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Viewpoints and views
This section provides an overview of the different viewpoints used in the MOD Architecture Framework (MODAF).
MODAF architectures are developed as coherent, contiguous models that when viewed as a whole present a complete picture of the enterprise. MODAF defines a rich selection of relationships which can be used to integrate the various architectural elements.
Producing an enterprise architecture is rarely the work of one person and it is sometimes useful to be able to logically divide an architecture into domains, each concerned with one aspect of how the enterprise works. This also proves useful when publishing an architecture to different stakeholders. For this reason, MODAF defines a set of standard viewpoints.
Each Viewpoint takes a different perspective upon the architectural model; for instance, the Operational Viewpoint considers the operaional nodes (logical "actors" that may be realised by one or more resources) that interact in certain ways in order to achieve a desired outcome.
The MODAF views
Each Viewpoint consists of several views, which highlight slightly different details within the particular Viewpoint. For instance within the Operational Viewpoint, OV-1 provides a high-level conceptual graphic, whilst OV-2 considers the interactions between operational nodes and OV-3 details the information flows.
Whilst the data within each view adds more richness to the overall description of an architecture, it is not necessary for all of the MODAF views to be completed at any particular point in time during the MOD's acquisition life-cycle. Indeed, each group of users within the MOD will have different needs and will only populate and exploit those MODAF Views that are of relevance to them. This means that most of the MOD's Communities of Interest (COIs) will only be dealing with the population and exploitation of a subset of MODAF Views, and few will need to understand and deal with all of the available MODAF Views.
Links to more detailed descriptions of each viewpoint and their constituent views can be found listed in the "Related Pages" section. A link to a high-level summary of views may also be found there.
Interactions between views and interactions between architectures
It is expected that the Strategic Views (StVs) cover more than one operational architecture - i.e. the capabilities defined in the StVs are re-used across a number of architectures. It may also be the case that the architect wishes to conduct an architectural trade study - i.e. there may be multiple possible solutions for a given requirement in the Operational Viewpoints (OVs).
These relationships are covered in more detail in the guidance for each viewpoint and in the document "MODAF Layers and Viewpoint Linkages" - which can be found on the Views Summary Documents page. See Related Pages >>>
These relationships are covered in more detail in the guidance for each viewpoint and in the document “MODAF Layers and Viewpoint Linkages” - which can be found on the MODAF Views Summary Documents page, together with a downloadable version of this page.
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