include in TOGAF company review process?
- [Russ Richards, Sandra Swearingen] Review DoD/DISA recommendations and action
accordingly
- [Chris Greenslade] Develop a deliverables-centric description of the ADM (for
each deliverable / artifact, explain how it is evolved thorugh different phases and steps
of the ADM)
- Work with other Open Group Forums on "subsystem architectures", and integrate
into TOGAF
- [Barry Smith, John Spencer] Security,
- [Martin Kirk, John Spencer] Management,
- [Walter Stahlecker, John Spencer] Mobile,
- [Chris Harding, John Spencer] Directory
- [Andrew Walker?, John Spencer] Building Blocks Information Base
- Complete draft scenario
- Implement prototype
- Begin to populate
- Scenario / modeling work in other Forums
- [Geoff McClelland, Hugh Fisher, John Spencer] TOGAF Executive Overview
- 3rd Edition
- More emphasis on ADML and tools
- [Hugh Fisher, Marco Dawson, John Spencer] TABB
- To be defined - possible implementation of ADML and / or open-source development program
under academic sponsorship
- Dependency on completion of IPR transfer
- [John Spencer] Academic sponsorship
- [Chris Greenslade] TOGAF Certification
- Architects
- Training / Consultancy services
The following additional projects could be undertaken if adequate resources are
available.
- [John Spencer, Scott Hansen, Andrew Walker] Promote TOGAF and ADML to the
European Commission
- TOGAF, the Standards Information Base, and the Building Blocks Information Base, as a
Europe-wide framework for enterprise architecture
- [John Spencer, Joe Bergmann] Promote TOGAF and ADML to U.S government (beyond
DoD)
- Alignment with DoD Framework provisionally planned for 2001
- All U.S. government departments affected by Clinger-Cohen (Public Law 104-106)
Title
- Architecture Interoperability Forum?
- ADML Forum?
Purpose
- ADML evolution and implementation in COTS tools, in response to user requirements
- Trials and demonstrations of interoperability of architecture definitions between COTS
tools
Schedule
- Aim to form over 1H/2001
- Leverage regional meetings in London and Washington, January 2001
Benefits to Participants
- Customer Architects - reduced time, cost and risk:
- procuring effective IT architecture tools
- developing an IT architecture
- faster response to business needs, technology developments
- Tools Vendors - bigger market, bigger market share:
- supporting open interchange of IT architecture definitions
- Integrators: greater cost-efficiency, better service
- better service delivery to clients
- Clients avoid integrator lock-in
- more effective use / re-use of own architecture based assets
Benefits to The Open Group
- Make Architecture more relevant, practicable, within the industry
- Forum for vendors to trial interoperability "behind closed doors"
- Architecture Forum growth:
- Forum more relevant to the market, to practical implementation of architectures
- Basis of Bronze membership for smaller vendors
- Attract academic / research organizations
Resource requirements
- Sales / marketing support to identify and contact decision-makers
- Enterprise Architects, Tools Vendors, Integrators
- Editorial / secretarial and technical support for New Forum
- minutes of meetings, authorship of DTD revisions
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