The purpose and Scope of Architectures and Architecture Frameworks

1. An architecture may be used to provide a complete expression of any part of the system in an enterprise context. The meta-model defines the essential modelling elements that can be used to describe the system in an enterprise context and its environment. However care must be taken to have a clear purpose in mind for developing any architecture.

2. Architecture Frameworks may define a common language-independent and tool-independent formalism for architecture representation, and it provides the means to help achieve better communication between architects as well as between architects and stakeholders.

3. The use of standardised viewpoints serves as a lingua franca as it provides a unified way of describing complex real world objects. It is important both to architects and stakeholders that those involved in an architecture process are aware of this fact and use it to their common interest. This common language will also help to establish a common arena for discussing architectures and consequences across communities of interest in NATO as well as across Nations and organisations.

4. The NAF supports capturing the vision of enterprise in all its dimensions and complexity of system-of-interest. The NAF architectures developed will be an important contribution to ensure that the stakeholders of an enterprise are focussing on the same goals. Development of operational capabilities and the transformational process to reach the objectives of any organisation, for illustration in the defence domain the NATO Federated Mission Network (FMN) is an example of what NAF architectures will support and in the civil domain an example is the European Air Traffic Management project.

5. The role of architecture is to provide an abstraction of the real world. By reducing complexity an architecture can be used to support a variety of analyses to address the concerns that the stakeholders have in mind. Many of the required analyses will be performed in specialist tools, informed by the architectures and the analysis results may be used to refine architectures. Some of the key types of analyses that can be supported by an architectural approach include:

   1. Static Analyses – can include capability audit, interoperability analysis or functional analysis. These analyses are often ‘paper-based’ using simple analysis tools such as database queries and comparisons.

   2. Dynamic Analyses – sometimes referred to as executabes. these anayses typically examine the temporal, spatial, or other performance aspects of a system through dynamic simulations. For example, these analyses might be used to assess the latency of time sensitive targeting systems or conduct traffic analyses on deployed tactical networks under a variety of loading scenarios.

   3. Experimentation – where differing degrees of live versus simulated systems can be deployed during experimentation and there is a high degree of control over the experiment variables. These can be used for a variety of purposes across the acquisition cycle from analysing intervention options to validating new capability prior to For example the use of events within NATO such as the Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise (CWIX) and experiments held at various battle labs to provide the ability to conduct human-in-the-loop simulations of operational activities can provide venues for experimentation.

   4. Trials – medium to large scale exercises involving fully functional systems and large numbers of personnel, usually conducted in an operational environment as realistic as possible. Such trials are inevitably expensive and are usually only utilized for formal system acceptance or assessment of operational readiness. (Note: Trials can be independently executed or be part of an

What is the value of an Architecture?

Architectures are developed to support strategic planning, transformation, and various types of analyses (i.e., gap, impact, risk) and the decisions made during each of those processes. Additional uses include identifying capability needs, relating needs to systems development and integration, attaining interoperability and supportability, and managing investments. The following describes architecture usage at two different levels¹:

1. Enterprise level – architectures, particularly federated architectures, are used at the enterprise level to make decisions that improve:

   1. human resource utilisation,

   2. deployment of assets,

   3. investments,

   4. identification of the enterprise boundary (external interfaces) and assignment of functional responsibility, and

   5. structuring the functional activities in terms of projects.

2. Project level – architectures are used at the project level to identify capability requirements and operational resource needs that meet business objectives. Project architectures may then be integrated to support decision making at the enterprise level.

Architectures facilitate decision making by conveying the necessary information. Setting architectures within the enterprise context ensures complete, actionable information for more reliable decisions. The following describes architecture data usage for different types of decisions:

1. Portfolio Management – Identifies objectives and goals to be satisfied with regards to owned assets (capabilities and systems) and processes to be governed.

2. Capability and Interoperability Readiness – Assesses capabilities and their implementation (systems, platforms, services and aggregated solutions) against needs and their net-readiness to identify gaps in interoperable features.

3. Operational Concept Planning – Examines how various mission participants, processes, roles, responsibilities, and information need to work together, to recognize potential problems that may be encountered, and to identify quick fixes that may be available to accomplish a mission.

4. Acquisition Programme Management and System Development – Expresses the plan and management activities to acquire and develop system concepts, design, and implementation (as they mature over time), which enable and support operational requirements and provide traceability to those requirements. This process has to be compliant with the Enterprise objective and operational requirements. It refines operational analysis, performs system analysis, and improves both materiel and non-materiel solution analysis.

5. Modelling and Simulation - Modelling and simulation techniques can be used in order to assess the business and mission analysis. For example in the military context the implementation of mission threads² and scenarios³ , thus providing an environment for thorough testing of identified use cases.⁴

Interoperability between Architectures

Architectures must not be produced for the sake of architectures themselves, but as a means to achieve higher level enterprise objectives (i.e. objectives in NATO).

Architecture related processes should be seen as a technique for managing complexity rather than activities to produce models. A common set of architecture processes, such as those specified in NAF, is judged to be the best way of achieving success in the formation of a federation of systems approach.

This concept is not only valid for NATO itself, but also between NATO and Nations, NATO and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and Nations and NGOs.