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System Architect (software)
Encyclopedia
IBM Rational System Architect is an enterprise architecture
tool that is used by the business and technology departments of corporations and government agencies to model their business operations and the systems, applications, and databases that support them. System Architect is used to build architectures using various frameworks including TOGAF
, DoDAF, MODAF
and NAF
.
System Architect is widely used in developing defense architectures. The Architecture Development and Analysis Survey, conducted by MITRE Corporation for the US Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration
(OASD NII) and revealed at the CISA worldwide conference on December 1, 2005, reported that out of 96 programs building DoDAF architectures responding to the survey, 77% used System Architect, either by itself (48%) or in conjunction with another modeling tool (29%).
System Architect has been referenced in textbooks written in the field of enterprise architecture, UML, and data modeling, and was also used to build some or all of the models that appear in some of these books.
-based computer-aided software engineering
(CASE) tools. It evolved through the years to become an enterprise architecture modeling tool — one that enables the end user to utilize many notations and methods to model aspects of their organization in a repository, and disseminate this information to a large audience.
Telelogic
acquired Popkin Software in March, 2005 and IBM
acquired Telelogic in 2008. IBM has announced that System Architect is its tool of choice for enterprise architecture.
, or SQL Server 2005 Express. For SQL Server, the information is stored in a database on the server; this database is considered a repository of information and in System Architect parlance is called an encyclopedia. For Oracle, the repository, or ‘encyclopedia’, is a schema on the Oracle database server.
Users build the models working together in teams on the network. In this multi-user environment, as one user opens a model artifact to edit it, other users get a read-only version of this artifact. Options exist to enable users to check out multiple artifacts so that they can work on sections of the architecture without anyone else modifying it while they work on it, and administrators to freeze artifacts so that they are ‘set in stone’. Users may also work in a stand-alone configuration using SQL Server 2005 Express on their laptop or workstation.
A SQL
-based query reporting language enables users to build and run reports to answer questions about the information they have modeled, such as what business processes are related to what organizational goals, what applications are used to perform what business processes, what business processes operate on what data entities, what user has modified what information on what date, and so forth.
The information captured in the repository is done so against a metamodel that acts as a template for information to capture and how it is all related. Users may customize this meta model, to change or add to the template of information they wish to capture and how things are interrelated.
Models are typically published to a website so that they can be viewed by a wide audience. An add-on tool called SA/Publisher is used to publish websites based on SQL-based queries of the repository using System Architect’s reporting language.
, who created the method.
Another variant of System Architect is the System Architect MODAF offering, which provides specific metamodel, diagrammatic, and byproduct (matrices and reports) support for the UK Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MODAF). Yet another variant of System Architect is the System Architect NAF product, which provides support for the NATO Architecture Framework.
Enterprise architecture
An enterprise architecture is a rigorous description of the structure of an enterprise, which comprises enterprise components , the externally visible properties of those components, and the relationships between them...
tool that is used by the business and technology departments of corporations and government agencies to model their business operations and the systems, applications, and databases that support them. System Architect is used to build architectures using various frameworks including TOGAF
TOGAF
The Open Group Architecture Framework is a framework for enterprise architecture which provides a comprehensive approach for designing, planning, implementation, and governance of an enterprise information architecture...
, DoDAF, MODAF
MODAF
The British Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework is an Architecture Framework which defines a standardised way of conducting Enterprise Architecture, originally developed by the UK Ministry of Defence....
and NAF
NAF
The acronym NAF can mean:* National Abortion Federation* National Academy Foundation - an education non profit organization.* National Academy Foundation School - a public high school located in Baltimore, Maryland....
.
Overview
Enterprise architecture (EA) is a mechanism for understanding all aspects of the organization, and planning for change. Those aspects include business transformation, business process rationalization, business or capability-driven solution development, application rationalization, transformation of IT to the cloud, server consolidation, service management and deployment, building systems of systems architectures, and so forth. Most simply, users use EA and System Architect to build diagrammatic and textual models of any and all aspects of their organization, including the who, what, where, when, why, and how things are done so they can understand the current situation, and plan for the future. Parts of the EA can be harvested from existing sources of information in the organization—auto-discovery of network architectures, database architectures, etc. The users building the models are typically enterprise architects, business architects, business analysts, data architects, software architects, and so forth. This information can be viewed by all stakeholders of the organization — including its workers, management, and outside vendors (depending on the level of access they have been granted to the information), through generation of the information to a static website, or enabling direct web-access to the information in the repository. The stakeholders can use this information to get answers to questions about the organization's architecture in the form of visual diagrams and reports that produce textual information, pie charts, and other dashboards.System Architect is widely used in developing defense architectures. The Architecture Development and Analysis Survey, conducted by MITRE Corporation for the US Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration provides management and oversight of all DoD information technology, including national security systems...
(OASD NII) and revealed at the CISA worldwide conference on December 1, 2005, reported that out of 96 programs building DoDAF architectures responding to the survey, 77% used System Architect, either by itself (48%) or in conjunction with another modeling tool (29%).
System Architect has been referenced in textbooks written in the field of enterprise architecture, UML, and data modeling, and was also used to build some or all of the models that appear in some of these books.
History
System Architect was initially created and developed by Jan Popkin under the auspices of Popkin Software. System Architect was one of the first WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-based computer-aided software engineering
Computer-aided software engineering
Computer-aided software engineering is the scientific application of a set of tools and methods to a software system which is meant to result in high-quality, defect-free, and maintainable software products...
(CASE) tools. It evolved through the years to become an enterprise architecture modeling tool — one that enables the end user to utilize many notations and methods to model aspects of their organization in a repository, and disseminate this information to a large audience.
Telelogic
Telelogic
Telelogic AB was a software business headquartered in Malmö, Sweden. Telelogic was founded in 1983 as a research and development arm of Televerket, the Swedish department of telecom . It was later acquired by IBM Rational, and exists under the IBM software group.Telelogic had operations in 22...
acquired Popkin Software in March, 2005 and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
acquired Telelogic in 2008. IBM has announced that System Architect is its tool of choice for enterprise architecture.
Features
System Architect includes support for:- Enterprise Architecture Frameworks and Reference Models
- TOGAFTOGAFThe Open Group Architecture Framework is a framework for enterprise architecture which provides a comprehensive approach for designing, planning, implementation, and governance of an enterprise information architecture...
9 - DoDAF 2.0
- MODAFMODAFThe British Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework is an Architecture Framework which defines a standardised way of conducting Enterprise Architecture, originally developed by the UK Ministry of Defence....
1.2 - NATO Architecture FrameworkNATO Architecture FrameworkThe NATO Architecture Framework is an Enterprise Architecture framework by the NATO derived from the DoDAF Enterprise architecture.The current NATO C3 System Architecture Framework v2 , issued by NATO in September 2004 provides guidance on describing communication and information systems...
(NAF) 3.0 - IAFIAFIAF may refer to the following air forces:* Indian Air Force* Indonesian Air Force* Iraqi Air Force* Israeli Air Force* Italian Air ForceIAF may also refer to:* International of Anarchist Federations* Indian Armed Forces...
v4 Integrated Architecture Framework - Federal Enterprise ArchitectureFederal Enterprise ArchitectureA federal enterprise architecture is the enterprise architecture of a federal government. It provides a common methodology for information technology acquisition, use, and disposal in the Federal government....
via Federal EA add-on option (formerly called iRMA) - Zachman FrameworkZachman frameworkThe Zachman Framework is an Enterprise Architecture framework for enterprise architecture, which provides a formal and highly structured way of viewing and defining an enterprise...
- TOGAF
- Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) 2.0
- SimulationSimulationSimulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
of BPMN models through SA/Simulator add-on - BPEL Generation
- Simulation
- Service oriented architecture
- Balanced ScorecardBalanced scorecardThe Balanced Scorecard is a strategic performance management tool - a semi-standard structured report, supported by proven design methods and automation tools, that can be used by managers to keep track of the execution of activities by the staff within their control and to monitor the...
- OMGObject Management GroupObject Management Group is a consortium, originally aimed at setting standards for distributed object-oriented systems, and is now focused on modeling and model-based standards.- Overview :...
Business Motivation ModelBusiness Motivation ModelThe Business Motivation Model in enterprise architecture provides a scheme and structure for developing, communicating, and managing business plans in an organized manner...
(BMM) via Enterprise Direction diagram - Cause-Effect Analysis and Gap analysisGap analysisIn business and economics, gap analysis is a tool that helps companies compare actual performance with potential performance. At its core are two questions: "Where are we?" and "Where do we want to be?" If a company or organization does not make the best use of current resources, or forgoes...
through Network-style Explorer diagram - Landscape and Heatmap analysis Heat mapHeat mapA heat map is a graphical representation of data where the values taken by a variable in a two-dimensional table are represented as colors. Fractal maps and tree maps both often use a similar system of color-coding to represent the values taken by a variable in a hierarchy...
through Landscape-style Explorer diagram - Analytics
- Functional decompositionFunctional decompositionFunctional decomposition refers broadly to the process of resolving a functional relationship into its constituent parts in such a way that the original function can be reconstructed from those parts by function composition...
- Organizational chartOrganizational chartAn organizational chart is a diagram that shows the structure of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positions/jobs...
- Network architectureNetwork architectureNetwork architecture is the design of a communications network. It is a framework for the specification of a network's physical components and their functional organization and configuration, its operational principles and procedures, as well as data formats used in its operation.In...
modeling - Application Portfolio ManagementApplication Portfolio ManagementIT Application Portfolio Management is a practice that has emerged in mid to large size Information Technology organizations since the mid 1990s...
and Service oriented architecture (SOA) development through SOA add-on - Application Portfolio ManagementApplication Portfolio ManagementIT Application Portfolio Management is a practice that has emerged in mid to large size Information Technology organizations since the mid 1990s...
, IT portfolio managementIT portfolio managementIT portfolio management is the application of systematic management to large classes of items managed by enterprise Information Technology capabilities. Examples of IT portfolios would be planned initiatives, projects, and ongoing IT services...
, and decision-based trade-off analysis via:- Integration with IBM Rational Focal Point
- UMLUnified Modeling LanguageUnified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
- Native support for UMLUnified Modeling LanguageUnified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
- Integration with IBM Rational Software ArchitectIBM Rational Software ArchitectIBM Rational Software Architect, made by IBM's Rational Software division, is a comprehensive modeling and development environment that uses the Unified Modeling Language for designing architecture for C++ and Java 2 Enterprise Edition applications and web services...
(RSA) for application code round-trip engineeringRound-trip engineeringRound-trip engineering is a functionality of software development tools that synchronizes two or more related software artifacts, such as, source code, models, configuration files, and other documents...
of C++C++C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
, JavaJava (programming language)Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
, WSDL ] - Integration with IBM Rational Rhapsody for engineering of DoDAF assets, product simulation and code generation to embedded systems
- Native support for UML
- Relational Data Modeling - Logical Entity-relationship modelEntity-relationship modelIn software engineering, an entity-relationship model is an abstract and conceptual representation of data. Entity-relationship modeling is a database modeling method, used to produce a type of conceptual schema or semantic data model of a system, often a relational database, and its requirements...
and Physical diagramming- Schema Generation and Reverse Engineering of: Oracle 10GOracle DatabaseThe Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....
, SQL Server 2005, IBM DB2IBM DB2The IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition is a relational model database server developed by IBM. It primarily runs on Unix , Linux, IBM i , z/OS and Windows servers. DB2 also powers the different IBM InfoSphere Warehouse editions...
UDB V8, SybaseSybaseSybase, an SAP company, is an enterprise software and services company offering software to manage, analyze, and mobilize information, using relational databases, analytics and data warehousing solutions and mobile applications development platforms....
, and TeradataTeradataTeradata Corporation is a vendor specializing in data warehousing and analytic applications. Its products are commonly used by companies to manage data warehouses for analytics and business intelligence purposes. Teradata was formerly a division of NCR Corporation, with the spinoff from NCR on...
2.6
- Schema Generation and Reverse Engineering of: Oracle 10G
- Object-relational mappingObject-relational mappingObject-relational mapping in computer software is a programming technique for converting data between incompatible type systems in object-oriented programming languages. This creates, in effect, a "virtual object database" that can be used from within the programming language...
- Data flow diagramData flow diagramA data flow diagram is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information system, modelling its process aspects. Often they are a preliminary step used to create an overview of the system which can later be elaborated...
ming - IDEFIDEFIDEF, an abbreviation of Integration Definition, refers to a family of modeling languages in the field of systems and software engineering. They cover a wide range of uses, from functional modeling to data, simulation, object-oriented analysis/design and knowledge acquisition. These "definition...
- Cross-Reference Matrices
- Underlying RepositorySoftware repositoryA software repository is a storage location from which software packages may be retrieved and installed on a computer.- Discussion :Many software publishers and other organizations maintain servers on the Internet for this purpose, either free of charge or for a subscription fee...
in SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2005, Oracle 10G, or SQL Server 2005 Express - Multi-user network environment
- SQLSQLSQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
-based query reporting language - Role-based access controlRole-Based Access ControlIn computer systems security, role-based access control is an approach to restricting system access to authorized users. It is used by the majority of enterprises with more than 500 employees, and can be implemented via mandatory access control or discretionary access control...
- Native Requirements managementRequirements managementRequirements management is the process of documenting, analyzing, tracing, prioritizing and agreeing on requirements and then controlling change and communicating to relevant stakeholders. It is a continuous process throughout a project...
- Interface to DOORS for Requirements managementRequirements managementRequirements management is the process of documenting, analyzing, tracing, prioritizing and agreeing on requirements and then controlling change and communicating to relevant stakeholders. It is a continuous process throughout a project...
- Extensibility through:
- Customizable MetamodelingMetamodelingMetamodeling, or meta-modeling in software engineering and systems engineering among other disciplines, is the analysis, construction and development of the frames, rules, constraints, models and theories applicable and useful for modeling a predefined class of problems...
- Visual Basic for ApplicationsVisual Basic for ApplicationsVisual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
(VBA) for extending functionality
- Customizable Metamodeling
- Model-to-model transformations
- Report Generation via:
- Native Report Generator using SQL-like language
- Integration with IBM Rational Publishing Engine
- Business Intelligence Dashboard Analysis via:
- CognosCognosCognos was an Ottawa, Ontario-based company making business intelligence and performance management software. Founded in 1969, at its peak Cognos employed almost 3,500 people and served more than 23,000 customers in over 135 countries.Originally Quasar Systems Limited, it adopted the Cognos...
-based Business Intelligence (BI) reporting bundled with product - Integration with IBM Rational Insight
- Cognos
- Governance of Files and Assets Associated with EA via:
- Integration with IBM Rational Asset ManagerIBM Rational Asset ManagerIBM Rational Asset Manager is a collaborative software development asset management solution that supports the Reusable Asset Specification and enables organizations to identify, manage and govern the design, development and consumption of software assets, including services as part of a...
(RAM)
- Integration with IBM Rational Asset Manager
- Web access to Enterprise Architecture repository via:
- HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
Generator - Report-based website generation via SA/Publisher add-on
- Live web read/write access to repository via SA/XT product
- HTML
- Integrations:
- IBM CognosCognosCognos was an Ottawa, Ontario-based company making business intelligence and performance management software. Founded in 1969, at its peak Cognos employed almost 3,500 people and served more than 23,000 customers in over 135 countries.Originally Quasar Systems Limited, it adopted the Cognos...
BI 8.4 (bundled with System Architect, integration via REST technology) - IBM TivoliTivoliThe name Tivoli originally indicates the town of Tivoli in the Lazio region of central Italy, founded a few centuries before Rome. Because of the fame of the gardens of the Villa d'Este there , the name has also been applied to other entities:-Gardens, theatres and venues:* Jardin de Tivoli,...
TADDM/CCMDB (off-the-shelf assets tailored for the customer by services engagement) - IBM WebSphereIBM WebSphereIBM WebSphere refers to a brand of computer software products in the genre of enterprise software known as "application and integration middleware". These software products are used by end-users to create applications and integrate applications with other applications...
Business Modeler (export of BPMN diagrams from SA to WBM via no extra charge add-in) - IBM Rational Focal Point (bidirectional integration provided at no extra charge)
- IBM Rational DOORS (no-extra-charge integration provided with SA)
- IBM Rational Software ArchitectIBM Rational Software ArchitectIBM Rational Software Architect, made by IBM's Rational Software division, is a comprehensive modeling and development environment that uses the Unified Modeling Language for designing architecture for C++ and Java 2 Enterprise Edition applications and web services...
(RSA) (bidirectional import/export of UML diagrams; no-extra-charge integration is in RSA tool) - IBM Rational Rhapsody (export of DoDAF information from SA to Rhapsody; no-extra-charge integration is in Rhapsody tool)
- IBM Rational Change (no-extra-charge integration provided with SA)
- IBM Rational Publisher Engine (RPE) for cross-IBM-Rational-product reporting
- Lanner Group LtdLanner Group LtdLanner Group Ltd is a discrete event simulation software company headquartered in Redditch, Worcestershire. The business develops, markets and supports business process simulation and optimization systems. The company has subsidiaries in the USA, China, France and Germany and a distributor network...
Witness (paid add-on called SA Simulator III) - SAP for process architecture information via IntelliCorp (Software)IntelliCorp (Software)IntelliCorp is a software company that provides, develops, and markets SAP application lifecycle management, business process management and data management software for SAP customers and partners...
LiveCapture paid add-on - SAP and other ERP systems (Siebel and PeopleSoft) for data architecture information via SA/ERP paid add-on
- Microsoft Office products:
- Powerpoint (SA Presentation Integration provided as add-in, uses REST technology for synchronization of Powerpoint and EA repository)
- Visio (import from Visio to SA provided at no charge via macro https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/preLogin.do?source=swg-rsap )
- Microsoft Word and Excel (auto-generation of Word documents and Excel files from EA repository via VBA macros provided in SA, and via reporting engine)
- IBM Cognos
Technical overview
Graphic models and their underlying information are created and stored in a relational database in either SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008, Oracle 10GOracle Database
The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....
, or SQL Server 2005 Express. For SQL Server, the information is stored in a database on the server; this database is considered a repository of information and in System Architect parlance is called an encyclopedia. For Oracle, the repository, or ‘encyclopedia’, is a schema on the Oracle database server.
Users build the models working together in teams on the network. In this multi-user environment, as one user opens a model artifact to edit it, other users get a read-only version of this artifact. Options exist to enable users to check out multiple artifacts so that they can work on sections of the architecture without anyone else modifying it while they work on it, and administrators to freeze artifacts so that they are ‘set in stone’. Users may also work in a stand-alone configuration using SQL Server 2005 Express on their laptop or workstation.
A SQL
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
-based query reporting language enables users to build and run reports to answer questions about the information they have modeled, such as what business processes are related to what organizational goals, what applications are used to perform what business processes, what business processes operate on what data entities, what user has modified what information on what date, and so forth.
The information captured in the repository is done so against a metamodel that acts as a template for information to capture and how it is all related. Users may customize this meta model, to change or add to the template of information they wish to capture and how things are interrelated.
Models are typically published to a website so that they can be viewed by a wide audience. An add-on tool called SA/Publisher is used to publish websites based on SQL-based queries of the repository using System Architect’s reporting language.
System Architect DoDAF, MODAF, and NAF
System Architect provides support for the diagrams, matrices, and work products required to be captured for the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF). There are two options to System Architect that are used by the DoDAF community – System Architect DoDAF and System Architect DoDAF ABM. The System Architect DoDAF ABM version has specific metamodel changes and utilities geared toward supporting the Activity Based Method (ABM) for building DoDAF artifacts, as specified by MITREMITRE
The Mitre Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia...
, who created the method.
Another variant of System Architect is the System Architect MODAF offering, which provides specific metamodel, diagrammatic, and byproduct (matrices and reports) support for the UK Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MODAF). Yet another variant of System Architect is the System Architect NAF product, which provides support for the NATO Architecture Framework.
SA/XT
A sister tool to System Architect, called System Architect/XT (where XT denotes eXtended Team) provides a web interface to read and write access to the repository. SA/XT enables remote users with a web browser to browse the repository, run reports against it to ask it questions, and add information into itExternal links
- Official Product Page on ibm.com
- Official Product Page on IBM developerWorks
- Community Product Page and EA Resource Wiki on IBM mydeveloperWorks
- Rational System Architect Information Centers
- System Architect Linked In User Group -- Run by Users
- System Architect User Forum on IBM developerWorks
- System Architect on Facebook
- System Architect on Twitter
- System Architect Train on YouTube.com
- Business Planning and Transformation with Enterprise Architecture Blog -- EABlue.com
- Demonstrations of Product on IBM developerWorks
- Free Trial of Product
- Add-ons on developerWorks, including Visio Mapper Macro and NGOSS Support
- Latest Product Patches on IBM's Fix Central - select 'Rational' product group, and 'IBM Rational System Architect' for 11.3 and later, or 'Telelogic System Architect' for 11.2
- Section 508 Compatibility (VPAT) Statement -- Request via form
- IBM Internal EA Community of Practice Site
- eWeek Review — System Architect Turns Ten, by Peter Coffee
- Data Administration Newsletter Review — System Architect, by Terry Moriarty
- DM Review Magazine Article on System Architect being used for Enterprise Architecture, by Tom Finneran
- Q&A with Jan Popkin
- Enterprise Architecture and System Architect
- The Open Group's showcase of TOGAF-certified tools
- Data modeling resource site offers data models built in System Architect
- Learn more about Gartner Magic Quadrant on Enterprise Architecture Tools
- Learn more about Gartner Magic Quadrant on Business Process Analysis Tools
- Learn more about EAMS - Enterprise Architecture Management System - Automatic diagrams and Temporal Analysis with System Architect