2a - Zachman Framework

Question 1

How many versions of the Zachman Framework exist, and when were they published?

Answer 1

3 versions:
1987
1992, Sowa & Zachman
2008, via his website

Question 2

What are the 2 main views of EA (Zachman vs. Jeanne Ross)

Answer 2

Zachman views EA as a modeling “tool”.
Ross views EA as the organizing logic for business processes and IT infrastructure, reflecting the integration & standardization requirements of the company’s operating model.

Question 3

What is a model?

Answer 3

An artifact, mostly diagrams / visual descriptions of an enterprise.
But can also be tables, lists etc.

Question 4

What does the EA Framework state?

Answer 4

What “artifacts” of “types of artifacts” should be created, and (sometimes) in what order, and (sometimes) by whom.

Question 5

Does the ZF suggest/prescribe artifacts?

Answer 5

No, it specifies what TYPES of models should exist

Question 6

What is the goal of the ZF?

Answer 6

To have a complete picture of an enterprise or IT organization (but every cell has to be populated).

Question 7

What is the difference between the ZF-versions of 1987 & 1992 vs. 2008?

Answer 7

1987 & 1992: transformation from an Information System -> IS architecture
2008: transformation from an organization -> enterprise architecture, because systems are not only information systems.

Question 8

Name 2 main benefits of the ZF.

Answer 8

1 - Organizing the current artifacts

2 - Predicting the need for unknown artifacts

Question 9

The Zachman framework describes a taxonomy using a 2-dimensional organization. What are they?

Answer 9

1. The different players in the game. Each demands different definitions of ‘completeness’.
2. The descriptive focus of the artifact: the 6 questions.

Question 10

Explain the Data: planner artifact (view)

Answer 10

Goal: what data are used in an enterprise?
Result: a list of import data for business, data entities.

Question 11

Explain the Data: owner view

Answer 11

This is the conceptual data model; it shows (visually) what the relationships are between the data entities. Also listst (some of the) attributes. It is design-independent.

Question 12

Explain the Data: designer view

Answer 12

This is the logical data model, which cannot show any N-N relationships. Here the primary keys & foreign keys are specified. It is technology-independent.

Question 13

Explain the Data: builder (data engineer) view

Answer 13

Here you add data types, default values, domain etc. for the target technology (number, varchar). Therefore, it is technology-dependent (Oracle etc…)

Question 14

Explain the data: developer view

Answer 14

Here the previous results are translated to SQL queries for creating the tables (entities) and its relationships.

Question 15

Explain the how: function enterprise (users) view

Answer 15

What application users see: graphical interface (GUI). Executable files/apps.

Question 16

Explain the how: planner view

Answer 16

Goal: what functions do we provide in our enterprise.
Result: a list of important functions for business
Like use cases, or processes

Question 17

Explain the how: owner view

Answer 17

This is the business use case diagram (UML). It shows functions and their business users. Also, creating a business activity diagram per process.

Question 18

Explain include vs. extend in a business use case diagram.

Answer 18

Include: one use case describes some of the detail of another.
Extend: shows that one use case may add functionality to another use case (under certain circumstances).

Question 19

Explain the how: designer view

Answer 19

System use case diagram; very similar to the owner view, but now based on the system.

Question 20

Explain the how: builder/engineer view

Answer 20

Visualize what is going on in a program (sort of like low-code)

Question 21

Explain the how: developer (subcontractor) view

Answer 21

Programming the actual use case, based on the visualization, in a certain language.

Question 22

Explain the where: users view

Answer 22

What network users see

Question 23

Explain the where: planner view

Answer 23

List of important locations in which the business operates.

Question 24

Explain the where: owner view

Answer 24

Operational node connectivity. Showing nodes (locations) and needlines (need for exchanging resources)

Question 25

Explain the where: designer view

Answer 25

Systems resource flow description.

Question 26

What are the 3 results from the article by Kappelmann and Zachman in 2013?

Answer 26

1) EA is about the architecture of the entire enterprise, including ITs
2) They describe an ontology for the information needed to holistically define and represent that architecture
3) This raises significant challenges for IS professionals, educators, and researchers.