A standard for business architecture description

IBM Systems Journal

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 12-31

  McDavid, D W ^a  

^a IBM   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PROCESSING; COMPUTER SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING; DATA REDUCTION; DATA STRUCTURES; INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS; STANDARDS;

ARCHITECTURE DESCRIPTION STANDARDS (ADS);

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE;

EID: 0032672175     PISSN: 00188670     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1147/sj.381.0012     Document Type: Article

References (12)

1. E. C. Plachy and P. A. Hausler, "Enterprise Solutions Structure," IBM Systems Journal 38, No. 1, 4-11 (1999, this issue).
2. R. Youngs, D. Redmond-Pyle, P. Spaas, and E. Kahan, "A Standard for Architecture Description," IBM Systems Journal 38, No. 1, 32-50 (1999, this issue).
3. A reference to Christopher Alexander in this regard may be found in P. T. L. Lloyd and G. M. Galambos, "Technical Reference Architectures," IBM Systems Journal 38, No. 1, 51-75 (1999, this issue).
4. Biological evolution is driven by changes in DNA produced by mutation, bacterial recombination, and symbiogenesis. Symbiogenesis is the process whereby, long ago, bacteria formed such inextricable associations with each other that they created whole new life forms. Every cell in every plant and every animal on earth contains myriad independently reproducing mitochondria, each with its own DNA and RNA, that are the living descendants of these symbiotic relationships. Lynn Margulis refers to our cells as "cellular corporations." See L. Margulis and D. Sagan, Microcosmes, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA (1997).
5. Species tend to emerge to fill empty eco-niches. Generally this follows catastrophic events, such as asteroid collisions or the oxygen crisis. Occasionally, it is the result of new environments being created. An example of noncatastrophic opportunism is the existence of some 170 species of fish of the same genus found only in Lake Victoria in East Africa. They evolved from a river-dwelling ancestor when earth movement suddenly created one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the planet. See M. Rothschild, Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem, Henry Holt & Co., New York (1990).
6. K. Devlin, Logic and Information, Cambridge University Press, New York (1991).
7. James Grier Miller provides a functional view of a living system, which includes 19 distinct subsystems. Within the realm of information processing he articulates the functions of memory, input transducer, encoder, decoder, decider, and channel and net. He claims that the 19 subsystems apply at all levels of living systems, from a cell to a multinational organization. See J. G. Miller, Living Systems, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York (1978).
8. The Viable Systems Model talks about five major subsystems for communication and information processing. These are the operational units, a normative function, a command and control function, a research and development function that is oriented toward the future and the external environment, and an executive function that resolves high-level disputes in the organism or organization. See B. Clemson, Cybernetics: A New Management Tool, Abacus Press, Turnbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom (1984).
9. The human brain can be viewed from an architectural perspective, with low-level functions collaborating to give rise to all cognitive capabilities. See A. Trehub, The Cognitive Brain, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1991).
10. M. Minsky, Society of Mind, Simon & Schuster, New York (1985).
11. D. Leishman, "Solution Customization," IBM Systems Journal 38, No. 1, 76-97 (1999, this issue).
12. D. W. McDavid, "Business Language Analysis for Object-Oriented Information Systems," IBM Systems Journal 35, No. 2, 128-150 (1997).