Reference Model
Encyclopedia
A reference model in systems
, enterprise
, and software engineering
is a model of something that embodies the basic goal or idea of something and can then be looked at as a reference for various purposes.
that generates that code. When done well, a standard can make use of design patterns
that support key qualities of software, such as the ability to extend the software in an inexpensive way.
Another use of a reference model is to educate. Using a reference model, leaders in software development can help break down a large problem space into smaller problems that can be understood, tackled, and refined. Developers who are new to a particular set of problems can quickly learn what the different problems are, and can focus on the problems that they are being asked to solve, while trusting that other areas are well understood and rigorously constructed. The level of trust is important to allow software developers to efficiently focus on their work.
A third use of a reference model is to improve communication between people. A reference model breaks up a problem into entities, or "things that exist all by themselves." This is often an explicit recognition of concepts that many people already share, but when created in an explicit manner, a reference model is useful by defining how these concepts differ from, and relate to, one another. This improves communication between individuals involved in using these concepts.
A fourth use of a reference model is to create clear roles and responsibilities. By creating a model of entities and their relationships, an organization can dedicate specific individuals or teams, making them responsible for solving a problem that concerns a specific set of entities. For example, if a reference model describes a set of business measurements needed to create a balanced scorecard
, then each measurement can be assigned to a specific business leader. That allows a senior manager to hold each of their team members responsible for producing high quality results.
A fifth use of a reference model is to allow the comparison of different things. By breaking up a problem space into basic concepts, a reference model can be used to examine two different solutions to that problem. In doing so, the component parts of a solution can be discussed in relation to one another. For example, if a reference model describes computer systems that help track contacts between a business and their customers, then a reference model can be used by a business to decide which of five different software products to purchase, based on their needs. A reference model, in this example, could be used to compare how well each of the candidate solutions can be configured to meet the needs of a particular business process.
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
, enterprise
Enterprise engineering
Enterprise engineering is a subdiscipline of systems engineering, which applies the knowledge and methods of systems engineering to the design of businesses. The discipline examines each aspect of the enterprise, including business processes, information flows, and organizational structure...
, and software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
is a model of something that embodies the basic goal or idea of something and can then be looked at as a reference for various purposes.
Overview
There are a number of concepts rolled up into that of a 'reference model.' Each of these concepts is important:- Abstract: a reference model is abstract. The things described by a reference model are not actual things, but an abstract representation of things. Therefore, when describing the architecture of a house, an actual exterior wall may have dimensions and materials, but the concept of a wall is part of the reference model. One must understand the concept of a wall in order to build a house that has walls.
- Entities and relationships: A reference model contains both entities (things that exist) and relationships (how they interact with one another). A list of entities, by itself, is not sufficient to describe a reference model.
- Within an environment: A reference model does not attempt to describe "all things." A reference model is used to clarify "things within an environment" or a problem space. To be useful, a reference model should include a clear description of the problem that it solves, and the concerns of the stakeholders who need to see the problem get solved.
- Technology agnostic: A reference model is not useful if it makes assumptions about the technology or platforms in place in a particular computing environment. A reference model is a mechanism for understanding the problems faced, not the solutions involved, and as such, must be independent of the selected solutions in order to provide value to the practitioner. Note: That does not preclude the development of a reference model that describes a set of software applications, because the problem space may be "how to manage a set of software applications."
The uses of a reference model
There are many uses for a reference model. One use is to create standards for both the objects that inhabit the model and their relationships to one another. By creating standards, the work of engineers and developers who need to create objects that behave according to the standard is made easier. Software can be written that meets a standard, and developers can copy that software to use it again, or build a software factorySoftware factory
In software engineering and enterprise software architecture, a software factory is an organizational structure that specializes in producing computer software applications or software components according to specific, externally-defined end-user requirements through an assembly process...
that generates that code. When done well, a standard can make use of design patterns
Design Patterns
Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software is a software engineering book describing recurring solutions to common problems in software design. The book's authors are Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson and John Vlissides with a foreword by Grady Booch. The authors are...
that support key qualities of software, such as the ability to extend the software in an inexpensive way.
Another use of a reference model is to educate. Using a reference model, leaders in software development can help break down a large problem space into smaller problems that can be understood, tackled, and refined. Developers who are new to a particular set of problems can quickly learn what the different problems are, and can focus on the problems that they are being asked to solve, while trusting that other areas are well understood and rigorously constructed. The level of trust is important to allow software developers to efficiently focus on their work.
A third use of a reference model is to improve communication between people. A reference model breaks up a problem into entities, or "things that exist all by themselves." This is often an explicit recognition of concepts that many people already share, but when created in an explicit manner, a reference model is useful by defining how these concepts differ from, and relate to, one another. This improves communication between individuals involved in using these concepts.
A fourth use of a reference model is to create clear roles and responsibilities. By creating a model of entities and their relationships, an organization can dedicate specific individuals or teams, making them responsible for solving a problem that concerns a specific set of entities. For example, if a reference model describes a set of business measurements needed to create a balanced scorecard
Balanced scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard is a strategic performance management tool - a semi-standard structured report, supported by proven design methods and automation tools, that can be used by managers to keep track of the execution of activities by the staff within their control and to monitor the...
, then each measurement can be assigned to a specific business leader. That allows a senior manager to hold each of their team members responsible for producing high quality results.
A fifth use of a reference model is to allow the comparison of different things. By breaking up a problem space into basic concepts, a reference model can be used to examine two different solutions to that problem. In doing so, the component parts of a solution can be discussed in relation to one another. For example, if a reference model describes computer systems that help track contacts between a business and their customers, then a reference model can be used by a business to decide which of five different software products to purchase, based on their needs. A reference model, in this example, could be used to compare how well each of the candidate solutions can be configured to meet the needs of a particular business process.
Examples
Instances of reference models include, among others:- Agent Systems Reference ModelAgent Systems Reference ModelThe agent systems reference model is a layered, abstract description for multiagent systems. As such, the reference model* provides a taxonomy of terms, concepts and definitions to compare agent systems;...
, - Core Architecture Data ModelCore Architecture Data ModelCore architecture data model in enterprise architecture is a logical data model of information used to describe and build architectures....
reference model of DoDAF - Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework reference model of the FEAFEAFea was the smallest unit of land a fief could own under the feudal system.-Acronyms and abbreviations:FEA is an acronym or abbreviation for:...
- NIST Enterprise Architecture ModelNIST Enterprise Architecture ModelNIST Enterprise Architecture Model is a reference model for Enterprise Architecture, that illustrates the interrelationship of enterprise business, information, and technology environments....
reference models from several Federal Enterprise Architectures - Open Geospatial ConsortiumOpen Geospatial ConsortiumThe Open Geospatial Consortium , an international voluntary consensus standards organization, originated in 1994. In the OGC, more than 400 commercial, governmental, nonprofit and research organizations worldwide collaborate in a consensus process encouraging development and implementation of open...
reference models, - Open Systems Interconnection Basic Reference ModelOSI modelThe Open Systems Interconnection model is a product of the Open Systems Interconnection effort at the International Organization for Standardization. It is a prescription of characterizing and standardizing the functions of a communications system in terms of abstraction layers. Similar...
, - Real-time Control SystemReal-time Control SystemReal-time Control System is a reference model architecture, suitable for many software-intensive, real-time control problem domains. RCS is a reference model architecture that defines the types of functions that are required in a real-time intelligent control system, and how these functions are...
for real-time control problem domains - Reference Model of Open Distributed ProcessingRM-ODPReference Model of Open Distributed Processing is a reference model in computer science, which provides a co-ordinating framework for the standardization of open distributed processing...
, - TAFIMTAFIMTechnical Architecture Framework for Information Management is a 1990s reference model for enterprise architecture development, defined by the United States Department of Defense in 1986....
was the 1990 reference model of the earlier version of the DoDAF, and - Von Neumann architectureVon Neumann architectureThe term Von Neumann architecture, aka the Von Neumann model, derives from a computer architecture proposal by the mathematician and early computer scientist John von Neumann and others, dated June 30, 1945, entitled First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC...
as a reference model for sequential computing, - HP Information Security Reference Model (ISSM)
See also
- Business reference modelBusiness reference modelBusiness reference model is a reference model, concentrating on the functional and organizational aspects of the core business of an enterprise, service organization or government agency....
- Open System Environment Reference ModelOpen System Environment Reference ModelOpen-system environment reference model or OSE reference model is one of the first reference models for enterprise architecture. It provides a framework for describing open system concepts and defining a lexicon of terms, that can be agreed upon generally by all interested parties...
- Reference architectureReference architectureA reference architecture in the field of software architecture or enterprise architecture provides a template solution for an architecture for a particular domain. It also provides a common vocabulary with which to discuss implementations, often with the aim to stress commonality...