Service Oriented Enterprise Architecture Framework (SOEAF)

As a member of the Open Group SOA Working Group*, Awel Dico has produced various working papers about incorporating SOA into TOGAF.

In his latest blog posting, he offers a diagram proposing a service oriented enterprise architecture framework (SOEAF). This diagram focuses on SOA-based solutions, and I guess this is similar to what people sometimes call Service-Oriented Business Applications (SOBA).



This diagram has a fair amount in common with the CBDI Service Architecture and Engineering approach, but there is one important difference. At CBDI, we have long championed a twin-track approach, separating the architecting, provisioning and operation of reusable services from the architecting, provisioning and operation of service-based solutions. I don't know how this kind of twin-track approach could be accommodated in the SOEAF framework.

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Update

Unfortunately, Awel's blog has been affected by a serious security problem, so I have moved the diagram and removed the links. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

MODAF Version 1.2

A new version of MODAF has just appeared, which puts MODAF firmly ahead of other enterprise architecture frameworks in terms of its support for SOA.

MODAF is the enterprise architecture framework produced by the UK ministry of defence. Version 1.1, which appeared last year, contained a Strategic View, described in terms of Capabilities and Capability Dependencies. Version 1.2 now contains a Service (or "Service-Orientated") View, driven by the Strategic (Capability) View, and sitting above the Systems View.

http://www.modaf.org.uk/

This clearly goes further than the latest version of DoDAF (a roughly similar framework produced by the US Department of Defense), which has a single view for Systems and Services, and no Strategic View.

Meanwhile TOGAF remains stuck in a time-warp. In December 2003, when I wrote an article on Enterprise Architecture for the CBDI Journal, I was told that TOGAF 9, which would have some support for SOA, was "coming soon". Nearly five years later and it is still "coming soon". Soumen Chatterjee expects that "too many players" will produce a "mixed-up world".

There are a few bloggers talking about possible SOA support within TOGAF, including Raj Ajora and Awel Dico, and some good ideas coming out of the SOA Working Group within the Open Group. But they've got some catching up to do.

Information Model Support

I just received a private email with a suggestion to improve the SAE metamodel.

"I am approaching information management from the Information Engineering perspective. I am suggesting that the metamodel indicate the different users views or levels of data oriented models (Mission, Subject Area, Conceptual Logical and Design). These models serve different purposes in the Enterprise Architecture stack."

It's an interesting idea, and we shall consider it. However, we are conscious of the need not to overload the metamodel, so it may get excluded on those grounds. We are also keen to keep the metamodel as uncontroversial as possible. I am sure there will always be room for people (including ourselves) to differentiate themselves by adding local refinements.

TOGAF

One or two people have asked about the relationship of SOA process to TOGAF ("The Open Group Architecture Framework"). This is an enterprise architecture framework,

I actually wrote an article back in December 2003, outlining some of the challenges faced by TOGAF 8 in embracing SOA.

TOGAF insiders told me then that TOGAF 9 would provide some support for SOA. Four years later and we are still waiting for TOGAF 9. (The current version of TOGAF is 8.1.1.)

However, there are signs that we won't have to wait too much longer. In July 2007, the Open Group published a white paper, outlining plans to embrace SOA within TOGAF. The white paper acknowledges CBDI as a source for these SOA plans, and we hope that the next version of TOGAF will contain a lot of CBDI thinking.

And of course we shall want to repay the compliment. Much of the SOA Process is based on widely used industry approaches, including TOGAF and Zachmann. When the Open Group publishes its guidance on SOA, we shall certainly want to further align the SOA Process with this.

In the meantime, we welcome further discussion about the process implications of SOA and EA in relation to TOGAF or any other EA framework.

Sources

Service Oriented Architecture Frameworks (CBDI Journal, December 2003)
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) (The Open Group SOA Working Group, July 2007)
The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) (Wikipedia)