The Information FrameWork

IBM Systems Journal

Volumn 35, Issue 1, 1996, Pages 37-68

  Evernden, R ^a,b  

^a WorkSpace International Ltd   (United Kingdom)

^b IBM   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT; INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS;

INFORMATION FRAMEWORK; INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE;

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE;

EID: 0029758554     PISSN: 00188670     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1147/sj.351.0037     Document Type: Article

References (73)

1. J. A. Zachman, "A Framework for Information Systems Architecture," IBM Systems Journal 26, No. 3, 276-292 (1987), from the Abstract.
2. Ibid., listed in Appendix A on p. 292.
3. J. F. Sowa and J. A. Zachman, "Extending and Formalizing the Framework for Information Systems Architecture," IBM Systems Journal 31, No. 3, 590-616 (1992). In this 1992 paper, the information systems architecture (ISA) framework is described as a "taxonomy with 30 boxes or cells organized into six columns (labeled A through E) and five rows (numbered 1 through 5)," page 591. Some references to the ISA framework add functioning system as a sixth row.
4. Zachman, "Framework," Table 2, page 282, where the product from an information systems architecture is the "information system."
5. R. L. Nolan and D. W. Mulryan, "Undertaking an Architecture Program," Stage by Stage 7, No. 2 (March-April 1987), where the authors state, "There is a parallel between architecture design and city planning. City planners must design in the face of many unknowns, such as future transportation technologies, changing work, living, and commuting patterns, and so on. To deal with the complexities and unknowns, city planners set guidelines on, for instance, building height, setbacks, and zoning. They can ill afford to delve into such detail as prescribing building materials. As a result of this level of planning, our major cities are able to accommodate new technologies for transportation and communication which remain viable for hundreds of years, and which make a major contribution to each city's brand of urban culture."
6. J. Podolsky, in an opinion column for Datamation, says that what our information systems need is landscape architecture not building architecture, to provide "bottom-up ecological and evolutionary models of system growth." He concludes, "We may wish our systems portfolio with its hodgepodge legacy of applications and processes to be a planned community of buildings and roads, but it ain't so. And the kinds of plans we need will come not from the IT version of Frank Lloyd Wright, but from the inspiration of the parks of Frederick Law Olmsted" in ThinkWrap, "Parks, not Buildings," Datamation 40, No. 19, 90 (October 15, 1994).
7. F. Niederman, J. C. Brancheau, and J. C. Wetherbe, "Information Systems Management Issues for the 1990s," MIS Quarterly 15, No. 4, 475-500 (December 1991).
8. T. Moynihan, "What Chief Executives and Senior Managers Want From Their IT Departments," MIS Quarterly 14, No. 1, 15-26 (March 1990).
9. At the time of writing, IFW has been used in projects in the financial services industry, the airline industry, and the government sector.
10. Sowa and Zachman, "Extending and Formalizing the Framework," Abstract.
11. For example, K. Seer and M. Wise, "A Framework for Managing Model Objects," in Database Programming and Design 7, No. 8, 50-55 (August 1994). The authors developed a framework to classify objects. They state, "Just as the Zachman ISA framework supports a systems-development methodology, a repository framework supports a repository-management methodology."
12. Some of these include information engineering and object-oriented development methodologies, software engineering, domain analysis, business anthropology, artificial intelligence and knowledge-based systems, workflow analysis, business process reengineering, management theory and practice, change management, and organizational behavior.
13. A. A. R. Cockburn, "The Impact of Object-Orientation on Application Development," IBM Systems Journal 32, No. 3, 433 (1993).
14. The term information framework was first used on a consulting engagement by Westpac Banking Corporation's CS90 Consulting Group in 1991. CS90 was Westpac's "Core Systems for the 1990s" project. The idea of the framework started by taking experience at Westpac in enterprise modeling and reuse application architectures and generalizing the concepts so that they could be applied in any financial institution. The first version of the information framework was a combination of the Zachman framework, the Westpac CS90 project, and contemporary research. See R. Evernden, "Object Management in a Mainframe Repository-Based Environment," Repository AD/Cycle International Users Group Conference Proceedings, Chicago (October 27-30, 1991), pp. 188-197, for a detailed discussion of the Westpac project.
15. Financial Application Architecture - Introduction, GC31-3932-0, IBM Corporation (1992), and Financial Application Architecture - Concepts of Application and System Architectures, LY38-4402-0, IBM Corporation (1992); available through IBM branch offices.
16. P. Stecher, "Building Business and Application Systems with the Retail Application Architecture," IBM Systems Journal 32, No. 2, 278-306 (1993).
17. C. Loosley, "Separation and Integration in the Zachman Framework," Database Newsletter 20, No. 1, 3-9, Database Research Group, Boston (1992).
18. J. Ward and A. Bytheway at a symposium on Transforming the Business with Information, Cranfield University School of Management, UK (July 1995).
19. For example, in one popular dictionary, the definition for data is "1. A series of observations, measurements, or facts; information. 2. Also called: information. Computers the information operated on by a computer program," The New Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus, Collins, London and Glasgow (1987), p. 247.
20. Two major types of classification schemes are found in library science: enumerative and faceted. For a good discussion of faceted classifications and reusability, see R. Prieto-Diaz and G. A. Jones, "Breathing New Life into Old Software," reprinted in Tutorial: Software Reuse - Emerging Technology, W. Tracz, The Computer Society of the IEEE, Los Alamitos, CA (1990), pp. 152-160.
21. M. J. Earl, "Experiences in Strategic Information Systems Planning," MIS Quarterly, No. 1, 1-24 (March 1993).
22. See D. Tasker, The Problem Space (1993), available only on diskette from Dan Tasker, 37/9 Hampden Avenue, Cremorne, NSW 2090, Australia, for an object-oriented discussion of these questions in the context of the Zachman framework. Tasker labels the five "Ws" as Objects, Events, Rules, Participants, and Locations.
23. Sowa and Zachman, "Extending and Formalizing the Framework," p. 599. Rule 1 states "The columns have no order. Order implies priorities. It creates a bias toward one aspect at the expense of others. Traditional programmers, for example, tend to have a bias toward function. They usually prefer to see the function column first in the framework."
24. B. J. Pine II, Mass Customization, Harvard Business School Press, Boston (1992).
25. U. Apte, C. S. Sankar, M. Thaku, and J. E. Turner, "Reusability-Based Strategy for Development of Information Systems: Implementation Experience of a Bank," MIS Quarterly 14, No. 4, 421-433 (December 1990). Also J. Karimi, "An Asset-Based Systems Development Approach to Software Reusability," MIS Quarterly 14, No. 2, 179-198 (June 1990).
26. U. Apte, C. S. Sankar, M. Thaku, and J. E. Turner, "Reusability-Based Strategy for Development of Information Systems: Implementation Experience of a Bank," MIS Quarterly 14, No. 4, 421-433 (December 1990). Also J. Karimi, "An Asset-Based Systems Development Approach to Software Reusability," MIS Quarterly 14, No. 2, 179-198 (June 1990).
27. C. Finkelstein, An Introduction to Information Engineering (From Strategic Planning to Information Systems), Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Reading, MA (1989).
28. A. G. Nilsson, "Information Systems Development: A Frame of Reference and Classifications," paper presented at Polish-Scandinavian Seminar, Paraszyno, Poland (June 27-30, 1988).
29. In the original Zachman article (Zachman, 1987), this column is labeled "Process Description," whereas in the later article (Sowa and Zachman, 1992) it is labeled "Function." It is interesting that our discussions in IFW had difficulty with choosing appropriate labels for this column. This is partly because, in the many different methodologies available to information systems analysis, the two words "function" and "process" are often interchangeable!
30. B. Curtis, M. I. Kellner, and J. Over, "Process Modelling," Communications of the ACM 35, No. 9, 75-90 (September 1992). This paper was part of a special issue on analysis and modeling in software development.
31. T. H. Davenport, Process Innovation - Reengineering Work Through Information Technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston (1993), see pages 5 through 9 for a discussion of "What Is a Process?"
32. Ibid., p. 6.
33. This includes architectures from IBM such as the Systems Application Architecture™, Systems Network Architecture, and Financial Application Architecture, as well as the work of many other proprietary or open architectures.
34. Some of the most important writings for this period include: E. F. Codd, "A Relational Model for Large Shared Data Banks," Communications of the ACM 13, No. 6, 377-387 (1970); P. Chen, "The Entity Relationship Model: Toward a Unified View of Data," A CM Transactions on Database Systems 1, No. 1, 9-36 (March 1976); C. Finkelstein, "Information Engineering," six In Depth articles in Computerworld (May-June 1981); J. Martin and C. Finkelstein, Information Engineering, Technical Report on Information Engineering, Savant Institute, United Kingdom (1981).
35. Some of the most important writings for this period include: E. F. Codd, "A Relational Model for Large Shared Data Banks," Communications of the ACM 13, No. 6, 377-387 (1970); P. Chen, "The Entity Relationship Model: Toward a Unified View of Data," A CM Transactions on Database Systems 1, No. 1, 9-36 (March 1976); C. Finkelstein, "Information Engineering," six In Depth articles in Computerworld (May-June 1981); J. Martin and C. Finkelstein, Information Engineering, Technical Report on Information Engineering, Savant Institute, United Kingdom (1981).
36. Some of the most important writings for this period include: E. F. Codd, "A Relational Model for Large Shared Data Banks," Communications of the ACM 13, No. 6, 377-387 (1970); P. Chen, "The Entity Relationship Model: Toward a Unified View of Data," A CM Transactions on Database Systems 1, No. 1, 9-36 (March 1976); C. Finkelstein, "Information Engineering," six In Depth articles in Computerworld (May-June 1981); J. Martin and C. Finkelstein, Information Engineering, Technical Report on Information Engineering, Savant Institute, United Kingdom (1981).
37. Some of the most important writings for this period include: E. F. Codd, "A Relational Model for Large Shared Data Banks," Communications of the ACM 13, No. 6, 377-387 (1970); P. Chen, "The Entity Relationship Model: Toward a Unified View of Data," A CM Transactions on Database Systems 1, No. 1, 9-36 (March 1976); C. Finkelstein, "Information Engineering," six In Depth articles in Computerworld (May-June 1981); J. Martin and C. Finkelstein, Information Engineering, Technical Report on Information Engineering, Savant Institute, United Kingdom (1981).
38. V. Grover and J. T. C. Teng, "How Effective Is Data Resource Management? Reassessing Strategic Objectives," Journal of Information Systems Management (Summer 1991).
39. For an interesting discussion of schemata of separation and identity, and decomposition and recomposition, see C. Castoriadis, The Imaginary Institution of Society, Polity Press (1987), in particular, pp. 176-183 and pp. 221-227.
40. G. Arango and R. Prieto-Diaz, "Part 1: Introduction and Overview, Domain Analysis Concepts and Research Directions," in Domain Analysis and Software Systems Modeling, G. Arango and R. Prieto-Diaz, Editors. The editors are referencing another article within the same compilation: G. Arango, "Domain Analysis - From Art Form to Engineering Discipline," Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Software Specification and Design, Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA (1989), pp. 152-159.
41. G. Arango and R. Prieto-Diaz, "Part 1: Introduction and Overview, Domain Analysis Concepts and Research Directions," in Domain Analysis and Software Systems Modeling, G. Arango and R. Prieto-Diaz, Editors. The editors are referencing another article within the same compilation: G. Arango, "Domain Analysis - From Art Form to Engineering Discipline," Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Software Specification and Design, Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA (1989), pp. 152-159.
42. Domain Analysis and Software Systems Modeling, G. Arango and R. Prieto-Diaz, Editors, p. 1.
43. R. Evernden, "New Financial Service Models of the 1990s," Euromoney Financial Technology Review, 6-10 (Spring 1994).
44. There are several examples of the need for well-defined data concepts. The June 1990 issue of American Programmer, in an article on enterprise modeling, listed ten basic entities (organization, individual/person, activity, document, requirement, item, property, money, location, journal/date). IBM's Insurance Application Architecture uses 14 entity families in its high-level data model - see the Insurance Application Architecture Data Model Reference (IBM Licensed Publication).
45. As of August 1995 there were 42 bank customers with a license for the FSDM, 15 with customer licenses for the FSFM, and 12 with customer licenses for the FSWM.
46. B. J. Pine II, Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition, Harvard School Press, Boston (1993).
47. The experiences of many IFW users have been recorded at the annual IFW conferences. At the most recent conference, held in Monte Carlo in May 1995, DataCentralen reported an estimated function point reduction by 40 percent when mapping a traditional data model for an enterprise tax system against the Financial Services Data Model. Bancomer reported the creation of a corporate data model in only six months by customizing IFW models. The resultant model contained 2382 data definitions transferred into Help for Windows™ for general access across the bank. Banque Nationale de Paris, Den Danske Bank, Banca Commerciale Italiana, and Nedcor are other banks that have documented similar benefits at these conferences.
48. For example, Standard Bank of South Africa, as reported at the IFW/FSDM Conference 1994, Rome (February 23-25, 1994) in a presentation by I. Shutte.
49. A. C. Boynton, B. Victor, and B. J. Pine II, "New Competitive Strategies: Challenges to Organizations and Information Technology," IBM Systems Journal 32, No. 1, 40-64 (1993), describes the notion of mass customization, bringing the notion of "custom" back into customer, with examples from the banking industry.
50. R. Evernden, "From Stumbing Blocks to Building Blocks - Preparing for the Knowledge Economy Using Information FrameWork," IFW Conference 1995-From Business Transformation to Solution Implementation, Monte Carlo (May 17-19, 1995), Binder Section 2. Describes this paradigm shift in detail, outlining the anticipated changes that will impact organizations and their use of information.
51. Unpublished research by R. Evernden and P. Burke, "Transformation Frameworks in Paradigm Analysis." This research was discussed in Reference 45.
52. W. H. Davidson, "Beyond Re-Engineering: The Three Phases of Business Transformation," IBM Systems Journal 32, No. 1, 65-79 (1993).
53. M. Paulk et al., Capability Maturity Model for Software, Version I.I, Technical Report CMU/SEI-93-TR-24, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, Pittsburgh, PA (February 1993).
54. P. M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Century Business, Random House, London (1992), p. 7; also Doubleday Currency, New York (1990). For further useful discussion, see G. H. Watson, Business Systems Engineering: Managing Breakthrough Changes for Productivity and Profit, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1994).
55. P. M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Century Business, Random House, London (1992), p. 7; also Doubleday Currency, New York (1990). For further useful discussion, see G. H. Watson, Business Systems Engineering: Managing Breakthrough Changes for Productivity and Profit, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1994).
56. Enterprises can purchase a license for the IFW models. This allows the enterprise to use material while the intellectual ownership of the industry model is retained by IBM. At the time of writing, there were nearly 50 licenses for IFW materials.
57. P. A. Strassmann, The Politics of Information Management, The Information Economics Press, New Canaan, CT (1995).
58. These levels can be compared to the seven layers of a federated organization described in Reference 51.
59. A. G. Nilsson, "Business Modelling as a Base for Information Systems Development," The Third International Conference on Information Systems Developers Workbench - Methodologies, Techniques, Tools, and Procedures, Gdansk. Poland (September 22-24, 1992); also appears as Report V-4211, Institute V, Department of Information Management, Stockholm School of Economics, Box 6501, S-113, 83 Stockholm, Sweden.
60. M. Hammer and J. Champy, Reengineering the Corporation - A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Harper Business, New York (1993).
61. B. A. Devlin and P. T. Murphy, "An Architecture for a Business and Information System," IBM Systems Journal 27, No. 1, 60-80 (1988).
62. The Insurance Application Architecture contains a data model, function model, and function flow model. The Retail Application Architecture contains a business entity model/data model, functional model, and organization model.
63. R. Evernden, "Spaghetti Code to Ravioli Code," paper presented at Universitè Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan (September 23, 1994), International Conference I modelli in banco: organizzazione, processi, evoluzione dei sistemi informativi, which provides a detailed discussion of the paradigm shift necessary to address many of the latent problems in the current application maintenance process. Five radical changes are described, which the author suggests are necessary to shift into the new paradigm.
64. The 1994 annual IFW/FSDM Conference, held in Rome (February 23-25, 1994), was attended by 60 financial institutions. Among others, presentations were made by Schoeller Daten Service, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Canada, Banque Nationale de Paris, Norwest Technical Services, Norwest Mortgage, Standard Bank of South Africa, Bausparkasse Schwaebisch Hall, Den Danske Bank, and Banca Commerciale Italiana.
65. J. Banbury, "Towards a Framework for Systems Analysis Practice," Critical Issues in Information Systems Research, R. J. Boland, Jr. and R. A. Hirschheim, Editors, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., London (1987).
66. M. A. Cusumano, Japan's Software Factories - A Challenge to U.S. Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1991).
67. Domain Analysis and Software Systems Modeling, R. Prieto-Diaz and G. Arango, Editors, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA (1991).
68. Intellectual Foundations for Information Professionals, H. K. Achleitner, Editor, Social Science Monographs, Boulder, Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York (1987).
69. S. M. McKinnon and W. J. Bruns, Jr., The Information Mosaic, Harvard Business School Press, Boston (1992).
70. P. M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline - The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, Random House, London (1992).
71. D. Tasker, Fourth Generation Data - A Guide to Data Analysis for New and Old Systems, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1989).
72. W. Tracz, Tutorial: Software Reuse - Emerging Technology, The Computer Society of the IEEE, Los Alamitos, CA (1990).
73. Tutorial: Software Reusability, P. Freeman, Editor, The Computer Society of the IEEE, Los Alamitos, CA (1987).