Operational Views (OV) [Logical Views]

OV-6a Operational Rules Model

An Operational Rules Model (OV-6a) specifies operational or business rules that are constraints on the way that business is done in the enterprise.

Background:

At a top level, rules will at least embody the concepts of operations defined in OV-1a and will provide guidelines for the development and definition of more detailed rules and behavioural definitions that will occur later in the Architecture definition process.

Usage:

Data objects:

The data in an OV-6a can include:

Representation:

Detailed Product Description:

The Operational Rules Model specifies operational or business rules that are constraints on the way business is done in the enterprise. While other OV Products (e.g. OV-1, OV-2, OV-5) describe the structure and operation of a business, for the most part they do not describe the constraints and rules under which it operates.

At the mission level, OV-6a may be based on business rules contained in doctrine, guidance, rules of engagement, and so forth. At lower levels, OV-6a describes the rules under which the Architecture or its Nodes behave under specified conditions. Such rules can be expressed in a textual form, for example, “If (these conditions) exist, and (this event) occurs, then (perform these actions).”

These rules are contrasted with the business or doctrinal standards themselves, which provide authoritative references and provenance for the rules (see TV-1).

Operational Rules are statements that constrain some aspect of the mission or the Architecture. Rules may be expressed in natural language (English) in one of two forms:

As the View name implies, the rules captured in OV-6a are operational (i.e., mission-oriented) whereas resource-oriented rules are defined in SV-10 (OV-6 is the “what” to SV-10’s “how”). OV-6a rules can include such guidance as the conditions under which operational control passes from one entity to another, or the conditions under which a human role is authorised to proceed with a specific activity.

A rule defined in textual form OV-6a may be applied to any Architectural Element defined in an OV. A rule defined in a more structured way (i.e. for the purposes of sharing with other architects) should be defined in association with nodes, operational activities or missions.


Operational Rules Example (Structured Text)

Rules defined in an OV-6a may optionally be presented in any other OV – for example, a rule “battle damage assessment shall be carried out under fair weather conditions” may be shown linked to the “Conduct BDA” activity in OV-5. Any natural language rule presented (e.g. in a diagram note) in an Operational View Product should also be listed in OV-6a.
OV-6a rules may be associated with activities in OV-5 and it is often useful to overlay the rules on an OV-5:


Overlaid Operational Rules Example (OV-5)

OV-6a can also be used to extend the capture of business requirements by constraining the structure and validity of OV-7 elements.

Detailed rules can become quite complex, and the structuring of the rules themselves can often be challenging. MODAF does not specify how OV-6a rules will be specified, other than in English.

From a modelling perspective, operational constraints may act upon: Nodes, Operational Activities, Missions and Entities in Logical Data Models..

Page version 1.1, dated 4th April 2007

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