Tuesday, September 2, 2008

36. Notes on Information Systems Architecture

Hi All,
I have been learning a little bit about Information System Architectures and the start point just has to be the Zachman Framework. Perhaps the Zachman Framework is to Architectures what the Deming Quality Cycle appears to be all Management consulting. Of course some of my friends call it the “Hamster Wheel of Pain” but that’s another story …

An interesting extract from the article (that I reproduce here – more as a “note-to-self”) follows. He ( Dr. John Zachman - Biographical Sketch) first discusses the various perspectives or fundamental architectural representations such as Owner’s view, Designer’s view, Builder’s view etc. and then goes on to say:
A significant observation regarding these architectural representations is that each has a different nature from the others. They are not merely a set of representations, each of which displays a level of detail greater than the previous one. Level of detail is an independent variable varying within any one architectural representation…

The original article appeared in IBM System Journal Vol. 26, No.3 of 1987 and is a must-read.

Best Regards

No comments: