Definitions Part 4

Question 1

Objective

Answer 1

Objective
A time-bounded milestone of an organization used to demonstrate progress towards a goal.

For example, ‘‘Increase Capacity Utilization by 30% by the end of 2009 to support the planned increase in market share’’.

Question 2

Physical

Answer 2

Physical
A description of a real-world entity.
Physical elements in an enterprise architecture may still be considerably abstracted from Solution Architecture, design, or implementation views.

Question 3

Reference Model (RM)

Answer 3

Reference Model (RM)
A reference model is an abstract framework for understanding significant relationships among the entities of [an] environment, and for the development of consistent standards or specifications supporting that environment.

A reference model is based on a small number of unifying concepts and may be used as a basis for education and explaining standards to a non- specialist. A reference model is not directly tied to any standards, technologies, or other concrete implementation details, but it does seek to provide common semantics that can be used unambiguously across and between different implementations.

Question 4

Repository

Answer 4

Repository
A system that manages all of the data of an enterprise, including data and process models and other enterprise information.

Hence, the data in a repository is much more extensive than that in a data dictionary, which generally defines only the data making up a database.

Question 5

Requirement

Answer 5

Requirement
A statement of need that must be met by a particular architecture or work package.

Question 6

Solution Architecture

Answer 6

Solution Architecture
A description of a discrete and focused business operation or activity and how IS/IT supports that operation.

A Solution Architecture typically applies to a single project or project release, assisting in the translation of requirements into a solution vision, high-level business and/or IT system specifications, and a portfolio of implementation tasks.

Question 7

Solution Building Block (SBB)

Answer 7

Solution Building Block (SBB)
A candidate solution which conforms to the specification of an Architecture Building Block (ABB).

Question 8

Stakeholder

Answer 8

Stakeholder
An individual, team, or organization (or classes thereof) with interests in, or concerns relative to, the outcome of the architecture.

Different stakeholders with different roles will have different concerns.

Question 9

Strategic Architecture

Answer 9

Strategic Architecture
A summary formal description of the enterprise, providing an organizing framework for operational and change activity, and an executive-level, long-term view for direction setting.

Question 10

Target Architecture

Answer 10

The description of a future state of the architecture being developed for an organization.

There may be several future states developed as a roadmap to show the evolution of the architecture to a target state.

Question 11

Technology Architecture

Answer 11

Technology Architecture
A description of the structure and interaction of the platform services, and logical and physical technology components.

Question 12

Transition Architecture

Answer 12

Transition Architecture
A formal description of one state of the architecture at an architecturally significant point in time.

One or more Transition Architectures may be used to describe the progression in time from the Baseline to the Target Architecture.