Glossary

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Requirements Analysis: From Business Views to Architecture
By David C. Hay
Table of Contents


Term

Definition

Chapter

accepted environment

[cybernetics] in Stafford Beer's viable system , the part of the environment that Systems One already address.

5

action

[activity modeling] "an executable atomic computation that results in a change in the state of the model or the return of a value" [Rumbaugh et al., 1999, p. 122]. (See elementary business function .)

4

action assertion

[business rules] (See constraint .)

8

action diagram

[activity modeling] the presentation of structured natural language or pseudo-code in graphic form.

4

action- enabler rule

[business rules] a kind of business rule : a statement that tests a condition, and upon finding it true, initiates another business rule , a message , or an activity .

8

activities column (Architecture Framework Column Two)

[architecture framework] the portion of the Architecture Framework that is concerned with what the enterprise does to support itself. This is its mission in the scope row, the business processes used to carry out that mission in Row Two, and the underlying functions the strategies and tactics implement in Row Three. In Row Four it concerns program functions, and the Row Five perspective is of the specifics of programming languages implementing the program functions.

1, 4

activity

[activity modeling] a general term to describe something that is done, used when a more specific definition is not available. It is represented by a round-cornered rectangle or a circle on a data flow diagram , UML activity diagram , or dependency diagram . It is represented by a square-cornered rectangle in an IDEF0 Diagram and a line in a UML interaction diagram

4

activity fragment

[activity modeling] Messrs. McMenamin and Palmer's term for the lowest -level activity in an exploded data flow diagram . Some of these will be essential activities , and some will be physical mechanisms .

4

activity model

[activity modeling] a representation of the processes and functions of an organization. Depending on the row involved, it is more focused either on business processes or on technical processes. This is an artifact of Column Two of the Architecture Framework .

2, 4

actor

1) [people and organization modeling] in a use case a person, organization, or computer system that is interacting with a system . This is equivalent to an external entity in a data flow diagram .

2) [activity modeling] in a UML activity model or business process diagram , the person, organization, or computer system that performs a set of activities.

4

acyclic ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, prohibition of an occurrence of an entity type to be related to a second occurrence of the entity type that in turn is related to a third entity type, and so on, with the last occurrence then related back to the first occurrence of the entity type. Asymmetric ring constraint is a special case of the acyclic ring constraint . Allowance of such an occurrence is a cyclic ring constraint .

8

adjuster organizer

[cybernetics] a mechanism for modifying a basic feedback loop's set points and other structures. This enables the loop to handle a new situation. This outer loop adjusts the feedback process itself, to respond to things that the inner loop could not.

5

agricultural age

[knowledge management] the era before the nineteenth Century in which the economy was dominated by agriculture. Manufacturing was characterized by individuals making products one at a time.

5

analysis

[project management] the second phase of a system development life cycle . See requirements analysis . This is done from the architect's view (Row Three)

 

amplifier

[cybernetics] in a communications channel , something which increases the amount of variety perceived on the receiving end of the channel.

5

anchor

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, an entity , attribute , or relationship in a business rule whose value will be affected by implementation of a business rule . (This is also called a constrained object .)

8

application approach to systems development

[project management] approaching the task of developing information systems by emphasizing the programs to be written and the functions to be performed. This is as opposed to the database approach to systems development .

3

applications software

[project management] one or more computer programs to perform a business function , as opposed to a system maintenance process .

2

architect's view (Framework Row Three)

[architecture framework] a perspective represented by Row Three in the Architecture Framework (called the "information system designer's view" in the Zachman Framework). This is a view of the underlying structures of the enterprise.

Introduction, 1

Architecture Framework

[architecture framework] a modification of the Zachman Framework that is presented in this book. This modifies the terms used to describe three of the rows.

Introduction, 1

arity

[data modeling] in a particular data modeling notation, the number of entity types permitted to participate in a relationship . A relationship among three entity types has an arity of 3. Relationships in most data-modeling techniques have an arity of 2.

3, 8

artificial knowledge management

[knowledge management] knowledge management that is concerned with information processing using technological tools. This is the concern of our operational systems and our data warehouses. (This is as opposed to natural knowledge management .)

5

assessment

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group 's Motivation Model , a measure of the effect an influence has on either a means or an end .

8

association (object)

[data modeling] as with a data model relationship , in an object model this is a connection between two (object) classes .

In analysis a relationship and association mean the same thinga structural relationship between two entity types. In relational design , however, relationships are usually implemented by means of a foreign key, while object-oriented design is via programs that navigate from one class to another.

3

associative entity type

[data modeling] (See intersect entity type .)

3

asymmetric ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, prohibition of an occurrence of an entity type to be related to another occurrence that in turn is related to the first occurrence. This is a special case of the acyclic ring constraint . (Allowance of this is called a symmetric ring constraint.)

8

attenuator

[cybernetics] in a communications channel , something which decreases the amount of variety perceived on the receiving end. (This is also called a filter .)

5

attribute

[data modeling] a discrete, atomic piece of information that identifies, describes, classifies, or measures an entity type .

3, 8

availability requirement

[project management] a non-functional requirement that data must be made easily accessible to the people who need them. This is subject to requirements for procedures to prevent the loss of data, as well as design of security procedures so that authorized users are not inhibited from using the data.

2

behavior

[object orientation] in object-oriented design, the actions taken by an object in response to a trigger or message from another object.

3

behavioral response-time requirement

[project management] concerns the interaction of a system with a user . In general, no matter what they are doing, users expect the computer to respond to an input within a few seconds. That response may not be delivery of an output , but it is at least an acknowledgement of the input. It is essential that, no matter what the application is, entry into the computer be immediately responded to in one way or another.

2

bill of materials

[manufacturing] a list of component assemblies and parts that comprise a manufactured product.

3

binary relationship

[data modeling] a relationship between exactly two entity types . This is a relationship with an arity of 2.

3

Boyce/Codd Normal Form

[relational theory] a refinement of third normal form : No part of a primary key may be dependent on another part of that primary key.

3

briefing

[project management] in general, a short presentation. In the context of the system development life cycle , this is a meeting at the beginning of a project where analysts introduce themselves and their approach to the project.

2

builder's view (Framework Row Five)

[architecture framework]

1) a perspective represented by Row Five in the Architecture Framework (called either the out-of-context , detailed representation or subcontractor's view in the Zachman Framework ). This is the view of the one who is constructing the system, and who is presumably immersed in the technology being used.

2) in John Zachman's Zachman Framework , his name for Row Four.

Introduction, 1

business data model

[data modeling] (See data modelbusiness .)

3

business event

[time modeling] an external event that invokes one or more business activities .

7

business object

[data modeling] a tangible thing seen by people in the enterprise or an intangible thing commonly understood by people in the enterprise. This is equivalent to an occurrence of an entity type .

3

business owner's view (Framework Row Two)

[architecture framework] a perspective represented by Row Two in the Architecture Framework . This is the view of the people who run the business, with their particular jargon and technology.

Introduction, 1

business policy

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an element of guidance that is a statement (or set of statements) whose purpose is to guide the enterprise.

8

business-process diagram

[activity modeling] a variation on a physical data flow diagram organized according to participants . Its purpose is specifically to discuss collections of activities with business people, so its notation may be extended to include specialized symbols to represent different kinds of activities . The purpose of a business-process diagram is to upgrade the workings of the processes of an enterprise, not necessarily to implement them with technology.

2, 4

business-process re-engineering

[activity modeling] the process of evaluating and changing an enterprise's activities and communications for the purpose of improving their overall effectiveness.

4

business rule

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a directive, intended to influence or guide business behavior, derived from (in support of) a business policy . Business rules are the constraints that determine the everyday workings of business.

8

cardinality constraint

1) [data modeling] The assertion that an occurrence of an entity type may be related to no more than a specified number of occurrences of another entity type .

2) [data modeling] in ORM, the assertion that an occurrence of an entity type may participate in a role no more than a specified number of times. (See also uniqueness constraint .)

3, 8

cascade delete

[referential integrity] a rule attached to a relationship asserting that if the parent is deleted, all children will be deleted as well.

3, 8 Appendix B

case

[activity modeling] a structure in pseudo-code or structured natural language that is a complex condition, wherein several alternatives are possible. Usually this is in the form IF <condition 1> THEN <action 1> ELSE IF <condition 2> THEN <action 2> ELSE IF . . . END IF.

4

CASE

[project management] (See Computer-Aided Systems Engineering .)

2

channel

[ cybernetics ] a means of communication between two business elements. A channel has a specific capacity in terms of the amount of information it can carry.

5

class (object)

[data modeling] [object orientation] the definition of a collection of objects that have the same attributes. If an object is perceived by people running an enterprise, its class is equivalent to an entity type .

3

column

1) [data modeling] a structural component of a table or relation.

2) [architecture framework] a dimension of the information captured in an Architecture Framework .

3

commercial off-the-shelf package

[project management] a software package that was purchased rather than built in-house. (This is also called COTS .)

 

comparative evaluator

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, a category of business rule that defines comparisons (less than, equal to, etc.) between the attributes of two occurrences of the same or different entity types .

8

complete (sub-types)

[data modeling] a data modeling rule asserting that any occurrence of a super-type must be an occurrence of at least one sub-type . (Also exhaustive )

3, 8, Appendix B

computer-aided system engineering

[project management] A collection of automated tools for managing all the artifacts (models and documentation) for a system-development project.

 

conceptual data model

[3-schema architecture] [data modeling] (See data modelconceptual .)

3

conceptual join path

[data modeling] in ORM, a connection between two relationships suggesting that they are in fact related to each other.

8

conceptual schema

[3-schema architecture] an organization of data where each datum is defined only once for the enterprise, and its relationship to all other data is clearly and uniquely defined as well. Each external schema consists of a selection of the data in the conceptual schema . The underlying definitions from the conceptual schema apply to all external schemata as well and are consistent across them all. The architect's view of data is of the conceptual schema.

3

condition

1) [business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, something that determines whether a subsequent rule or action is invoked. It may evaluate to either true or false. Depending on the condition, other constraints may apply. Alternatively, this is an assertion that may be made true by another constraint.

2) [data modeling] a structure in pseudo-code or structured natural language that is the application of a test ("if") to determine which step should be taken. This is depicted by using the key words IF, THEN, and ELSE . That is, the structure is IF <condition> THEN <action 1> ELSE <action 2> ENDIF .

8, 4

confidentiality requirement

[project management] a non-functional security requirement that only authorized people may see a particular data element. What security is required to prevent unauthorized use of data? How important is it to keep the data out of the hands of unauthorized users? This will determine the amount of money and effort that must be spent as the system is developed.

2

constrained object

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, an entity , attribute , or relationship in a business rule whose value will be affected by implementation of a business rule . (This is also called anchor .)

8

constraining object

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, an entity , attribute , or relationship in a business rule whose value affects the outcome of a business rule. (This is also called correspondent .)

8

constraint

[business rules] any restriction applied to data . This is referred to in the first Business Rules Group paper as an action assertion . A constraint affects values that can be assigned to attributes , or indeed even occurrences of entity types that can be created in the first place.

8

construction

[project management] the fourth phase of a systems-development life cycle . Here you build the new system. The builder's view (Row Five) is operative here.

2

context diagram

[activity modeling] a top-level data flow diagram or IDEF0 diagram representing an entire operation as a single process , with all of the principal external entities affecting that process shown.

4

control

[activity modeling] in an IDEF0 diagram , the data that affect the processing of an activity . This is the same as a message (data flow) in a data flow diagram , but in an IDEF0 diagram it is identified as such explicitly.

4

controller

[ cybernetics ] an agent which controls a process in a feedback loop .

5

convergent data model

[data modeling] a data model that brings different concepts together into single entity types. A generalized model. (as opposed to a divergent data model .)

3

correspondent

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, an entity , attribute , or relationship in a business rule whose value affects the outcome of a business rule. (This is also called constraining object .)

8

COTS

[project management] (See customized off-the-shelf package .)

2

course of action

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a means that is an approach or plan for configuring some aspect of the enterprise, involving things, processes, locations, people, timing, or motivation undertaken to achieve ends. It must be either a strategy or a tactic .

8

crow's foot rule

[data modeling] a positional data-modeling convention which dictates that entity types be arranged so that the "many" end of a relationship points either to the left or to the top of the diagram. In Richard Barker's ("dead crow") data-modeling notation, this means that the toes of the crows point to the left or the top of the diagram. This has the effect of clustering independent entity types (usually reference entity types ) toward the lower right and dependent entity types (usually transaction entity types ) toward the upper left.

3

CRUD matrix

[data modeling] [activity modeling] a matrix showing, for each business function , which entity types and attributes are (C)reated, (R)etrieved, (U)pdated, or (D)eleted. This is also called a function/entity-type matrix .

2, 3, 4, 6

custodial activity

[activity modeling] an essential activity that establishes and maintains the system's essential memory by acquiring and storing the information needed by the fundamental activities .

4

customer capital

[knowledge management] the value of the company's franchise and its ongoing relationships with its customers (and vendors ).

5

cybernetics

[cybernetics] the science of communication and control. Developed during World War Two, this is concerned with the mechanisms of control, especially variations on feedback loops .

5

cyclic ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, allowance of an occurrence of an entity type to be related to a second occurrence of the entity type that in turn is related to the occurrence of a third entity type, and so on, with the last occurrence then being related back to the first occurrence of the entity type. The symmetric ring constraint is a special case of the cyclic ring constraint . (Prohibition of these relationships is called an acyclic ring constraint .)

8

data

[data modeling] the plural of datum .

5

data administrator

[project management] the person responsible for the integrity of data. The data administrator is responsible for data models and for the quality of the data captured.

3

data column (Architecture Framework Column One)

[architecture framework] the portion of the Architecture Framework that is about understanding and dealing with the things of significance to an enterprise, about which information is to be held. In the scope row, this is about the most significant objects dealt with by the enterprise. In Row Two, it is about the language used to describe in detail the things of significance to the enterprise, and it may include a model of that language. In Row Three it is about specifically defined entity types and their relationships to each other. In Row Four it concerns the representation of data by computer software and database management systems . This may be in terms of tables and columns , (object) classes, and the like. In Row Five it is about the way data are physically stored on the computer, in terms of tablespaces, disk drives , and so forth.

1

data conversion

[project management] during the transition phase of the system development life cycle, moving data from existing systems into a new system, converting existing representations of data structure into new ones.

2

data dictionary

[data modeling] a compilation of file layouts, including field definitions.

2, 3

data flow

[activity modeling] on a data flow diagram a communication channel between one process and another, represented by an arrowed line.

4

data flow diagram

[activity modeling] a drawing of the flows of data though an enterprise. It includes a box or circle describing each physical process and lines showing the communications channels between processes. It also includes representations of data stores which are the holding of data over time.

4

data flow diagramphysical

[activity modeling] a data flow diagram that represents the physical mechanisms used for processing data in an enterprise. This includes mechanisms for processing as well as for transmitting data (telephone, fax, physical movement of forms, etc.).

2, 4

data mart

[data warehousing] a subset of data from a data warehouse specifically organized according to someone's external schema . That is, a data mart is organized to optimize the particular kinds of queries that person is likely to require.

3

data model

[data modeling] a representation of the things of significance to an enterprise, and the relationships among them. Kinds of data model include the entity/relationship model and the object (class) model . A diagram of the model consists of boxes, each representing an entity type which defines classes of those things. Documentation of a data model includes definitions of all entity types and descriptions of their attributes .

A data model is a collection of entity types and relationships . A data-model diagram is a representation of some of the entity types in a data model .

This is an artifact of Column One of the Architecture Framework .

Sometimes the term "data model" is erroneously applied to database design.

2, 3

data modelbusiness

[data modeling] a Row Two data model describing the objects seen by the people who carry out the business. This tends to consist of tangible entity types representing the things people see ( reference entity types) , as well as the transactions they use to carry out their business ( transaction entity types ). Relationships may be multivariate, involving more than two entity types (an arity of more than 2), and they may be "many-to-many". There is no requirement for the models to be subject to normalization .

2, 3

data modelconceptual

[data modeling] a Row Three data model of the fundamental things the business is concerned with. First of all, this means that certain modeling constraints are applied: If Richard Barker's entity/relationship modeling technique is used, for example, all relationships are binary and all relationships are "one-to-many", following the rules of normalization . It also means that the entity types themselves are defined to be relatively abstract, so that they represent the more generic things, of which the things viewed by the business are often examples.

2, 3

data-model diagram

[data modeling] a physical representation of a portion of a data model . The model itself is a conceptual structure, typically stored in a meta-data repository . A data-model diagram shows only some entity types and relationships .

3

data-model pattern

[data modeling] a generic data model , representing a typical situation in an enterprise. (See semantic data-model convention .)

3

data steward

[project management] a person from the business community who is responsible for the integrity of a particular body of data . (The person holding this role probably began as a subject-matter expert.)

2, 3

data store

[activity modeling] on a Sarson and Gane data flow diagram, the occurrence of storing data temporarily on its way from one process to another. Called simply a file on a DeMarco data flow diagram .

4

data warehouse

[data warehousing]

1) a configuration consisting of a central, normalized , database fed by operational systems in the enterprise and supporting subsidiary databases ( data marts ) organized according to likely query structures.

2) the central database described for configuration 1. This database is organized around the conceptual schema and is intended to maintain the bulk of an enterprise's data for future reference. The data here can be retrieved without interfering with the activities of the operational system, and because the database is not involved with day-to-day operations, data can be kept in a more summarized form. Data are more static in a data warehouse than in an operational system. (See also operational data store.)

3

database administrator

[project management] a person responsible for maintenance of database management system software.

2, 3

database approach to systems development

[project management] approaching the task of developing systems by emphasizing the structure of the data to be managed. This is as opposed to the applications approach to systems development .

3

database management system

[project management] [data management] a computer program that allows a user to specify data structures, enter data into those structures and retrieve data from them, without having to program these transactions. Traditional programs tended to have a lot of code concerned with reading from and writing to files. A database management system is specifically equipped to read from and write to the database using standard components .

2, 3

datum

[data modeling] (plural: data ) a set of letters or characters that contain meaning. (The meaning itself is information .)

5

decision table

[activity modeling] a table representing a sequence of decisions to be taken in a particular evaluation. A set of conditions is shown on the left, with one row for each permutation of values for the decisions. A column on the right shows each resulting decision, based on the particular permutations in the decision's row.

4

decision tree

[activity modeling] a set of lines drawn to show the possible paths that may be taken in a particular evaluation, depending on various tests of values. The graphic allows you to represent each alternative value for a variable and map of what is to be done, depending on that value.

4

definition

[business rules] the specification of a meaning for a term as it is used. By defining it, we recognize that it is a term of importance, and we specify exactly what it means.

2, 3, 8

dependent entity type

[data modeling] an entity type whose occurrences cannot be created without relating them to another entity type .

 

dependency diagram

[activity modeling] a diagram showing activities and how they depend on each other. That is, one activity cannot be carried out until another activity has been completed.

4

derivation

[business rules] the creation of new information from existing information. This may be an inference , which is the drawing of logical conclusions from facts . (For example, if the scheduled "delivery date" has passed and the material hasn't been delivered, this implies that the shipment is "late".) It may be a mathematical derivation , which is a mathematical calculation. (For example, "Age" is equal to the "System Date" minus the "Birth Date".)

8

design

[project management] the third phase of a systems-development life cycle . Here you determine the technologies to address the requirements derived in the first two phases and define the specific configurations of those technologies. This is done from the designer's view (Row Four) of the Architecture Framework .

2

designer's view (Framework Row Four)

[architecture framework] a perspective represented by Row Four in the Architecture Framework, (called the "builder's view" in the Zachman Framework) . This view encompasses the technology that will be used to build a new system. The designer constructs the structures of the new system.

Introduction, 1

desired result

[ business rules ] a state or target that the enterprise intends to attain or maintain.

8

detailed representation

[architecture framework] (See builder's view .)

1

dimension

[data warehousing] an aspect of a data fact useful for retrieving it. For example, the fact of a "sale" may have the dimensions "time", "region", "customer category", and so forth.

3

disjoint (sub-types)

[data modeling] a rule asserting that no occurrence of a super-type may be an occurrence of more than one sub-type . (This is also called exclusive . )

3, Appendix B

divergent data model

[data modeling] a data model representing all the things described in data collection interviews, without any attempt to derive general categories. (As opposed to convergent data model .)

3

document type definition

[XML] a file which contains the definitions of the tags that will be used in XML documents.

Appendix B

domain

[data modeling] a set of characteristics that can be applied to validate one or more attributes . This could include a list of legal values, a range of values, a format, or an expression,

8

education

[project management] during the transition phase of the systems-development life cycle, explaining to an entire organization what we are doing and why we are doing it. (This is as compared to training .)

2

element

[XML] a component of an XML statement, referring to a piece of data.

Appendix B

element of guidance

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , either a business rule or a business policy that is a declarative statement (or set of such statements) defining or constraining some aspect of an enterprise. It is intended to assert business structure or to control or influence the behavior of an enterprise.

8

elementary business function

[activity modeling] in a function hierarchy or a data flow diagram , an activity that "when triggered must either be completed successfully, or, if for some reason it cannot be completed successfully, must 'undo' any effects that it had up to the point of failure" [Barker and Longman, 1992, p. 40]. This is called an action in a UML activity diagram .

4

elementary fact

[data modeling] in ORM, a relationship that has a minimum number of roles, which cannot be broken into component relationships.

8

end

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a statement about what the business seeks to accomplish. The important thing to remember about an end is that it does not include any indication of how it will be achieved.

8

enforcement level

[ business rules ] a value that specifies the severity of action imposed in order to put or keep a business rule or business policy in force.

8

entity

[data modeling] an occurrence of an entity type .

3

entity/relationship model

[data modeling] a kind of data model that is expressed in terms of entity types and their relationships to each other.

2, 3

entity life history

[event modeling] a technique for diagramming the set of events that affect an entity type and the activities carried out in response to them.

3, 7

entity type

[data modeling] the definition of something of significance to an organization, such as "person", "product", or "activity". An entity type has as predicates attributes and relationships with other entity types .

3, 8

equality constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, a constrainst asserting that the populations of two roles must be equal.

8

essential activity

[activity modeling] [event modeling] the complete response to an external event . This is either a fundamental activity that performs a task that is part of the enterprise's stated mission , or a custodial activity that establishes and maintains the system's essential memory by acquiring and storing the information needed by the fundamental activities [McMenamin and Palmer, 1984, pp. 1720].

This may be part of an essential data flow diagram or a level on a function hierarchy .

4

essential data flow diagram

[activity modeling] [event modeling] a data flow diagram which is a description of the activities required to carry out the business of the enterprise. Unlike physical data flow diagrams , these activities are described not as physical activities , but in terms of the underlying functions being performed.

For example, instead of "Fill out purchase order", you have "Order products". In addition, activities that are simply there to accommodate inadequate systems but do not add value to the organization are not included. In other words, the only activities presented are those which add value to the enterprise's efforts, plus those that directly support these activities.

2, 4, 7

essential memory

[activity modeling] the total of all data used by an enterprise's essential activities .

4, 7

ETL program

[data warehousing] (See extraction, transformation, and load program .)

3

event

[activity modeling] [event modeling] something which happens in the world, requiring a response (in this case, from an enterprise).

4, 7

event and timing model

[activity modeling] [event modeling] a representation of how time affects an operationin terms both of corporate schedules and of the events that cause things to happen in the company. This is an artifact of Column Five of the Architecture Framework .

2, 4, 7

exclusion constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, a constraint asserting that if an entity type participates in one relationship, it cannot participate in another. This is the ORM version of the exclusive or constraint in entity/relationship modeling.

8

exclusive (sub-types)

[data modeling] the rule that any occurrence of a super-type may be an occurrence of only one sub-type . (Also disjoint .)

3, Appendix B

exclusive or (relationships)

[data modeling] the assertion that an entity type must (or may) be related either to one entity type or to another entity type but not both .

3, Appendix B

exhaustive (sub-types)

[data modeling] the rule that any occurrence of a super-type must be an occurrence of at least one sub-type . (Also complete .)

3, Appendix B

exploding a process

[activity modeling] in a data flow diagram the depiction of components of a process as a separate data flow diagram .

4

external entity

[activity modeling] a person, organization, or external system that is either a source of or the ultimate destination of data in a data flow diagram . All data portrayed on the diagram must originate in one or more external entities and they must ultimately be deposited with one or more external entities . This is equivalent to an actor in a use case .

4

external event

[activity modeling] [event modeling] an event which occurs outside the part of the enterprise being studied.

7

external influence

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an influence from outside the organization, such as technology, a supplier or vendor, or a regulation.

8

external schema

[3-schema architecture] an organization of data according to terms appropriate for the job being done by an individual person or group of people. Since different people have different views of data, each external schema in an enterprise may be different, but they may overlap. They may be using the same terms of reference, although even these may be defined differently. The business owner's view of data is fundamentally of external schemata .

3

external uniqueness identifier

[data modeling] in ORM, the fact that two or more roles that are not in the same relationship combine to form a unique identifier for an entity type or an objectified relationship .

8

extraction, transformation, and load program

[data warehousing] a software product to ease the mechanical task of copying data from one file to another. Also known as an ETL program .

3

facility

[location modeling] (See site .)

6

fact

1) [business rules] the linking of terms to produce useful concepts. Facts are what are presented in data models , when entity types are related to each other, when attributes apply to entity types, and when sub-types are defined.

2) [data modeling] in ORM, an object's playing a role.

3) [data warehouse] a numerical measurement about the enterprise's operations. For example, this could be a sale or a purchase.

8

feedback

[ cybernetic s ] information sent to a controller from a process .

5

feedback loop

[cybernetic s ] a structure consisting of an environment, an ongoing process , and a controller . If the value of a specified variable reported from the process goes above or below (depending on its purpose) the value of a set point , the controller takes action to modify the process .

5

Fifth Normal Form

[relational theory] the fifth of Dr. Codd's constraints on a relational design: A three-way (or more) relationship is redundant if all its occurrences may be derived from combinations of two-way occurrences.

3

file

[activity modeling] in a de Marco data flow diagram , the occurrence of storing data temporarily as it makes its way from one process to another. (See data store .)

4

filter

[cybernetics] (See attenuator .)

5

First Normal Form

[relational theory] the first of Dr. Codd's constraints on a relational design: Every row may have only one value for an attribute in a relation .

3

First Principle of Organization

[cybernetics] a principle of cybernetics articulated by Stafford Beer about how an organizational system should be constructed : "Managerial, operational and environmental varieties, diffusing through an institutional system, tend to equate; they should be designed to do so with minimal damage to people and to cost" [Beer, 1979, p. 97].

5

Fourth Normal Form

[relational theory] the fourth of Dr. Codd's constraints on a relational design: There may be no independent sets of dependencies within a primary key .

3

freedom

[cybernetics] in Stafford Beer's viable system the concept that a System One has an optimal amount of guidance and interference from its meta-management . In principle, it is "a computable function of systematic purpose as perceived" [Beer, 1979, p. 158].

5

function

[activity modeling] an activity that carries out an objective of the enterprise. It is described solely in terms of what it is to accomplish, without regard for the technology used to carry it out. It is described without reference to time. An example of a function is "order material". Functions are used to describe the business in Row Three terms, but they are usually accessible to business owners as well. This is represented on a function hierarchy .

4

function decomposition diagram

[activity modeling] (See function hierarchy .)

2, 4

function hierarchy

[activity modeling] a hierarchical representation of the functions of the enterprise. At the top of the hierarchy is the company's mission , broken into the five, six, or seven primary functions that contribute to that mission. Each of these is broken out in turn. (This is also called a function decomposition diagram .)

2, 4

function/entity-type matrix

[data modeling] [activity modeling] (See CRUD matrix .)

3, 4, 7

functional dependence

[data modeling] A column is "functionally dependent" on another column, if, given a value of the second column, you will always have the same value for the first column.

3

functional requirement

[project management] "the things the product [system] must doan action that the product must take if it is to provide useful functionality for its user. Functional requirements arise from the fundamental reason for the product's existence" [Robertson, 1999, p. 104].

2

functional verifier

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, a rule about an occurrence of an entity type , relative to other occurrences in the entity. For example, the "Unique" rule might address whether occurrences of an entity type must have unique "Effective Dates".

8

functioning system (Framework Row Six)

[architecture framework] the perspective represented by Row Six in the Architecture Framework . This is the view of a new functioning system.

1

fundamental activity

[activity modeling] a kind of essential activity that performs a task that is part of the enterprise's stated mission ,

4

glossary

[data modeling] [business rules] a catalogue of terms of interest to the enterprise or a part of it. You are looking at an example.

3, 8

goal

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a statement about a desired general state or condition of the enterprise, to be brought about or sustained over time through appropriate means .

8

guideline

[ business rules ] a constraint that is not rigorously enforced.

2, 8

human capital

[knowledge management] the value of the knowledge held by a company's employees .

5

IDEF0 Diagram

[activity modeling] similar to a data flow diagram , except that it merges the elements represented on both physical and essential data flow diagrams. In addition to the data flowing into or out of an activity , an IDEF0 diagram also shows which activities control it, and what mechanisms may be used to perform it. It doesn't show external entities or data stores explicitly, but it does provide a much more sophisticated approach to exploding an activity into its component activities . Some companies may prefer to use this technique over the data flow diagram .

2, 4

impact value

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an evaluation that quantifies or qualifies an assessment in specific terms, types, or dimensions. This may be either a risk or a potential reward .

8

inclusive or (relationships)

[data modeling] a constraint on two relationships such that an entity type must (or may) be related to either one entity type, or another entity type, or both.

3, 8, Appendix B

incomplete (sub-types)

[data modeling] a rule asserting that an occurrence of a super-type does not have to be an occurrence of any sub-type. (This is as opposed to exhaustive or complete .)

3, 8, Appendix B

independent entity type

[data modeling] an entity type that has no mandatory relationships to other entity types .

3

industrial age

[knowledge management] the era of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries whose economics was characterized by mass production.

5

inference

[business rules] the drawing of logical conclusions from facts . (For example, if the scheduled "delivery date" has passed and the material hasn't been delivered, this implies that the shipment is "late".)

8

influence

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , the act, process, or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of tangible force or direct exercise of command, and often without deliberate effort or intent.

8

Information

1) [knowledge management] the meaning contained in data .

2) [data modeling] on a data flow diagram , a data flow that carries data from one process to another for processing. This is an input in an IDEF0 diagram . An information (data flow) is different from a message (data flow) , which communicates instructions to the process , but this distinction is not shown on a data flow diagram .

3) [information theory] the quantity of variety in a communication.

5

Information age

[knowledge management] the current era, when the economy is dominated by the use of information to reduce physical effort.

5

information engineering

[data modeling] [project management] 1) a comprehensive approach to the whole process of system development, organized around a system-development life cycle and making use of the database approach to systems development. 2) a particular notation for creating a conceptual data model .

3

information resource manager (IRM)

[project management] [data modeling] (See data administrator .)

2, 3

inheritance

[data modeling] the principle that a sub-type "inherits" all the attributes of its super-type . It also inherits all relationships attached to the super-type .

3

input

1) [project management] data entered into a computer system.

2) [activity modeling] in an IDEF0 diagram , the data that are used by an activity . This is the same as an information (data flow) in a data flow diagram , but in an IDEF0 diagram it is identified as such explicitly. (See also control .)

4

instance verifier

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, a category of business rule that requiresor tests foran occurrence of an object to be present at the creation of, during the life of, and so on, an occurrence of another object .

8

integrity

[project management] a security requirement that all data received from an adjacent system be recorded accurately. It should not be possible to change data except under controlled circumstances. It should be difficult to misuse data (the toughest requirement of all). If there is a major disruption, such as a power failure, it must be possible to determine whether any data were corrupted and to recover from the failure.

2

integrity constraint

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, something that must be true about an entity type , relationship, or attribute, by definition.

8

internal event

[time modeling] an event which occurs inside the part of the enterprise being studied.

7

internal influence

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an influence from inside the organization, such as the company's infrastructure, resource quality, or corporate culture.

8

internal schema

[3-schema architecture] an organization of data according to the technology being used to record it. This includesfor a particular database management system the external terms of reference ("tables", "segments", "object classes", etc.) and the internal terms of reference ("tablespaces", etc.). It also includes terms for the physical storage of data on the computer ("cylinder", "track", etc.).

(See also logical schema .)

3

intersect entity type

[data modeling] an entity type whose sole purpose for existing is to relate other entity types to one another.

3

intransitive ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, a ring constraint that prohibits an occurrence of an entity type both to be related to a second occurrence of the entity type that in turn is related to a third occurrence of the entity typeand to be related to the third occurrence directly as well. Allowance of these occurrences is called a transitive ring constraint .

8

irreflexive ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, a ring constraint that prohibits an occurrence of an entity type to be related to itself. (Allowance of such an occurrence is called a reflexive ring constraint .)

8

iteration

1) [activity modeling] a structure in pseudo-code or structured natural language that is the specification of one or more steps to be repeated one or more times. This may be either repeat while or repeat until .

2) [activity modeling] [event modeling] in an entity life history , an annotation that an event may occur one or more times, or not at all. This is shown by an asterisk (*) in the upper right corner of the event box.

4, 7

join

[relational theory] the linking of two relations together, based on an attribute in common to both that means the same thing and is in the same domain.

 

joint application-development ( JAD ) session

[project management] a meeting of a small group of subject matter experts to examine an application area in detail. Often this involves creating one or more models of the enterprise in front of the experts and getting their agreement at that time.

2

key performance indicator

[knowledge management] a measurement defined in strategic planning to determine success or failure in carrying out the enterprise's mission. Key performance indicators may also be specified in the course of an enterprise's operation to evaluate success against goals and objectives as well.

2, 5

knowledge

[knowledge management] the application of information to useful ends. If data are letters and numbers, and information is the meaning given to those numbers , then knowledge is the application of that meaning to achieve objectives.

5

knowledge age

[knowledge management] the later years of the information age , when emphasis has been placed more on the usefulness of information manipulated by people than on the information itself.

5

knowledge management

[knowledge management] the management of an enterprise's capabilities with an emphasis on the knowledge content of the work being done. Knowledge management is about employing the knowledge held in an organization effectively.

5

label

[data modeling] in ORM, a value type that identifies occurrences of an entity type .

3, 8, Appendix B

law of requisite variety, the

[cybernetics] one of Ross Ashby's natural laws of cybernetics : "only variety absorbs variety " [Ashby, 1956].

5

legacy system

[data warehousing] a computer system that existed prior to a particular systems-development effort. The term is most often used in the context of an effort to build a data warehouse . Typically, its scope is relatively small (or at least smaller than the entire enterprise).

3

location

[location modeling] a place on the earth, such as "New York City", "Section 3, township 5 of Kern County, California", or "the Southeastern Marketing District". (This is as compared with site .)

6

location column (Architecture Framework Column Three)

[architecture framework] the portion of the Architecture Framework that is about the effects of location on the enterprise. Row One is concerned with the places where the enterprise is located. Row Two is about the specific offices and other facilities in those places. Row Three is about the communications required between those offices. Row Four is about the design of the technology to make possible those communications, and Row Five is about the specific technological parameters involved.

1, 6

location model

[location modeling] a representation of an enterprise's distribution of functions in geographical terms. This is an artifact of Column Three of the Architecture Framework .

2, 6

logical schema

[3-schema architecture]

1) a kind of internal schema that describes how data would be represented in a particular database management system.

2) commonly and incorrectly used as a synonym for the conceptual schema .

3

look and feel requirements

[project management] specification of operational standards for a proposed system, as well as its overall aesthetic .

2

mandatory constraint

[business rules] a constraint that is rigorously enforced. This is different from a guideline , which is only a suggestion.

2, 8

mapping

[data warehousing] the definition of the conversion of data from one structure to another. In the data warehouse environment, this is either from a legacy system to the warehouse, or from the warehouse to a data mart .

3

material flow

[activity modeling] the movement of physical material from one activity to another. This is usually not portrayed in a data flow diagram , although a special kind of line may be used in a Sarson and Gane version. It may be shown in an IDEF0 diagram .

4

mathematical derivation

[data modeling] [business rules] a mathematical calculation of an attribute. (For example, "Age" is equal to the "System Date" minus the "Birth Date".)

3, 8

mathematical evaluator

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, a category of business rule that derives values from other values.

8

means

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a device, capability, regime , technique, restriction, agency, instrument, or method that may be called upon, activated, or enforced to achieve one or more ends.

8

mechanism

[activity modeling] the physical means by which an activity or a communication is carried out. This may be a computer system, a form, or the telephone, for example. These may be shown in a physical data flow diagram or in an IDEF0 diagram , but not on a function hierarchy or an essential data flow diagram .

4

message

1) [object orientation] in object-oriented programming, a communication from one object to another, usually triggering an action by the second object .

2) [activity modeling] on a data flow diagram , a data flow that carries instructions from one process to another, controlling the latter's processing. This is as opposed to an information (data flow) , which simply conveys data. (This distinction is not actually represented on the diagram.)

This is equivalent to a control flow on an IDEF0 diagram.

3, 4

meta-data

[data modeling] [data warehousing] data that describe the entity types , attributes , tables , columns , and all other elements that constitute a modern information system.

3

meta-data repository

[data warehousing] a database containing the meta-data for a data warehouse .

3

meta-management

[cybernetics] a controller at one level of recursion that is responsible for managing a set of systems at the next level of recursion down.

5

mission

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , the means to achieve one or more visions . It defines the ongoing operational activity of an enterprise.

8

model of fundamental concepts

[architecture framework] (See architect's view .)

1

model of the business

[architecture framework] (See owner's view .)

1

motivation column (Architecture Framework Column Six)

[architecture framework] the portion of the Architecture Framework that is concerned with what causes an enterprise to do what it does. As Mr. Zachman originally described this column, it concerned the translation of business goals and strategies into specific ends and means . This has since been expanded to include the entire set of constraints ( business policy and business rules ) that apply to an enterprise's efforts. Row One is concerned with the enterprise's vision and mission . Row Two addresses its Goals , Objectives , Strategy , and Tactics , as they are translated into business policies and business rules . Row Three addresses the specific articulation of business rules in terms of their effects on data. Row Four is about the design of the programs that will implement those effects, and Row Five is about the construction of those programs.

1

motivation model

[business rules] a metamodel, developed by The Business Rules Group, describing the concepts of mission , means , and ends , specifically as they relate to business policy and business rules .

2, 8

multi-valued column

[data modeling] a column which can take more than one value for an occurrence of its corresponding table or relation . This violates First Normal Form. (See also repeating group .)

3

n-ary relationship

[data modeling] a relationship between more than two entity types . That is, it is a relationship whose arity is more than 2.

3

natural knowledge management

[knowledge management] knowledge management that is concerned with the way people learn and communicate with each other. In the past, it has not been concerned with technology, but this is slowly changing. (This is as opposed to artificial knowledge management .)

5

navigation path

[object-oriented design] the use of an association between two (object) classes to move from the processing ( behavior ) for one to the processing for the other.

3

network column (Framework Column Three)

[architecture framework] (See location column .)

1

non-functional requirement

[project management] "properties, or qualities, that the product [system] must have. In some cases the nonfunctional requirements are critical to the product's success" [Robertson, 1999, p. 112]. These are properties such as security requirements that do not directly contribute to the purpose of the proposed system.

2

nullify delete

[referential integrity] a rule attached to a relationship asserting that if the parent is deleted, the relationship occurrences to all children will be deleted as well, leaving the children without references to a parent.

3, Appendix B

object

1) [object orientation] [data modeling] a thing of interestan occurrence of an (object) class . This may be a business object something dealt with in the enterprise's operationsor a technical object, manipulated by a computer program.

2) [business rules] in Ron Ross's business-rules notation, an entity type , an attribute , or a relationship .

3) [data modeling] in ORM, an entity type or a value type.

3

object cardinality constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, (See cardinality constraint . )

8

object identifier

[data modeling] Term used in the object-oriented world for a system-generated attribute whose sole purpose is to identify occurrences of an (object) class . (See surrogate identifier .)

3

object model

[data modeling] a data model expressed in terms of (object) classes . If used for analysis of business objects, this is equivalent to an entity/relationship model . If used for design, it describes the objects to be manipulated by a computer program.

3

object model (business)

[object orientation] for requirements analysis , a kind of data model .

2, 3

objectified relationship

[data modeling] in ORM, the assertion that a relationship in fact behaves like an object. This permits it in turn to have roles in other relationships.

8

objective

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a statement of a specific time- targeted , measurable, attainable target that an enterprise seeks to meet in order to achieve its goals . It quantifies a goal .

8

object-oriented analysis

[data modeling] requirements analysis carried out under the auspices of a project specifically to develop an object-oriented application. To do this violates the principles of requirements analysis, since, by definition, it is to identify what is required without specifying how it will be supplied.

3

object-oriented design

[data modeling] [activity modeling] an approach to designing computer programs that focuses on the things being addressed before focusing on the processes used to address them. In conventional program design, the approach is to describe a series of computer processes and attach data to these processes. In object-oriented design , the approach is to describe a series of things being manipulated and then to describe the processes for manipulating each one.

3

occurrence

[data modeling] an entityan instance of an entity type .

3

ongoing event

[data modeling] a kind of temporal event that is the cyclical passage of the beginning of a day, the first day of a month, the first day of a year, and the like.

7

ODS

[data warehousing] (See operational data store .)

 

operational data store

[data warehousing] a database used as the basis for an operational application area, such as manufacturing. It is organized according to the conceptual schema, but it processes operational transactions directly. This is as opposed to a data warehouse, which may have the same organization but is used primarily for retrievals.

3

operational response-time requirement

[project management] the requirement for the overall timing of results from a system. If this system is replacing a manual one that required a week to produce results, and if it now takes an hour to do the same thing, this is a net benefit. It is important, in evaluating response time, that the response time required to perform a function be honestly evaluated. How soon are results required, in order to achieve the function being addressed?

This is different from behavioral response time , which is always required to be instantaneous.

2

opportunity

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an assessment asserting that an influence (in this case, something in the environment) can have a favorable impact on the organization's employment of a means or achievement of an end .

8

optionality constraint

[data modeling] The assertion that an occurrence of one entity type must be related to at least one occurrence of another entity type .

3, 8

organization

1) [data modeling] a collection of people to achieve a purpose. 2) [activity modeling] in a function decomposition model , one of the ways a function may be "exploded" into other functions: Here the parent function or process is broken into the organizational units that carry out parts of it. This is clearly not a good idea, since the objective of the model is to determine what is done, not how it is done or who does it. This does not reveal the true nature of the function itself.

4

out-of-context view

[framework] John Zachman's name for the builder's view in Row Five of his Framework.

 

output

1) [project management] data obtained from a computer system.

2) [IDEF0] the data that are produced by an activity .

4

overlapping (sub-types)

[data modeling] a rule asserting that an occurrence of one sub-type may be an occurrence of another sub-type . (This is permitted in UML.)

(This is as opposed to exclusive or disjoint sub-types .)

3, 8, Appendix B

people and organization column (Architecture Framework Column Four)

[architecture framework] the portion of the Architecture Framework that is about who is involved in the business and in the introduction of new technology. The planner's row addresses the enterprise's attitudes and philosophy concerning the management of human resources. The business owner's row is concerned specifically with the positions people hold and how they are related to each other. The architect's row addresses the fundamental nature of human organizations. This includes the interactions between people and functions. The designer's row is concerned with the design of man-machine interfaces, while the builder's row, in conjunction with the activities column, is concerned with the programming of those interfaces.

1

people and organization model

[architecture framework] a representation of an enterprise's organization and how people both work together and work with prospective systems. This is an artifact of Column Four of the Architecture Framework .

2, 5

performance requirement

[project management] a non-functional requirement that is "the actual accuracy, timing, and other measures with which a system performs its required capabilities " [Hatley et al., 2000, p. 41].

2

phase

[project management] a major division in the system-development life cycle for the development of a system. In this book, the phases described are "Strategy", "Analysis", "Design", "Construction", "Transition", and "Production".

2

physical data flow diagram

[activity modeling] (See data flow diagramphysical .)

2, 4

planner's view

[architecture framework] a perspective represented by Row One in the Architecture Framework . This is the view of the enterprise as a whole. It also defines the boundaries of specific projects to be undertaken and the relationships among them.

 

position verifier

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, a category of business rule that requiresor tests foroccurrences of entity types to be created in a particular order.

8

positional data-modeling convention

[data-modeling] a convention governing the way a data-model diagram is organized on the page.

3

potential reward

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an impact value that indicates the possibility of a gain. As with risk (the other kind of impact value) , a potential reward may be expressed as a probability or as an absolute number.

8

predicate

1) [data modeling] a characteristic of an entity type . This may be either an attribute or a relationship .

2) [XML] piece of information about an element . Another element subordinate to this one.

3, Appendix B

primary key

1) [database design] in a relational database, the unique identifier of a relation .

2) [relational theory] the unique identifier of a relation.

3

priority

[strategic planning] an element of an enterprise's strategy that is something of prime importance to be achieved.

2, 8

problem space

[project management] the environment being analyzed . This includes the data, processes, organizations, and so on, of the enterprise that are the object of the analysis project. (Compare with solution space .)

Introduction

problematic environment

[cybernetics] in Stafford Beer's viable system , the environment not seen by Systems One.

5

process

[activity modeling] [cybernetics] an activity performed by an enterprise to produce a specific output or achieve a goal . It may or may not be described in terms of the mechanisms used. Processes are usually represented in terms of their timing relative to each othereither in sequence or in paralleland they also are usually described in terms of their inputs and outputs. An example of a process is "issue purchase order". Row Two descriptions of activities are typically in terms of processes, although processes may also be terms for Row Three descriptions. A process is represented by a round-cornered rectangle or a circle on a data flow diagram .

4, 5

production

[project management] the sixth phase of a systems-development life cycle . This is an ongoing phase, where you maintain the system, ensuring that it continues to meet requirements. This involves fixing bugs and adding enhancements. This is a view of the production system (Row Six).

2

project manager

1) [project management] a person with responsibility for successfully completing a system-development project.

2) [knowledge management] a career category for those who buy or lease resources from resource providers, negotiating a budget and getting people assigned to the project and putting them to work to achieve a particular objective [Stewart, 1997, p. 204].

5

projection controller

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, a category of business rule that causes things to happen under specified circumstances.

8

prototype approach

[project management] a way of developing systems that involves building a small portion, trying it out, and then improving and expanding upon it.

2

pseudo-code

[activity modeling] a kind of formal language for describing a process. It uses key words derived from programming and is similar in many ways to programming languages such as Pascal or C.

4

recursion

1) [ linguistics ] (See recursion .)

2) [cybernetics ] the concept that each system is entirely contained within a larger system .

3) [ data modeling ] a data-model pattern in which one occurrence of an entity type is related to another occurrence of the same entity type .

5

reference entity type

[data modeling] an entity type that usually refers to something tangible in the enterprise, such as PRODUCT . It may also refer to a quality (like COLOR ) that is used to describe another entity type , or to a classification for other entity types , such as ACTIVITY TYPE or CONTRACT TYPE. Usually, a reference entity type is also an independent entity type .

3

referential integrity

[business rules] the constraints on a relationship that control one's ability to delete an occurrence of a parent entity (the "one" side) in a one-to-many relationship. The three rules are:

Cascade delete deletion of parent also deletes all of that parent's children.

Restricted deletion of parent is prohibited if that parent has children.

Nullify deletion of parent causes the values of the join attribute (or the occurrences of the relationship implemented by that join column) for all children to be set to "null". (Allowed only if that column is optional.)

 

reflexive ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, allowance of an occurrence of an entity type to be related to itself. Prohibition of such an occurrence is called an irreflexive ring constraint .

8

relation

[relational theory] a two-dimensional array of data, consisting of rows (called tuples ) and columns (called attributes ). These are unique and their order is not meaningful. This is the basis for relational theory . A relation is analogous to an entity type and is usually implemented as a table with columns .

3

relational theory

[relational theory] an approach to organizing data originally proposed by Dr. E. F. Codd in 1970, which involves defining simple two-dimensional tables (" relations ") and relating them explicitly to each other via common columns.

3

relationship

[data modeling]

1) a structural association between two entity types . (See also association .)

2) in ORM, two or more entity types playing roles with respect to each other.

3, 8, Appendix B

repeat until

[activity modeling] a kind of iteration in pseudo-code or structured natural language in which a set of operations is continued until a condition exists. The condition is tested after each iteration. Key words may be FOR, DO UNTIL, REPEAT UNTIL , or LOOP UNTIL . For example, a structure might be DO UNTIL amount received is greater than or equal to 1000, THEN receive shipment END DO UNTIL . In this case, the shipment of 200 units that takes the total to 1100 would be accepted, since the check is not done until after it is received.

4

repeat while

[activity modeling] a kind of iteration in pseudo-code or structured natural language in which operations are continued as long as a condition exists. The condition is tested before each iteration. Key words may be DO WHILE, REPEAT WHILE or LOOP WHILE . For example, a structure might be DO WHILE amount received is less than 1000, THEN receive shipment END DO WHILE . Any shipment that would take the total over 1000 would not be accepted.

4

repeating groups

[data modeling] a set of attributes that can take multiple values for a given occurrence of an entity type . This is not permitted for a relational structure in First Normal Form . (See also multi-valued column .)

3

required capability (for a system)

[project management] something a system must deliver. This may be either a functional requirement or a nonfunctional requirement .

2

requirement constraint (for a system)

[project management] limits the design choices available to meet one or more required capabilities. That is, you may want a system to take orders over the Internet, but there are requirement constraints that limit how you can go about that. These include hardware platforms available, budgetary limits, and architectural decisions previously made.

2

requirements analysis

1) [project management] the conversion of business owners' views of an organization to an architect's view , in order to determine how automation would improve the operation of the enterprise.

2) [cybernetics] the examination of an organization to determine the most effective amplifiers and attenuators to build. What is needed? How are those now in place ineffective or counterproductive? What should they look like, given the purpose and organization of the enterprise?

Introduction, 1, 2, 5

resource provider

[knowledge management] a career category for those who develop and supply talent, money, and other resources; they are the chief financial officers and chief information officers, human resource managers, temporary services firms, or heads of traditionally functioning departments like engineering and marketing [Stewart, 1997, p. 204].

5

response-time requirement

[project management] the time required for a system to react to an input and produce an output. This may be either a behavioral response-time requirement or an operational response-time requirement

2

restricted delete

[referential integrity] a rule attached to a relationship asserting that a parent cannot be deleted if children exist.

3, 8, Appendix B

ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, a constraint on the available links between occurrences of a single entity type

8

risk

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an impact value that indicates the possibility of a loss. This loss could be expressed either as a probability (e.g., "5% probability of a project's failing") or as an absolute number (e.g., "There is a risk that we will lose $500,000 on this venture").

8

role

[data modeling] in ORM, the half of a relationship reading in one direction. In other words, entity type 1 plays a role with respect to entity type 2. Entity type 2 plays a complementary role with respect to entity type 1.

3

rolename

[data modeling] in ORM, a name assigned to a role in a relationship , for use in calculations using the role.

8

rule pattern

[business rules] 1) a matrix, with one row per business rule and columns describing a rule identifier, one or more conditions, and the effect of the rule [von Halle, 2002, pp. 316325]. 2) a rule structure described in natural language, used to classify other business rules [Brenner et al 2002].

8

scheduled event

[time modeling] [event modeling] [activity modeling] a kind of temporal event that occurs at specified dates and times.

7

scope view (Framework Row One)

[architecture framework] a perspective represented by Row One in the Architecture Framework . This is the view of the enterprise as a whole. It also defines the boundaries of specific projects to be undertaken and the relationships among them.

Introduction, 1

Second Normal Form

[relational theory] the second of Dr. Codd's constraints on a relational design: Each attribute must be dependent on the entire primary key .

3

Second Principle of Organization

[cybernetics] a principle articulated by Stafford Beer about how an organizational system should be constructed: The four directional channels carrying information between the management unit, the operation, and the environment must each have a higher capacity to transmit a given amount of information relevant to variety selection in a given time than the originating subsystem has to generate it in that time [Beer, 1979, p. 99].

5

security requirement

[project management] the non-functional requirement that the integrity of a computer system's data and access to them be controlled. This is expressed in terms of the data's confidentiality , availability , and integrity .

2

selection

[event modeling] [activity modeling] in an entity life history an annotation on a set of events indicating that only one of the events in the set may occur for each occurrence of the event above. This is shown by a small circle in the upper right corner of the event box.

7

semantic data-modeling convention

[data modeling] a convention describing standard ways to represent standard business situations. (See data-model pattern .)

3

sequence

1) [activity modeling] a structure in pseudo-code or structured natural language that is a series of steps, one following after the other. No key words are involved. A step may be either an information-processing or a physical step.

2) [event modeling] in an entity life history an annotation that the events on a row must be encountered in the sequence shown. This is the case if there are no special markings .

3) [activity modeling] one of the ways a function may be "exploded" into other functions: This conveys the sense that processes are carried out as sequential steps to accomplish the parent function or process. Even if they are kept technologically neutral, there is a strong sense of the means by which the parent function is carried out.

4

set constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, the assertion that one relationship constrains another in some way. Includes subset , exclusion , and equality constraints .

8

set point

[cybernetics] a target value of a variable in a feedback loop against which values from a system are compared. If a value or a variable exceeds (or goes below, depending on the purpose of the set point) the set point's value, remedial action is taken.

5

single-valued attribute

[data modeling] an attribute which can take only one value for an occurrence of its corresponding entity type . Thus single-valued attributes obey the constraint of First Normal Form . (This is as opposed to a multi-valued attribute .)

3

site

[location modeling] a place on earth with a purpose, such as a home, an office, a warehouse, or an architectural dig. (This is as compared to a location .)

6

solution space

[project management] the set of technologies available for solving the problems identified during requirements analysis .

Introduction

split by type (function decomposition)

[activity modeling] one of the ways a function may be "exploded" into other functions: This is the case where a function or process may be carried out in more than one way. For example, the function "Fabricate product" may be done differently in each of ten different work centers. Each of these work centers is then broken out in its own right, revealing its component functions or processes. In a function hierarchy this is acceptable, but it is not quite the same kind of thing as a true functional decomposition .

4

stakeholder

[project management] someone who has a vested interest in the behavior of a system.

5

state

a condition or stage in the physical being of something.

 

state/transition diagram

[time modeling] a diagram representing the set of states that a particular entity type (or part of the business, for that matter) can assume. It consists of a set of circles or round-cornered rectangles that each represent one state of the entity type. Arrows then describe the transition from one state to another. Each arrow is labeled with the event that causes the transition.

2, 7

strategic planning

[project management] the first phase of a system-development life cycle . In this phase, you lay out the vision and mission of the enterprise, along with its objectives , priorities , and constraints . Determine the projects that will follow. From this, you define a set of projects, carefully setting the boundaries among them so as to make the whole coherent . These boundaries then define the scope of each project. This phase is carried out from the perspective of the scope row (Row One) of the Architecture Framework.

2

strategy

1) [project management] the first phase of a systems-development life cycle . Here you do strategic planning for a system development effort. This includes defining specific projects and setting the boundaries between them. This is done from the planner's view (Row One) of the Architecture Framework .

2) [ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a resource, skill, or competency that the enterprise can call uponaccepted by the enterprise as the right approach to achieve its goals , given the environmental constraints and risks .

8

strength

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an assessment that asserts that an influence (an advantage or area of excellence, for example) exists within an enterprise that can have a positive impact on its employment of a means or achievement of an end .

8

structural capital

[knowledge management] the physical means by which knowledge and experience can be shared.

5

structured English

[activity modeling] your author's version of structured natural language .

 

structured natural language

[activity modeling] a kind of formal language for describing a process . It is similar to pseudo-code in that it uses key words from programming but relaxes the syntax to make it more readable by the casual user.

4

sub-contractor's view

[framework] John Zachman's name for the builder's view in Row Five of his Framework.

 

subject-matter expert

[project management] someone who will be interviewed during a requirements analysis project, attend modeling sessions, and so forth. This person will be the final arbiter of whether the resulting system performs its intended functions. Ideally, subject-matter experts should be high enough in the organization to provide perspective, but not so high that they are ignorant of the detailed business processes.

2

subset constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, a constraint asserting that occurrences of one relationship must be a subset of the occurrences of another relationship.

8

sub-type

[data modeling] an entity type whose occurrences are also occurrences of a more general entity type (its super-type ).

3

super-type

[data modeling] an entity type whose occurrences must be in one or another of at least two other entity types (its sub-types ). For example, PARTY is a super-type of PERSON and ORGANIZATION. P ERSON is a sub-type of PARTY , as is ORGANIZATION. " Charlie" is a PARTY and a PERSON. "AT&T" is a PARTY and an ORGANIZATION.

3

surrogate identifier

[data modeling] an attribute whose sole function is to uniquely identify occurrences of an entity type . It is normally generated by the computer, and it has no intrinsic meaning. Usually it is never viewed by the users of a system.

3

swim lane

[activity modeling] a vertical (in a UML activity model) or horizontal (in a business-process flow diagram) portion of an activity diagram that collects the activities performed by a single person, organization, or system.

4

SWOT

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an assessment of an influence to determine if it is a (s)trength , (w)eakness , (o)pportunity , or (t)hreat .

 

symmetric ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, allowance of an occurrence of an entity type to be related to another occurrence that in turn is related to the first occurrence. This is a special case of the cyclic ring constraint. (Prohibition of this is an asymmetric ring constraint .)

8

synergy

[cybernetics] an increased output for a set of components, even if it means that one or more of them is less than fully productive.

5

syntactic data-modeling convention

[data modeling] a convention governing the symbols used to create a data-model diagram.

3

system

1) [project management] a collection of computer components.

2) [cybernetics] an arrangement of components that is self-perpetuating [Beer 1979]. This includes everything from corporations and governments to the human body.

2,5

system development life cycle

[project management] a predefined approach to developing systems, beginning with strategic planning and carrying through requirements analysis , physical design , construction , transition , and production . The specific phases vary from methodology to methodology, but the overall concept is the same: plan carefully before executing the plan.

Introduction, 2

system-development plan

[project management] a comprehensive statement of the enterprise's intended projects and their purposes, showing scope, sequence, manning , and performance criteria.

2

System Five

[cybernetics] a component of Stafford Beer's viable system that resolves differences in point of view between System Four and System Five , based on its understanding of the identity of the viable system . It is part of the meta-management .

5

System Four

[cybernetics] a component of Stafford Beer's viable system that communicates not with other parts of the system but with the environment . Note that there are really two domains in the environment that System Four must deal with. The first is the accepted environment , which is the environment already dealt with by the Systems One. The second, more important part is the problematic environment . It is in the second environmentthe one not seen by Systems Onethat System Four has the ability to identify the true opportunities (and risks) to the business. This is part of the meta-management

5

System One

[cybernetics] a component of Stafford Beer's viable system that is a process and a controller operating in a particular environment.

5

System Three

[cybernetics] a component of Stafford Beer's viable system that manages the set of Systems One to direct them to one or more corporate (metalevel) goals. Its objective is to achieve synergy . This is a component of meta-management .

5

System Two

[cybernetics] a component of Stafford Beer's viable system that controls oscillation between pairs of Systems One .

5

table

[relational theory] implementation of a relation or of an entity type in a relational database management system .

3

tactic

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an activity or set of activities to fulfill a strategy.

8

tag

[XML] a word or phrase used to identify a portion of XML data. Identified by greater than (<) and less than (>) symbols. The tag has a definition that must be shared between the sender and the receiver of the data being transmitted.

Appendix B

talent

[knowledge management] a career category for the chemists, finance personnel, salespeople, bakers, candlestick makers (and presumably the odd system developer or two), and so forth, who actually carry out the work of the enterprise. [Stewart, 1997, p. 204].

5

technologically neutral

[project management] [activity modeling] an aspect of an operation that is true, regardless of the technology that may be employed to implement it.

2, 4

technology model

[architecture framework] (See designer's view .)

1

temporal event

[event modeling] [activity modeling] an event which is brought about by the passing of time, such as "the first day of the month", "the end of the quarter", "each morning", and so on.

7

term

[business rules] a word used in the business. Its meaning is specified in a definition .

8

Third Normal Form

[relational theory] the third of Dr. Codd's constraints on a relational design: Each attribute must be dependent only on the primary key.

3

third principle of organization

[cybernetics] a principle articulated by Stafford Beer about how an organizational system should be constructed: "Wherever the information carried on a channel (capable of distinguishing when a given variety crosses a boundary), it undergoes transduction ; and the variety of the transducer must be at least equivalent to the variety of the channel" [Beer, 1979, p. 101].

5

threat

[ business rules ] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an assessment asserting that an influence (also something in the environment) can have an unfavorable impact on the organization's employment of a means or the achievement of an end.

8

timing column (Architecture Framework Column Five)

[architecture framework] the portion of the Architecture Framework that is about the effects of time on the enterprise. It is difficult to describe or address this column in isolation from the others, especially Column Two. This includes annual planning at the scope level, business events at Row Two, and data-related events at Row Three. Row Four translates the data-related events into system triggers. Row Five is concerned with the implementation of those triggers.

1, 7

training

[project management] during the transition phase of the system development life cycle, explaining to specific people how a new system will work. Which button do you push to do a specific action? (This is as compared with education .)

2

transaction entity type

[data modeling] an entity type whose occurrences represent events or activities in the business. These nearly always include date references as attributes. They are always dependent entity types .

3

transduction

[cybernetics] the translation of information as it passes to the recipient of a message.

 

transition

[project management] the fifth phase of a systems-development life cycle . This is the establishment of a new system as part of the infrastructure of the enterprise. It involves education , training , implementation of software, and data conversion. It addresses the conversion of a set of existing business owners' views to a new set of business owners' views .

2

transitive ring constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, allowance of an occurrence of an entity type both to be related to a second occurrence of the entity type that in turn is related to a third occurrence of the entity type and to be related to the third occurrence directly as well. (Prohibition of these occurrences is an intransitive ring constraint .)

8

type verifier

[business rules] in Ronald Ross's business-rule modeling notation, a category of business rule that requiresor tests foroccurrences of entity types to be mutually exclusive, mutually dependent, and the like.

8

tuple

[relational theory] Dr. Codd's name for a row in a relation .

 

UML activity diagram

[activity modeling] A data flow diagram organized in terms of the actors performing the activities .

4

UML collaboration diagram

[activity modeling] a kind of UML interaction diagram that is similar to a data flow diagram but shows, instead of communication between activities , communication between objects.

4

UML interaction diagram

[activity modeling] A diagram showing the interactions between activities and object classes .

4

UML interaction diagram

[activity modeling] a representation of the interaction and communication among objects. This may be either a UML sequence diagram or a UML collaboration diagram . (Both of these diagrams are important for object-oriented design , but it is not clear how effective they are for analysis.)

4

UML process diagram

[activity modeling] a variation on a physical data flow diagram in which activities are organized according to the participants who perform them.

2, 4

UML sequence diagram

[activity modeling] a kind of UML interaction diagram that portrays a set of objects across the top of a page, showing the communications among them as a set of parallel lines.

4

UML , the

[data modeling] (See Unified Modeling Language)

3, 4, 8, Appendix B

Unified Modeling Language, the

[data modeling] a modeling approach comprised of several notations for representing class structures, activities , object-interactions, and use cases .

3, 4, 8, Appendix B

unique identifier

[data modeling] a combination of relationships and attributes whose values uniquely identify an occurrence of the entity type .

3

uniqueness constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, the assertion that an occurrence of an entity type may participate in a role no more than once. (See also cardinality constraint .)

 

universe of discourse

[project management] the environment being analyzed. This includes the data , activities , organizations, and so on of the enterprise that are the object of the requirements analysis project.

Introduction

use case

[people and organization modeling] "a functional description of a system and its major processes. It also provides a graphic description of who will use the system and what kinds of interactions they can expect to have with the system" [Harmon and Watson, 1998, p. 112]. This can be a graphic model, showing an activity (embodied in a system) and one or more actors . There may be considerable documentation in addition to the drawing, however, describing the details of the interactions.

4

user

[project management] a person who operates or interacts with a computer system directly.

2, 4, 5

value constraint

[data modeling] in ORM, a list of available values for an entity type or value type.

8

value type

[data modeling] in ORM, a domain. A value type describes a kind of data, such as "date" or "amount", and can be related to entity types just like to other entity types. In fact an "attribute" of an entity type is simply a relationship to a value type.

3

variety

[cybernetics] a term from cybernetics that means the number of states that a situation can have. This turns out to be very good way to measure the degree of complexity of the situation. In information theory, this is also the technical definition of information.

5

viable system

[cybernetics] Stafford Beer's vision of a system which can sustain itself by virtue of its being in conformance with the natural laws of cybernetics .

5

variable

[cybernetics] [business rules] a term of reference describing something that may be given a value.

5

view

[relational theory] a relation (not necessarily following the rules of normalization) which is derived from one or more other relations.

3

vision

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , a statement about the future state of the enterprise, without regard to how it is to be achieved.

8

weakness

[business rules] in the Business Rules Group's Motivation Model , an assessment asserting that an influence (such as an area of inadequacy) exists within the enterprise that can have a negative impact on its employment of a means or achievement of an end .

8

Zachman Framework

[architecture framework] an organization of the body of systems knowledge originally developed by John Zachman. It is a matrix consisting of six rows representing different points of view held by different kinds of participants, and six columns representing the six kinds of knowledge held by those six sets of people.

Introduction, 1




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Requirements Analysis. From Business Views to Architecture
Requirements Analysis: From Business Views to Architecture
ISBN: 0132762005
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2001
Pages: 129
Authors: David C. Hay

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