The Zachman Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Zachman Framework - Essay Example Despite numerous achievements, many information systems leave sufficient room for improvement. Less than a decade ago, John A. Zachman (1996) wrote that information technologies and systems in most of Fortune 500 enterprises were in the state of deep frustration. Today’s information technologies are much better than those in the middle of the 1990s, but there are no limits to excellence. The Zachman framework exemplifies a successful attempt to revolutionize enterprise architecture principles and solve the centuries old problem of inefficient enterprise architecture, which hinders the development of relevant business frameworks. The beginning of the 1980s was marked with the rapid advancement of information technologies and systems. However, it was not before the end of the 1980s-the beginning of the 1990s that enterprise engineering ideas became popular and relevant. Throughout of the 1980s, most enterprise modeling ideas were limited to simplified application development, with no attention given to the concept of architecture and its implications for information systems evolution (Zachman, 1993). The lack of attention to enterprise architecture and reengineering precipitated the development of the Zachman framework. In today’s information systems practice, the Zachman framework is believed to be the most comprehensive and practical of all enterprise architecture systems known to the public (Urbaczewski & Mrdalj, 2006). The Zachman framework represents a logical structure that helps to clarify, classify, and organize the main descriptive representations of enterprise architecture (Zachman, 1993). ... The Zachman framework represents a logical structure that helps to clarify, classify, and organize the main descriptive representations of enterprise architecture (Zachman, 1993). The Zachman framework â€Å"comprises descriptive representations that are essential to successful management of enterprises and future development of information systems† (Zachman, 1993). The framework is built on previous models of architecture and engineering, used to organize processes and decisions in complex manufacturing processes (Zachman, 1993). The main goal of the framework is to simplify and facilitate the development of complex enterprise architecture solutions (Zachman, 1993). The Zachman framework is a bi-dimensional scheme of classifying all descriptive representations of any enterprise (Frankel et al, 2003). The framework comprises one vertical and one horizontal dimension; the former describes all perspectives of those who use the descriptions and models in the cells, whereas the la tter helps to answer â€Å"the basic questions of enterprise architecture – what, how, where, who, when, and why† (Frankel et al, 2003). Models represented in the Zachman framework include (from the top to the bottom) â€Å"scope, business model, system model, technology model, detailed representations, and the functioning enterprise† (Frankel et al, 2003). The scope sets the boundaries of enterprise architecture and creates a general picture of enterprise architecture to be considered by managers (Frankel et al, 2003). The business model incorporates all types of architectures and frameworks used by corporate owners (Frankel et al, 2003). The system model is devoted to architectures and systems used by architects and engineers,