All Views (AV)
AV-2 Integrated Dictionary
AV-2 presents all the Elements used in an architecture as a stand alone structure. An AV-2 presents all the Elements as a specialisation hierarchy, provides a text definition for each one and references the source of the element (e.g. MODAF Ontology, IDEAS Model, local, etc.).
An AV-2 shows elements from the MODAF Ontology that have been used in the architecture and new elements (i.e. not in the MODAF Ontology) that have been introduced by the architecture.
Background:
It is essential that organisations within defence use the same terms to refer to an object. In the most part, this is facilitated by the MODAF Ontology. Architectures often introduce new terms – usually because the architecture is covering new technology or business processes. The purpose of the AV-2 is to provide a local extension of the MODAF Ontology to explain the terms and abbreviations used in building the architecture.
Data objects:
The data in an AV-2 can include:
- Ontology References
- Specialisation Relationships (Subtyping)
- Type-Instance Relationships
Relationships Between Key Data Objects (Simplified from M3)
Detailed Product Description:
Each entry in an Integrated Dictionary should display the following properties:
- The name used for this element in the architecture
- Alternative names for this element – e.g. if the element is listed in the MODAF Ontology, it may have multiple names
- A brief description of the element
- A list of the Views in which the element is used
An AV-2 is structured using two types of hierarchical relationship between elements: sub-supertype and type-instance. A sub-supertype relationship is a relationship between two classes with the second being a pure specialisation of the first. A type-instance relationship is a relationship betwen a class an instance that is a member (instance) of that class. Note that classes may be members of other classes (e.g. the class “Colonel” is a member of the class “Rank”).
Care should be taken when using these relationships to structure the AV-2 dictionary.
The figures below shows actual examples.
Example Graphical AV-2
Example Tabular AV-2
Page version 1.1, dated 4th April 2007