Application usage - Business interface and location dimmed???

Started by svenvandevelde, March 20, 2020, 09:31:08 AM

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svenvandevelde

Why in the application usage viewpoint, the business interface and locations are dimmed???
I believe that in these viewpoints, these symbols should be part of the viewpoint.


Phil Beauvoir

#1
Can you point out where in the ArchiMate 3.1 specification Business Interface and Location are listed as belonging to the Application Usage viewpoint? Unless you mean that you think these elements should be part of the Application Usage viewpoint? In that case, you could recommend this to The Open Group.
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svenvandevelde

I see. Wrong audience. I will write a mail to OpenGroup :-).

Sven

Phil Beauvoir

Quote from: svenvandevelde on March 23, 2020, 13:41:04 PM
I see. Wrong audience. I will write a mail to OpenGroup :-).

Sven

Fair enough. Archi is following what is written in the spec, but maybe in this case it is wrong.

@JB what do you think?
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Jean-Baptiste Sarrodie

Hi,

Quote
@JB what do you think?

Well, all these viewpoint are only some examples and are not normative at all. People are encouraged to create their own viewpoints instead of using these very generic ones.

Re this special case, I think Location (and Grouping) could be added, but Business INterface is out of scope because the goal is to see which iIternal Business elements are served by the Application Layer.

Regards,

JB
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svenvandevelde

Merci Jean of your response and views.

I agree.

This is the definition of the Application Usage Viewpoint:

Application Usage Viewpoint

The application usage viewpoint describes how applications are used to support one or more business processes, and how they are used by other applications. It can be used in designing an application by identifying the services needed by business processes and other applications, or in designing business processes by describing the services that are available. Furthermore, since it identifies the dependencies of business processes upon applications, it may be useful to operational managers responsible for these processes.


To my humble opinion, isn't it the purpose to understand which business interfaces are being used by which actors/roles, realized by which applications? How can business processes be analyzed if we are not clear which business interfaces are used to support these business processes. The word internal mentioned in your response cannot be found in the definition of the viewpoint by the OpenGroup. I think it is a mistake, unless my model is wrong. That could also be the case ...

If you look in my diagram, do you think I am doing a mistake?

kind regards,
Sven

Phil Beauvoir

BTW - there is a file that you can edit to adjust these Viewpoints to suit:

<Archi>/plugins/com.archimatetool.model_4.6.0.201911111111/model/viewpoints.xml

I wouldn't advise to add your own viewpoints in this file because it will only work for that copy of Archi.
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Jean-Baptiste Sarrodie

Hi,

Quote
To my humble opinion, isn't it the purpose to understand which business interfaces are being used by which actors/roles [...]

That's not the purpose of Application Usage viewpoint but Business Process Cooperation viewpoint.

Quote
[...]realized by which applications?

Possible misunderstanding of ArchiMate here: a Business Interface realized by Application should be used only when there is no Human involved, ie. when the Business Service is fully automated. In such case you can use the Service Realization Viewpoint. But if human beings are assigned to your process, then there is no direct links between application layer and Business Interfaces as Application Interfaces/Services serve Business Actor/Role/Process/Function...

Quote
How can business processes be analyzed if we are not clear which business interfaces are used to support these business processes.

It seems to me that you possibly misunderstand what a Business Interface is. A Business Interface is the way the Business makes some Business Services available to its environement (ie. Clients, but also other people inside your organization if the service is directed toward them). So If a process rely on some Business Interface, this simply means that this process rely on another process, thus the use of the Business Process Cooperation viewpoint.

Quote
The word internal mentioned in your response cannot be found in the definition of the viewpoint by the OpenGroup. I think it is a mistake, unless my model is wrong. That could also be the case ...

My usage of "Internal" is not wrong ;-) In ArchiMate generic metamodel, there is a distinction between internal elements (process/function/intercation/actor/role/collaboration) and external elements (interface/service). This is depicted on metamodel figures for each layer, like this one for the Business Layer.

Quote
If you look in my diagram, do you think I am doing a mistake?

You didn't attached your diagram ;-)

Important remark: as I said in my previous answer, viewpoints defined in appendix C are not normative but simply example of what could be useful. This is just meant to inspire you, nor constrain you. So if in your context your need to directly link some Application layer elements to a Business Interface, just do it ! In this case, in Archi, you'll most certainly use the "Layered" or "none" viewpoint (unless you customize this list by editing the viewpoints.xml hidden in the plugins\com.archimatetool.model_xxx\model folder).

Regards,

JB
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Pascal Dussart

Quote from: Phil Beauvoir on March 25, 2020, 07:40:43 AM
BTW - there is a file that you can edit to adjust these Viewpoints to suit:

<Archi>/plugins/com.archimatetool.model_4.6.0.201911111111/model/viewpoints.xml

I wouldn't advise to add your own viewpoints in this file because it will only work for that copy of Archi.

I added Principle and $StrategyElements$ to the Requirements Realization viewpoint this way, per the 3.1 spec.

Works for me.

Phil Beauvoir

#9
> I added Principle and $StrategyElements$ to the Requirements Realization viewpoint this way, per the 3.1 spec.

If they're missing, that's something I need to fix.

Edit - that viewpoint and a couple of others have now been updated for Archi 4.7.
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