Article - Zachman 1992

Question 1

What is the Zachman Framework?

Answer 1

It is a systematic taxonomy of concepts for relating things in the world to the representations in the computer. It provides a way of viewing a system from many different perspectives and showing how they are all related.

Question 2

What is the purpose of the Zachman framework?

Answer 2

To show how everything in an enterprise fits together.

Question 3

What are the rows of the Zachman framework?

Answer 3

1. Executive Perspective (Planner) | Scope
2. Business Management (Owners) | Business concepts
3. Architect Perspective (Designers) | System concepts
4. Engineer Perspective (Builders) | Technology concepts
5. Technician Perspective (Component implementer) | Tool components
6. Enterprise Perspective (Users)

Question 4

What do the rows represent?

Answer 4

Different roles or perspectives, different sets of constraints –> Therefore, different models

Question 5

What is meant with constraints are additive?

Answer 5

The constraints of lower rows are added to the model of a higher row to produce a new model with a new perspective.

Question 6

What is the challenge of quality management?

Answer 6

New models should not be too different. A problem then is that the higher-row model can not be reverse engineered (inferred).

-> If two rows are too different, the designers need to discuss what to change.

Question 7

What are the columns in the Zachman Framework?

Answer 7

1. What (Data? / Entities)
2. How (Function)
3. Where (Network)
4. Who (People)
5. When (Time)
6. Why (Motivation)

Question 8

What are the key characteristics of the columns?

Answer 8

1. They are different abstractions of, or ways to describe the real world.
2. Abstractions are isolated to contain the complexity of the design problem.
3. All abstractions are closely related. Models should be designed to facilitate the structural integrity of the others.

Question 9

What does the what column represent?

Answer 9

It shows the entities involved as well as their relations.

Question 10

What does the how column represent?

Answer 10

It shows the functions/processes/transformations, as well as their inputs and outputs

Question 11

What does the where column represent?

Answer 11

The locations and their connections.

Question 12

What does the who column represent?

Answer 12

The roles and their work products. (Allocation of work and the delegation of authority)

Question 13

What does the when column represent?

Answer 13

Intervals and moments. Basically time when events happen.

Question 14

What does the why column represent?

Answer 14

Ends and means. Descriptive representations of the motivation of the enterprise.

Ends are objectives/goals
Means are strategies.

Question 15

What does the Executive Perspective row represent?

Answer 15

The scope. An executive summary for a planner/investor about the scope of a system, the cost and how it would perform.

Question 16

What does the Business Management Perspective row represent?

Answer 16

The actual business concepts

Question 17

What does the Architect Perspective row represent?

Answer 17

The system models, in which the data elements and functions that represent business entities and processes are represented.

Question 18

What does the Engineer Perspective row represent?

Answer 18

The technology models. Including the information system models to be used and the constraints of tools, technology and materials. Includes systems, devices, technologies and programming languages.

Question 19

What does the Technician’s Perspective row represent?

Answer 19

Detailed specifications for individual models without the overall context or structure of the system. Tool components.

Question 20

What does the Enterprise Perspective row represent?

Answer 20

The actual implementation in the business. How the business operates at the moment. Also called instantiation.

Question 21

What happens in the who column if the transaction between two organization units is simple/well-defined?

Answer 21

The enterprise will form into a free-market structure. Work will be assigned to the worker who is most acceptable in terms of cost and availability.

Called ‘Markets’

Question 22

What happens in the who column if the transaction between two units is more complex, not well-defined or understood?

Answer 22

The enterprise will establish an hierarchy that will arbitrarily define the work product ,the schedule and the cost that connects the subordinate organizations.

Called ‘Hierarchy’

Question 23

What is meant by the rule: The columns have no order?

Answer 23

All columns are equally important as they are abstractions of the same enterprise.

-> If one is sub-optimized at any given point in time, the trade-off made should be well understood.

Question 24

What is meant by the rule: Each column as a simple, basic model?

Answer 24

The basic model per column is a generic metamodel. Generic: it is the same for every cell in that column. Meta: It is a model for the enterprise model.

Question 25

What is meant by the rule: each column must be unique?

Answer 25

No entity or connector can be the same between columns.

Question 26

What is meant by the rule: Each row represents a distinct, unique perspective?

Answer 26

Each perspective is dealing with a different set of constraints relevant to that perspective.

Question 27

What is meant by the rule: Each cell is unique?

Answer 27

• No meta entity can show up in more than one cell.
• Corollary to that rule: different techniques/graphic representations might be appropriate for different cells. However, this might complicate the design problem which leads to sub-optimization of other independent variables.

Question 28

What is meant by the rule: the logic is recursive?

Answer 28

The framework can be used to describe virtually anything that has an owner, designer and builder who make use of material, function and geometry.

Question 29

What are considerations for the last three columns?

Answer 29

• Definition of those cells are hypothetical and less empirical. Might be subject to change.
• Examples in those cells are derived from other disciplines. Still much knowledge to be tapped in from those disciplines.

Question 30

Why do we use ‘agents’ in the who (people) column?

Answer 30

The entity that allocates work or the entity to whom work is allocated can be a person, an organization, a machine or software. Hence, agents

Question 31

What is the general rule in terms of time allocation in the time column?

Answer 31

The shorter the duration between 2 events, the more resources required. Also the other way around.