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Integrating and Managing IT Architecture Models – part 7 – The Objective Architecture Repository |
The repository is the key to this solution approach. It must include facilities for:
- Storing the assets (i.e., the Objective Architecture Model models)
- Storing user specified meta-data that describes the models, their owners and other significant relationships
- Storing and accessing/invoking the transforms and their related XSDs
- Flexible, user-defined governance for input and output, including access control and user group access
- Ad hoc queries on the meta-data
- Ad hoc queries on the assets – i.e., the models
- Browser based-access
- Version control and configuration management of all artifacts, assets, meta data and policies
- Extensible into the “Very Large Database” realm
- User-defined Security processes to isolate classified model fragments
- User defined ranking of assets to guide and assist in re-use
The repository structure, itself, can be dynamic. For example, administrators can add new users and groups, change access policies, and establish new relationships among assets.
However, the abstract canonical model of Objective Architecture Models should be developed and established as a fairly static entity.
This canonical architecture would consist of a set of:
- A set of abstract constructs that could be specialized for individual models
- A set of patterns and a well defined process for constructing an Objective Architecture Model by composing and populating the patterns. The source for actually constructing the architecture model could be a user using a “native” tool, or a transform from another source.
Next – "Part 8 Conclusion" …
