MODAF Concepts
What are the MODAF Viewpoints?
MODAF architectures are developed as coherent, contiguous models 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, however, and it is sometimes useful to be able to logically divide an architecture into domains. This also proves useful when publishing an architecture to different stakeholders. For this reason, MODAF defines a set of standard viewpoints:
This diagram illustrates the relationship between the six MODAF Viewpoints, in particular the way that:
- The Strategic, Operational, and System Viewpoints have a layered relationship
- The Acquisition Viewpoint sits beneath the Strategic Viewpoint, and has a supporting role across the Operational and System layers
- The All Views and Technical Standards Viewpoints sit alongside the others in their role of providing a description and ontology for an architecture, plus information on supporting standards
Each Viewpoint takes a different perspective upon the architectural model; for instance, the Operational Viewpoint considers the operational nodes (logical “actors” that may be realised by one or more resources) that interact in certain ways in order to achieve a desired outcome. Furthermore, each of these viewpoints consists of several views, which offer slightly different details within the 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 lifecycle. 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. The main use of each of the MODAF Viewpoints within the MOD is summarised below.
Strategic Views (StVs) support the process of analysing and optimising the delivery of military capability in line with the MOD’s strategic intent. The StVs achieve this by capturing the capability policy / concepts, decomposing this into a capability taxonomy supported by appropriate measures of effectiveness that can be used for capability audit and gap / overlap analysis. The StVs further detail the dependencies between military capabilities, enabling capability options to be built in a more coherent manner and effective trade-offs to be conducted across the entire Equipment Programme (EP). The StVs will mainly be developed and exploited by those within the policy / analytical concepts areas and the Customer 1 function.
The Operational Views (OVs) define the logical aspects of the architecture. A suite of OV products may be used to describe a requirement for a to-be architecture in logical terms, or as a simplified description of the key behavioural and information aspects of an as-is architecture. The OVs re-use the capabilities defined in the StVs and put them in context of an operation or scenario. The OVs can be used at a number of points through the MOD lifecycle including the development of user requirements, capturing future concepts and supporting the operational planning processes. A number of stakeholders will develop and exploit OVs during the MOD acquisition lifecycle. For instance, Customer 2 will use OVs to support URD development and in conducting operational planning processes.
The Service-Orientated Views (SOVs) are a set of views that specifying Services that are to be used in a Service-Orientated Architecture (SOA). In MODAF terms, Services are an implementation-independent specification of a packaged element of functionality. The views describe the specification of these Services, how Services are orchestrated together for a purpose, the Capabilities that Services deliver and how Services are implemented. Note that the views do not focus on the detailed design of the service, rather on the erquirement the service fulfills.
The System Views (SVs) are a set of views that describe resources that realise capability. The Systems Views describe resource functions, interactions between resources, and can also provide detailed system interface models. Note that these views address the involvement of humans in both the operation of systems and in carrying out functions in their own right. The SVs can be used to specify solutions to requirements specified in the OVs, or simply to provide more detail to the logical OV architecture. One of the primary uses of the SVs is in the development of system solutions that satisfy the user requirements and hence the development of appropriate system requirements. The SVs will primarily be developed and exploited within the MOD’s acquisition community and its associated supply chain.
The Technical Standards Views (TVs) are tabular views containing standards, rules, policy and guidance that are applicable to aspects of the architecture. Despite the name, the contents of the TVs do not necessarily need to be of a technical nature and can apply just as much to operational activities (eg doctrine, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs)) as they do to systems (eg standards, and protocols). The elements contained in the TVs will come from a number of sources including the policy setting organisations in MOD and core interoperability standards from Customer 1. The TVs will then be further detailed and managed throughout the acquisition lifecycle by the standardisation officers within the IPTs.
Like the Strategic Views, the Acquisition Views (AcVs) were first introduced in MODAF v.1.0 – i.e. they are not in DODAF, but have since been adopted by other national architecture frameworks. They describe programmatic details, including dependencies between projects and capability integration across the Defence Lines of Development (DLODs). The Views identify interaction between programmes and projects, and integrate acquisition activities across all of the DLODs. The AcVs provide important programmatic information for those involved in capability management and acquisition. Since they also address the maturity across all of the DLODs to deliver an integrated military capability, the AcVs also form an important interface between the acquisition IPT and its Customer 2 community.
The All-Views (AVs) provide an overarching description of the architecture, its scope, ownership, timeframe and all of the other meta data that is required in order to effectively search and query architectural models. They also provide a place to record any findings arising from the architecting process. The AVs include a dictionary of the terms used in the construction of the architecture – which helps others fully understand it’s meaning at a later date. Since the AVs provide critical information for the future access and exploitation of an architectural model their population is essential whenever a MODAF architecture is created or modified. The AVs shall be produced by every community within MOD that populates or alters MODAF architectures and they provide a critical input into the processes that provide architectural governance.
It is expected that the Strategic Views 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 specified in the OVs:
Page version 1.2, dated 23rd June 2008