Zachman Framework
The Zachman Framework is a structured approach used to represent and understand the complexities of an information technology enterprise or organization. Developed by John A. Zachman in 1987, it serves as an ontology that categorizes various elements involved in enterprise architecture, distinguishing it from traditional methodologies focused solely on process. The framework is often depicted as a matrix consisting of six rows and six columns, with each cell representing intersections of essential questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how) and abstract concepts (identification, definition, representation, specification, configuration, and instantiation).
This model facilitates clear communication and simplifies decision-making by providing a comprehensive view of the enterprise, including its architecture and systems. It helps organizations identify gaps in knowledge, especially in complex entities where information may be siloed. Utilizing the Zachman Framework can significantly support strategic planning, change management, and problem-solving within organizations by offering a context for examining the relationships between various components. Its adaptability allows it to be tailored to diverse needs, making it a valuable tool for both large enterprises and specific projects in various fields.
Zachman Framework
The Zachman Framework is a logical structure developed to represent an information technology enterprise or organization. It is used in computer science, business, and other applications. Its full technical name is Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture and Information Systems Architecture. Enterprise Architecture is a blueprint of sorts that defines an organization’s operation and structure. It helps business management achieve strategic goals, maximize advantages, and reduce risks. Organizations often use the Zachman Framework to see how information systems fit within them.
The framework is not unlike the business models required during the Industrial Age, and, in fact, has its roots in production. The architecture of buildings and, later, highly complex structures, such as airplanes, required increasingly complex systems of management. The framework’s structure is derived from those used for centuries in architecture, construction, engineering, and manufacturing.
Background
John A. Zachman began working for IBM during the early 1960s. His work there included business systems planning and intensive planning, or executive team planning. In 1970 he began focusing on Enterprise Architecture. He was one of the founding developers of Business Systems Planning (BSP) at IBM. He created the Zachman Framework in 1987. He described it in his book, The Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture: A Primer on Enterprise Engineering and Manufacturing.
Zachman retired from IBM in 1990 after twenty-six years. He established Zachman Framework Associates to manage his developments. He serves as chair of the board. He also became chief executive officer (CEO) of the Zachman Institute for Framework Advancement (ZIFA). This organization promotes and implements his Enterprise Architecture concepts. He also serves as a consultant and educator.
Zachman’s framework developed from ideas that arose in prior centuries. These ideas solidified during the Industrial Revolution, when those running manufacturing businesses had to create increasingly complicated systems of designing and producing physical products. These ideas have been refined throughout the Information Age. With information systems, the need to communicate plans and theories became steadily more necessary. Information system infrastructure includes essential telecommunications networks, databases and data warehouses, software, hardware, and procedures, all of which are managed by specialists. The infrastructure may be required to be available for access internationally. Complex systems require considerable planning as well as ongoing oversight. This may be handled in-house, by an outside firm, or by both.
Zachman developed his framework as an alternative to the traditional method of developing systems. The organization of actions needed to develop data information systems is known as the system development life cycle (SDLC). These are envisioned as a series of steps, taken in order. These steps are strategy, analysis, design, construction, documentation, transition, and production. Strategy is the planning of the organization’s development effort. Analysis involves defining the requirements of the system. Design encompasses applying the technology to the requirements. These steps lead to the construction of the system. Documentation includes writing and preparing user manuals and other documents to describe the system. During transition, the system is made part of the organization’s infrastructure. Production includes monitoring the system and evaluating its effectiveness in meeting the organization’s needs. In contrast to the series of steps to be taken in a specific order, Zachman’s method approaches system development from the point of view of the various participants, such as the system building and the designer. Each participant, who is represented by a row in the matrix, is viewing the same categories of information. While the traditional method addressed only data and functions, the Zachman Framework also addresses location, people, time, and motivation for each phase. The message for users is that planners should be looking at more than strictly data and functions right from the beginning.
Overview
The Zachman Framework is a model or an outline of a plan or theory. It is not a methodology, which is based on process, but is an ontology, a set of concepts and categories that shows their properties and the relations between them. Processes based on ontological structure, such as the Periodic Table used in chemistry, are predictable.
The usefulness of the Zachman Framework is in being able to focus on certain aspects of an object while maintaining a sense of the contextual perspective. Its descriptive representations of complex objects simplifies these objects and allows users to make decisions in context. The framework simplifies understanding and communication, focuses on independent variables needed for analysis, and maintains the contextual relationships of the Enterprise.
The Zachman Framework involves two categories of elements. The first category includes communication interrogatives: who, what, when, where, why, and how. The second is meant to give abstract ideas form through identification, definition, representation, specification, configuration, and instantiation. This classification, called the reification transformations, can be seen in many complex architectural systems, including buildings and airplanes.
Most often, the Zachman Framework is depicted as a matrix of six rows and six columns. The communication interrogatives are typically arranged in the columns, while the reification transformations comprise the rows. The cells, or the intersections of the Interrogatives and Transformations, represent the Zachman Framework.
The Zachman Framework has evolved over time and may vary based on what the user intends to emphasize. For example, the most basic graphic may include the perspectives in the design process—the owner, designer, and builder—in the rows. The planner and implementer may be included as well.
The generic classification structure of design artifacts matrix contains six columns, labeled at top with the product abstractions: what, how, where, who, when, and why. At the bottom of the columns are the Enterprise, or end result: material, process, geometry, instructions, timing, and objectives. The relationship between the top and bottom column labels is expressed as such: What is the product made of (material, data, information)? How does it work (process)? Where are the components relative to one another (geometry)? Who is doing what work (operating instructions)? When do things happen (timing)? Why do things happen (engineering design objectives)? The rows of the generic classification structure are labeled by audience perspective, on the left: planner, owner, designer, builder, implementer, and operator. The right side of the rows are labeled according to model names: scope, concepts, logic, physics, technology, and product. The cells of the last row, between operator and product, are known as the Enterprise. This section should represent an accumulation of Enterprise knowledge.
According to Zachman, the framework is simple enough for anyone to understand; is comprehensive; is a language, helping the user communicate complex concepts; is a planning tool that helps the user make good choices by providing context; is a problem-solving tool that helps the user to simplify and make sense of abstract ideas; is neutral, not relying on tools or methodologies; and is the raw material for enterprise engineering. Zachman likens the framework to the drawings, bills of materials, and other design artifacts of physical objects.
The Zachman Framework can be easily adapted to describe a complex system in multiple ways to suit different purposes. It includes thirty-six necessary categories (cells) for the user to consider. When completing the matrix, it is recommended that the user begin at the top left and work across and down the grid. Columns and rows may never be added. The interrogatives—who, what, etc.—are time-tested and have been arrived at over millennia. The cells are not redundant—concepts cannot be classified into more than one cell. Changing the name of a row or column also changes the meaning of the row or column, therefore the names should not be changed.
How the Zachman Framework Is Used
Many large organizations are sprawling entities, often including components acquired and merged into a whole over time. Many components do not understand the structure of the organization or how other components fit within it. Often legacy information about the business—the crucial background, for example—is limited to a few business units or individuals. When an individual is completing a Zachman Framework matrix, these gaps in wider knowledge often emerge. To fill out the matrix and thereby expand the knowledge base of everyone involved, the user must track down the holders of this legacy information.
The framework allows an organization to classify its architecture. This can be useful when managing business change, for example by modeling its elements, functions, and processes to analyze how they may change or what benefits they provide. Zachman describes it as a tool for planning and problem solving; a means of evaluating tools and methods; and a context for building architectures and systems that can support change.
Bibliography
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