Reading notes on Business Architecture, Application Architecture, Data Architecture Practice

Architectural Panorama

  1. Strategy is designed by the top of the company, but required by the business architects;
  2. The business architect’s job is “strategy in, business architecture out”;
  3. Business architecture is the design of business architects, but the requirements of data, application, and technical architects;
  4. Interlocking, the top drives the bottom, and the bottom supports the top.

Strategy-driven business architecture design

What is business architecture?

A business architecture is a formal blueprint for an enterprise governance structure, business capabilities, and value streams.

Business architecture clearly defines the governance structure, business capabilities, business processes, and business data of an enterprise. Among them, business capabilities define what the enterprise does and business processes define how the enterprise does it.

The actual work of the business architecture

  • Organizational structure – including organizational structure, business channels, partners;
  • Business process – including trunk process, branch process, business rules;
  • Business functions – including value chain, functional domain, functional subdomain;
  • Business model;
  • Business data – data domains, data models, data rules;

Take “China Railway 12306 website” as an example to briefly explain the content of the business architecture:

  • Organizational structure – On the basis of the original organizational structure, new IT operation and maintenance center and call center;
  • Business process – log in first, grab tickets later, pay again, release ticket source if not paid over time;
  • Business functions – Online ticket purchase, online payment, online refund, online ordering, etc.
  • Business model – Online ticket purchase, save time and effort;
  • Business data – user accounts, train schedules, seat data, orders, payment records, etc.;

Business-driven application architecture design

What is application architecture?

Application architecture is a description of a group of application systems and their interaction relationships. Each application system is a “logical function group” to support business functions and manage data assets.

[Note] Application architecture is not “the architecture of an application”.

It is important to note that application architecture does not focus on the “inside of each application” : 1) it does not focus on the architecture of each application itself; 2) Not focusing on the implementation technology of each application;

【 Note 】 The goal of application architecture is to define which application systems are needed to support business and process data.

It is important to note that “application architecture” is not “application architecture”, but rather to define: 1) what types of applications are the focus of the enterprise; 2) What operations these applications need to perform to manage data and present information to enterprise personnel;

The “applications” in application architecture should not be described as specific computer systems, but as “logical function groups” responsible for supporting “management of data objects in data architecture” or “business functions in business architecture”. In other words, it is necessary to identify the application and define its functionality, but it is not necessary to specify the specific implementation technology of the application.

The actual work of the application architecture

The application requirements

  • Application function: Capabilities of an application system or subsystem. Many refer to capabilities visible to the user.
  • Application services: Capabilities of an application system or subsystem. Contains capabilities invisible to the user. For example, data caching service, encrypted transport service, compressed transport service.

Application project

  • Requirements assignment: Assigning application services to application components.
  • Application component: the undertaker of application services, which is the main object to be identified by application architecture.
  • Application projects: Defined as work packages. For example, front-end work packages, back-end work packages.

Application integration

  • Application integration: Interactions between different applications and between applications and third-party systems.
  • Component collaboration: The interaction between application components.
  • Interface definition: Identifies the interfaces through which applications interact.

Research and development management

  • Path management: also known as product milestone management. That is, the standard that the product will meet at a certain point in time.
  • Interface management: long-term, cross-implementation management of interface standards.
  • Project management: led by PMO.

Business-driven application architecture design steps

Take “intelligent logistics cabinet” as an example to explain the application architecture design: Application architecture design – intelligent logistics cabinet.

Business-driven data architecture design

What is data architecture?

Data architecture is a blueprint for data asset management by aligning enterprise strategy.

Specifically, the blueprint is used to guide how to analyze data requirements and how to design responses.

Data architecture describes the enterprise’s:

  • Main data types and their sources;
  • Logical data assets;
  • Physical data assets;
  • Data management resources;
  • The structure and interaction of all of the above;

The actual work of data architecture:

  • Data types and their sources – for example, an e-commerce enterprise needs operation logs, production repository, BI repository, these three types of data;
  • Data models – such as logging models, invoice-inventory models, BI star models, and master data models across businesses;
  • Data storage – for example, logs are stored in text files and others are stored in a relational database;
  • Data flow – such as the data flow involved from finding an item to placing an order;
  • Data management – such as data security provisions, including physical security, network security, system security, application security, data security, management security;

Technical architecture design of dual wheel drive

What is technology architecture?

Technical Architecture Description:

  1. What technical services are required;
  2. Which technical components are selected to implement technical services;
  3. Interaction between technical services and technical components;

Technical services can be:

  • Hardware capabilities – such as servers, disk arrays, GPU parallel computing, GPS positioning;
  • Network capabilities – such as LAN, mobile Internet, fieldbus, broadband requirements;
  • Software capabilities – such as load balancing service, data replication service, MQ service, RPC service, broadcast service, etc.

Technical components, which can be:

  • Technology platforms – such as J2EE;
  • Technical frameworks – such as Spring;
  • Technical products – such as Tomcat;

The actual work of the technical architecture

1. Technical Requirements:

  • Technical services;
  • Technology reference architecture (Technology stack);

2. Technology selection:

  • Technology platform (operation platform, development platform);
  • Technology components (technology products, technology frameworks, middleware);

3. Physical selection:

  • Hardware;
  • Network;

4. Distributed Design:

  • Deployment structure;
  • Load balancing;

5. Selection management:

  • Technical index;
  • Selection criteria;

How to make technology selection based on evaluation

  1. Demand satisfaction degree;
  2. Degree of acceptance;
  3. Peripheral product support;
  4. Universality of use;
  5. Legal compliance;
  6. Document availability;
  7. Product integrity;
  8. Technology maturity;
  9. System stability;
  10. Testability;
  11. Missing system compatibility;
  12. Internationalization support;
  13. Number of defects;