Application, system, and technology models are used to conceptualize and design business applications, system solutions, and supporting technology components, respectively. A common type of information technology model used to represent business applications, system solutions, and technology components is a function model, such as the Functional Flow Block Diagram and Integrated DEFinition (IDEF) modeling language which covers a wide range of uses from functional modeling to data, simulation, object-oriented analysis/design and knowledge acquisition. These models can be extended using functional decomposition, and can be linked to requirements models for further systems partitioning (including static, dynamic, and requirements models). Decomposition Structure, Business Process Modeling Notation, and Archimate have also been popular modeling techniques for modeling application, system, and technology objects and their relationships.
Application, system, and technology architectures are represented by using conceptual models to define the structures, behaviors, and data integrations of an organization’s IT assets. An architecture description is a formal description and representation of applications, systems, and technologies, organized in a way that supports reasoning about their structures, behaviors, and data interchanges for both the current and future-state IT environment. For example, an IT architecture consists of current applications, systems, and technologies that work together and will be required to implement a future-state IT architecture landscape with other innovative technology solutions and integration requirements. There have been efforts to formalize languages to describe these architectures, and collectively these are called architecture description languages (ADLs). The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general-purpose developmental modeling language in the field of software engineering, that is intended to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system using the following models: Structure Diagrams (Component Diagram, Class Diagram), Behavior Diagrams (Activity Diagram), and Interaction Diagrams (Sequence Diagram, Communication Diagram). An open source extension of UML called Systems Modeling Language (SysML) has become a popular modeling language for engineering systems, and supports the analysis, design and verification of complex systems including hardware, software, information, personnel, procedures, and facilities in a graphical notation.
Effective application, system, and technology modeling standards maintain consistency in modeling, and application, system, and technology instances used across the enterprise. Modeling software can also dictate the types of models used and standards adhered to.
IT Architects provides a service to develop an Application, System, and Technology Modeling Standards & Guidelines deliverable to ensure formal and consistent modeling practices across the organization.
