The Zachman Framework Guide
The Zachman Framework is an enterprise ontology and fundamental structure for Enterprise Architecture. Providing a formal and structured way to view and define an organization.
All the models in the cells of the framework can be created on Dragon1.
The ontology is a two-dimensional classification schema reflecting the intersection between two well-known historical classifications. The first classification is primitive interrogatives:
- What
- How
- When
- Who
- Where
- Why
The second classification is derived from the philosophical concept of reification, meaning the transformation of an abstract idea into an instantiation. The Zachman Framework transformations are:
- Identification
- Definition
- Representation
- Specification
- Configuration
- Instantiation.
Zachman is not a method. It does not imply any method or process to collect, manage, or use the information it describes. The framework is an ontology. It is a schema to organize architecture artifacts. It addresses specs, designs, and diagrams. It addresses the target audience of the artifacts. For example, business owners and project managers. And it addresses particular issues. For example, data and functionality.
The framework was created by John Zachman. He first developed the concept at IBM in the 1980s. The framework has been updated several times since that time.
