A111Q3 iBDDfiE NIST Special Publication 500-167

NAT-L INST OF STANDARDS S TECH R.I.C.

FonoEi, ill11°3i30082 REFERENCE

orTrin ^f^M?,'^L"^S'"l^"°" management d QCIOO .U57 NO.500-167 1989 V19 C.1 NIST- Technology NIST

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF f; PUBLICATIONS

COMMERCE tv National Institute of Standards and

Technology

Infonnation Management

Directions: The Integration

Challenge

^^^^ Elizabeth N. Fong

[\llSr Alan H. Goldfine
rheNational Institute of Standards and Technology^ was established by an act of Congress on March 3, 1901. The Institute's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and

facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Institute conducts research to assure international competitiveness and leadership of U.S. industry, science and technology. NIST work involves development

and transfer of measurements, standards and related science and technology, in support of continually improving

U.S. productivity, product quality and reliability, innovation and underlying science and engineering. The Institute's technical work is performed by the National Measurement Laboratory, the National Engineering Laboratory, the National Computer Systems Laboratory, and the Institute for Materials Science and Engineering.

The National Measurement Laboratory

Provides the national system of physical and chemical measurement;

coordinates the system with measurement systems of other nations and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform

physical and chemical measurement throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce; provides advisory and research

services to other Govermnent agencies; conducts physical and chemical

research; develops, produces, and distributes Standard Reference

Materials; provides calibration services; and manages the National

Standard Reference Data System. The Laboratory consists of the following centers: The National Engineering Laboratory

Basic Standards^

Radiation Research

Chemical Physics

Analytical Chemistry

Provides technology and technical services to the public and private

sectors to address national needs and to solve national problems;

conducts research in engineering and applied science in support of these

efforts; builds and maintains competence in the necessary disciplines

required to carry out this research and technical service; develops engineering data and measurement capabilities; provides engineering measure- ment traceability services; develops test methods and proposes engineering standards and code changes; develops and proposes new

engineering practices; and develops and improves mechanisms to

transfer results of its research to the ultimate user. The Laboratory

consists of the following centers: The National Computer Systems Laboratory

Computing and Applied

Mathematics

Electronics and Electrical Engineering^

Manufacturing Engineering

Building Technology

Fire Research

Chemical Engineering'

Conducts research and provides scientific and technical services to aid Federal agencies in the selection, acquisition, application, and use of computer technology to improve effectiveness and economy in Government operations in accordance with Public Law 89-306 (40 U.S.C. 759), relevant Executive Orders, and other directives; carries out this mission

by managing the Federal Information Processing Standards Program,

developing Federal ADP standards guidelines, and managing Federal

participation in ADP voluntary standardization activities; provides scientific and technological advisory services and assistance to Federal

agencies; and provides the technical foimdation for computer-related

policies of the Federal Government The Laboratory consists of the following divisions: The Institute for Materials Science and Engineering

Information Systems

Engineering

Systems and Software

Technology

Computer Security

Systems and Network

Architecture

Advanced Systems

Conducts research and provides measurements, data, standards, refer- ence materials, quantitative understanding and other technical information fundamental to the processing, structure, properties and perfor- mance of materials; addresses the scientific basis for new advanced

materials technologies; plans research around cross-cutting scientific themes such as nondestructive evaluation and phase diagram development; oversees Institute-wide technical programs in nuclear reactor

radiation research and nondestructive evaluation; and broadly disseminates generic technical information resulting from its programs. The

Institute consists of the following divisions:

Ceramics

Fracture and Deformation'

Polymers

Metallurgy Reactor Radiation

'Headquarters and Laboratories at Gaithersburg, MD, unless otherwise noted; mailing address

Gaithersburg, MD 20899. ^ome divisions within the center are located at Boulder, CO 80303.

^ Located at Boulder, CO, with some elements at Gaithersburg, MD.
NIST Special Publication 500-167 • (^s--

Information Management

Directions: The Information

Challenge

Elizabeth N. Fong and Alan H. Goldfine, Editors

Information Systems Engineering Division

National Computer Systems Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

September 1989

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS &

TECHNOLOGY

Research Information Center

Gakhersbui^, MD 20899

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Robert A. Mosbacher, Secretary

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS

AND TECHNOLOGY

Raymond G. Kammer, Acting Director

my

Nisr
Reports on Computer Systems Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (formerly the National Bureau of Standards)

has a unique responsibility for computer systems technology within the Federal government. NIST's

National Computer Systems Laboratory (NCSL) develops standards and guidelines, provides technical

assistance, and conducts research for computers and related telecommunications systems to achieve more effective utilization of Federal information technology resources. NCSL's responsibilities include

development of technical, management, physical, and administrative standards and guidelines for the

cost-effective security and privacy of sensitive unclassified information processed in Federal computers.

NCSL assists agencies in developing security plans and in improving computer security awareness training. This Special Publication 500 series reports NCSL research and guidelines to Federal agencies as well as to organizations in industry, government, and academia.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-600755

National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 500-1 67

Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Spec. Publ. 500-167, 174 pages (Sept. 1989)

CODEN: NSPUE2

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON: 1989

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402
PREFACE

This report constitutes the proceedings of a 3 day

workshop on Information Management Directions held in Fort

Lauderdale, Florida on October 31 - November 2, 1988. The

workshop was the fifth in the Information Management

Directions series (formerly called Data Base Directions)

sponsored by the National Computer Systems Laboratory of the

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

,

formerly the National Bureau of Standards, in cooperation

with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) , the

Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) , and the Federal Data Management

Users Group.

The first workshop in this series was Data Base Directions; The Next Steps , held in October, 1975. It addressed

the question: "What information about database technology

does a manager need to make prudent decisions about using

this new technology?"

The second workshop, Data Base Directions; The Conversion Problem ^ was held in November, 1977. It addressed the

questions; "What information can help a manager assess the

impact a conversion will have on a database system?" and

"what aid will a database system be during a conversion?"

The third workshop. Data Base Directions; Information

Resource Management—Strategies and Tools , was held in

October, 1980. It considered information management tools

from the standpoints of; uses; policies and controls;

logical and physical database design.

The fourth workshop. Data Base Directions; Information

Resource Management—Making It Work , was held in October,

1985. It assessed the nature of information resource

management practice and problems, and reported on solutions

that have proven workable.

The fifth workshop, called Information Management

Directions; The Integration Challenge , is the subject of

this report. This workshop focused on issues related to

integration and productivity.

The workshop divided into five working groups to consider: (1) the integration of knowledge and data management,

(2) the integration of technical and business data management, (3) the integration of systems planning, development,

and maintenance tools and methods, (4) the integration of

heterogeneous computing environments, and (5) architectures

-iii-
and standards. Each group prepared a draft report that was

then put into final form by the proceedings editors.

Because the participants in the workshop drew on their

personal experiences, they sometimes cited specific vendors

and commercial products. The inclusion or omission of a

particular company or product does not imply either endorsement or criticism by NIST.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of all those who

made the workshop a success.

Elizabeth Fong, Editor

Alan Goldfine, Editor

-iv-

,1
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ix

ABSTRACT 1

1. INTRODUCTION: THE PARADOX OF INTEGRATION 2

2. KEYNOTE ADDRESS 7

3. THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT . . 9

3.1 INTRODUCTION 10

3.2 BENEFITS OF KNOWLEDGE BASE MANAGEMENT 10

3.3 INTEGRATION OF AI AND DBMS TO ACHIEVE

KNOWLEDGE BASE MANAGEMENT 13

3.3.1 Bridging 13

3.3.2 Extension 15

3.3.3 Integration 17

3.4 GLOBAL INTEGRATION IMPEDIMENTS 19

3.4.1 Existing Investments in Applications 19

3.4.2 Different Application Development Cultures . . 19

3.4.3 Different Application Development

Methodologies and Tools 20

3.4.4 Lack of Trained Personnel 20

3.4.5 Need for Definition of New Jobs,

Rules, and Organizations 20

3.5 REFERENCES FOR CHAPTER 3 21

3.6 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING 2 3

4. THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS

DATA MANAGEMENT 2 8

4.1 INTRODUCTION 29

4.2 BASIC FINDINGS 30

4.2.1 Characteristics of the Data 30

4.2.2 Organizational Considerations 31

4.2.3 Project Life Cycles 33

4.2.4 Integration Metrics 35

4.3 THE INTEGRATION PROBLEM 3 6

4.3.1 Differences in the Nature of Business and

Technical Data 3 6

4.3.2 Differences in Business and Technical Systems 39

4.3.3 Differences of Maturity in Business and

Technical Methodologies 41

4.3.4 Organizational and Cultural Issues 41

4.4 PROCESS TO ACHIEVE INTEGRATION 4 3

4.4.1 Establishing Goals for an Integration Effort . 43

4.4.2 Formulating an Integration Plan 44

4.4.3 Developing an Integration Strategy 45

4.4.4 Iteration and Incremental Refinement 47

4.4.5 Organizational Commitment and Participation . 47

-V-
4.4.6 A Note on Conflict Goals 48

4.5 METRICS OF INTEGRATION 48

4.5.1 Introduction 48

4.5.2 Data Metrics 49

4.5.3 System Metrics 52

4.5.4 Organizational Metrics 53

4.5.5 Cost/Benefit Metrics ..... 55

4.6 END RESULTS OF INTEGRATION 56

4.6.1 Assumption and a Model 57

4.6.2 Final Results of Integration 58

4.6.3 System Considerations to Achieve the Results

of Integration 59

4.7 FUTURE ISSUES . 61

5. THE INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT,

AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS 63

5.1 INTRODUCTION 64

5.2 APPROACH 64

5.2.1 Adoption of a Framework as the Basis for

Discussion 64

5.2.2 Definition of Integration 67

5.2.3 Integration Questions 70

5.2.4 Work Structure 70

5.3 OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 71

5.3.1 Value and Obstacles Questions 71

5.3.2 Methods and Tools Question 77

5.3.3 Sociological Questions 81

5.4 HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION: BUSINESS MODEL ROW ... 83

5.4.1 Introduction 83

5.4.2 Value 83

5.4.3 Obstacles 84

5.4.4 Methods and Tools 85

5.4.5 Sociological Implications 85

5.5 HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION: INFORMATION SYSTEM

MODEL ROW 86

5.5.1 Characterization of the Information

Systems Row 86

5.5.2 Value 86

5.5.3 Obstacles 86

5.5.4 Methods and Tools 88

5.5.5 Sociological Implications . 88

5.6 HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGY MODEL ROW ... 89

5.6.1 Value 89

5.6.2 Obstacles 90

5.6.3 Methods and Tools 90

5.6.4 Sociological Implications 91

5.6.5 Other Issues 91

5.7 VERTICAL INTEGRATION: DATA COLUMN 92

5.7.1 What Belongs in the "Data" Column? 92

5.7.2 What is Integration? (Some Views) 93

5.7.3 Content of Each of the Cells 94

5.7.4 Value 95

-vi-
5.7.5 Obstacles 95

5.7.6 Methods and Tools 97

5.7.7 Sociological Implications 98

5.8 VERTICAL INTEGRATION: FUNCTION COLUMN 99

5.8.1 Function Column Definitions 99

5.8.2 Program of Work 99

5.8.3 Value 99

5.8.4 Obstacles 100

5.8.5 Methods and Tools 101

5.8.6 Sociological Implications 102

5.9 VERTICAL INTEGRATION: NETWORK COLUMN 103

5.9.1 Introduction 103

5.9.2 Value 104

5.9.3 Obstacles 105

5.9.4 Methods and Tools 105

5.9.5 Sociological Implications 105

5.10 ENTERPRISE-WIDE INTEGRATION: DATA CELLS .... 106

5.10.1 Dimensions of Integration 106

5.10.2 General Comments 107

5.10.3 Value 107

5.10.4 Obstacles 108

5.10.5 Methods and Tools 109

5.10.6 Sociological Implications 109

5.10.7 Re: "Database Design Model" 109

5.11 INTRA-CELL INTEGRATION: PROCESS CELLS 110

5.11.1 Value 110

5.11.2 Obstacles Ill

5.11.3 Methods and Tools Ill

5.11.4 Sociological Implications 112

5.12 INTRA-CELL INTEGRATION: NETWORK CELLS 112

5.12.1 Introduction 112

5.12.2 Some Characteristics of the Cells by Level . 113

5.12.3 Issues 118

5.12.4 Value 118

5.12.5 Obstacles 119

5.12.6 Methods and Tools 119

5.12.7 Sociological Implications 120

5.13 POSTSCRIPT 120

5.14 REFERENCE FOR CHAPTER 5 122

6. THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING

ENVIRONMENTS 123

6.1 INTRODUCTION 124

6.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT 124

6.3 COMPONENT AUTONOMY AND COUPLING 127

6.4 ARCHITECTURES FOR INTEGRATING HETEROGENEOUS

COMPONENTS 129

6.4.1 The Role of the Meta-Model and the Schema . .13 0

6.4.2 Integration (Glue) Services 131

6.5 CONCLUSIONS 13 3

7. ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS 135

-vii-
7.1 OVERVIEW 136

7.2 LEVELS OF ARCHITECTURE 136

7.3 PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ARCHITECTURE 142

7.3.1 Guiding Decisions . 142

7.3.2 Managing Change 143

7.3.3 Improving Communications 143

7.4 BENEFITS AND RISKS 144

7.4.1 Consistency with Business Planning 144

7.4.2 Communication Within the Organization .... 146

7.4.3 Cost or Economic Impact 149

8. PARTICIPANTS , 151

r

-viii-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On October 31 - November 2, 1988, the National Computer

Systems Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards

and Technology, formerly the National Bureau of Standards,

in cooperation with the Association for Computing Machinery

Special Interest Group on Management of Data, the IEEE

Computer Society Technical Committee on Database Engineering, and the Federal Data Management Users Group, held the

fifth in the series of Information Management Directions

(formerly called Data Base Directions) workshops. The

purpose of these workshops is to examine in depth key trends

and strategies that affect the future of the information

management profession. The focus of Workshop 5 was on

issues related to integration and productivity.

The need for Integration has become a challenge for the

information management profession. The dictionary definition of "integration" is "the condition of being formed

into a whole by the addition or combination of parts or

elements." The aspect of integration that was covered in

this workshop related to the formation of the "whole"

information management discipline through the addition or

combination of the various related technologies.

The workshop was organized into five working groups,

which met to discuss:

o the integration of knowledge and data management

o the integration of technical and business data management

o the integration of systems planning, development, and

maintenance tools and methods

o the integration of distributed, heterogeneous computing environments

o architectures and standards.

The keynote speaker, Tom DeMarco of the Atlantic Systems

Guide, spoke on "Standardization: An Oblique View."

DeMarco claimed that standards do more harm than good when

they work against the prevailing culture, and that the

essence of standardization is discovery, not innovation.

The Integration of Knowledge and Data Management

During the last several years, the information industry

has experienced a gradual convergence of artificial

-ix-
intelligence and database management. This panel, chaired

by Robert Curtice of Arthur D. Little, was charged with

discussing the factors underlying this convergence, and

examining the implications of the convergence for the next

generation of application systems and databases. The

perspective was to be that of both the users and the

builders of these future applications.

The panel identified some approaches to integrate

artificial intelligence technology and database management

technology to achieve knowledge base management. The

advantages and disadvantages of each approach were analyzed.

The panel examined the implications of the convergence,

and concluded that there are impediments to the integration

of knowledge and database management. The global integration impediments identified were: existing investments in

applications, different application development cultures,

different application development methodologies and tools,

lack of trained personnel, and the need for definition of

new jobs, roles, and organizations.

The Integration of Technical and Business Data Manacfement

The manufacturing industry has traditionally separated

technical data and business data. However, during the last

half decade there has been increasing pressure to integrate

technical and business data into a common data management

environment. This panel, chaired by T.N. Bernstein of the

U.S. Air Force, was charged with examining the key issues

related to building a common environment for the management

of technical and business data.

The panel first considered the integration problem in

terms of differences in the nature of data, differences in

the nature of systems, differences in maturity of methodologies, and organizational and cultural issues.

The panel developed a step-by-step process to achieve

integration. The process starts with establishing goals for

an integration effort and formulating an integration plan.

In developing an integration strategy, standardization is

one of the principal tools and, where possible, standards,

guidelines, and conventions should be used. The process

requires iteration and incremental refinement, and finally a

"public relations" program to inform, educate, and solicit

the cooperation of all affected members of the organization.

In answering the question, "what benefits can the user

expect to gain from the integration of technical and

business data management?" the panel proposed a set of

-x-
metrics to assess the real impact of an integration project

on the corporation.

The panel used a framework to point out both the end

results of the integration process and the system considerations for achieving those results. Finally, the panel

provided a prognosis of what is likely to emerge in the near

future that will affect the possible end results of integration.

The Intecfration of Systems Planning. Development, and

Maintenance Tools and Methods

Hundreds of methodologies and automated tools have been

developed to support the many different tasks involved in

systems planning, development, and maintenance. For the

most part, these methods and tools were developed independently, but true productivity in information management can

only come from an effective integration of specific methods

and tools in specific environments. This panel, chaired by

John Zachman of IBM, was charged with discussing the basic

issues surrounding the selection and integration of tools

and methods to achieve overall productivity.

The panel used a framework to serve as a basis for

discussion. This framework consists of a matrix whose

columns represent Data, Process, and Network, and whose rows

represent Objectives, Business Models, Information Systems

Models, Technology Models, Detailed Representations, and

Functioning Systems. The eighteen cells of this matrix

provided the general focus for analyzing information systems

architecture. Integration was then analyzed according to

three perspectives: horizontal integration, across specific

rows of the matrix; vertical integration, across specific

columns; and intra-cellular integration, across the entire

scope of the enterprise from the perspective of a single

cell.

The panel concluded that current information systems are

dis- integrating, not integrating. Only through integration

is it possible to achieve advances in productivity, asset

leverage, quality, flexibility for assimilating changes, and

so on.

The Integration of Heterogeneous Computing Environments

The current computing environment in most businesses can

be defined as being distributed and heterogeneous. During

the last decade, telecommunications technology has evolved

to make it possible to link these heterogeneous machines and

their resident applications and databases to one another.

However, the overall objective is not just to establish

-xi-
telecommunications links among various machines and databases to enable them to talk to one another. It is to

establish an environment that is transparent to users, and

that provides them with real-time access to data wherever

and however it is stored. This requires the development of

a new kind of integration technology, centered around data

management. This panel, chaired by Sandra Heiler of Xerox

Advanced Information Technology, was charged with discussing

the problems of information integration, focusing primarily

on semantic issues, and with reviewing the mechanisms for

producing federated systems.

The panel explored various aspects of heterogeneity in

computing environments and considered various models of

integration that range from loose coupling of autonomous

components to tight coupling or "integrated" systems.

The panel then presented an architecture for federated

systems that comprise heterogeneous components, focusing

first on the meta-model and schema, then on integration

services that must be provided outside the local systems.

The panel concluded that integration is based on agreements between participants in a federation. The group felt

that physical integration is a nearly solved problem because

formal methods of specifying agreements at this level exist.

However, logical integration is much harder because there

are no formalisms for expressing semantics. More research

is needed in meta-models, but perhaps some candidates are

the object/function models.

The panel also concluded that the appropriate mode of

coupling systems is probably not at the extremes of loose or

tight coupling, but some place in the middle. Integration

services for loosely coupled systems consist of providing

generic facilities while allowing components to remain

autonomous. Integration services for tightly coupled

systems must be based on knowledge of the internals of

specific components.

Architectures and Standards

This panel, chaired by W. Bradford Rigdon of McDonnell

Douglas Information Systems, was charged with addressing the

role of architectures and standards in supporting information management throughout an enterprise.

The panel first identified five levels of architecture:

business unit, information, information system, data, and

delivery system. The panel then discussed the problems,

benefits and risks to an enterprise of an architecture, and
developed some specific examples of standards within

different levels of the architecture.

The panel concluded that standards should be used to

implement and enforce the architecture. There is not a single correct way to develop an architecture or implement

standards for every enterprise; they must be customized to

the environment.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DIRECTIONS:

THE INTEGRATION CHALLENGE

Elizabeth N. Fong

Alan H. Goldfine

Editors

ABSTRACT

This report constitutes the results of a 3 day workshop

on the integration challenge of information management, held

in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on October 31 to November 2,

1988. The workshop was sponsored by the National Computer

Systems Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST) , formerly the National Bureau of

Standards (NBS) , in cooperation with the Association for

Computing Machinery (ACM) , the Computer Society of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

,

and the Federal Data Management Users Group.

This workshop was the fifth in the Information Management

Directions series (formerly called Data Base Directions).

The purpose of these workshops is to examine, in depth, key

trends and strategies that affect the future of the information management profession. The focus of this fifth

workshop was on issues related to integration and productivity.

The 72 workshop participants were organized into five

working panels, which met to discuss the integration of

knowledge and data management; the integration of technical

and business data management; the integration of systems

planning, development, and maintenance tools and methods;

the integration of distributed, heterogeneous computing

environments; and architectures and standards for information management.

Key words: architecture; database; database management;

DBMS; distributed; information management; integration;

knowledge base; standards.

-1-
Chapter 1 —INTRODUCTION

1. INTRODUCTION: THE PARADOX OF INTEGRATION

Daniel Appleton

GENERAL CHAIRMAN

Biographical Sketch

Daniel S. Appleton is Chairman and CEO of D. Appleton

Company, Inc. (DACOM) . He specializes in industrial

modernization and data resource management.

Since founding DACOM in 1979, Mr. Appleton has

continued to play a leadership role in defining the

sociological and technological issues related to

managing information as a true enterprise asset. His

conceptualization and systemization of Information

Asset Management (lAM) —which focuses on data as the

quintessential information asset—has received worldwide acclaim from the highest levels of management to

line operatives, as well as in academic circles. It

has also been broadly accepted throughout the manufacturing industry where modernization of information

management is crucial to business survival.

As a result of his practical thinking, Mr. Appleton

has been personally influential in formulating many

IRM and CIM programs for Fortune 500 businesses and

for structuring several significant programs, including:

o The Department of Defense Computer-Aided

Acquisition and Logistics Support (CALS)

initiative

o The U.S. Air Force Integrated Computer-Aided

Manufacturing (ICAM) Program

o The Computer and Automated Systems Association

(CASA) of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers

Mr. Appleton has published numerous technical papers

and articles, and he is the most published author in

Datamation magazine, having had more than 20 articles

published. He is a world recognized lecturer on IRM

and manufacturing modernization.

-2-
Chapter 1 —INTRODUCTION

"Every complex system," say Briggs and Peat in their book

Turbulent Mirror, "is a changing part of a greater whole, a nesting of larger and larger wholes leading eventually to

the most complex dynamical system of all, the system that

ultimately encompasses whatever we mean by order and

chaos—the universe itself."

This observation, despite its metaphysical overtones,

describes the foundation of the dilemma we know as integration. There is an assumption, based on the intuitive

acceptance of complex systems as constituent parts of an

integrated universe, that integration is good. It keeps the

universe together. Not only is it good, it is inevitable.

It is the natural end game of a universe that is constantly

struggling to keep itself whole.

This notion, of course, flies in the face of quantum

physics which, since its beginnings in 1900, has made a

habit of thrashing Newtonian mechanics. Newtonian mechanics

assumes that the universe is simply a vast integrated

algorithm, all of the functions and variables of which are

calmly working their way with us. At the foundation of

quantum physics is the second law of thermodynamics, which

states that entropy increase is irreversible. To put it

another way, quantum physics rests on the assumption that

the universe is not struggling to maintain its natural

condition as an integrated whole; it is committed to a

course of self-destruction; it is dis-integrating

.

Is integration a natural state of the affairs of the

universe, or is it an unnatural condition? This is the

essence of the integration paradox. The resolution to this

paradox lies in the reality that it takes energy to maintain

or to establish the condition of integration. Thus, we have

a situation where we are constantly forced to exert energy

to sustain or create integration. If we are to do this,

there must be some reason for exerting this energy, some

reason whose benefits outweigh the costs of the energy

itself. In other words, since integration has a cost, it

must have a greater benefit, or else it will not occur.

What is the benefit of integration? Well, historically

we have seen integration as a condition of orderliness.

Things that are dis-integrated are also dis-orderly and

chaotic. Chaos in business is expensive. Integration,

therefore, is an economically motivated business objective.

And it is expensive, because it must occur in a universe

-3-
Chapter 1 —INTRODUCTION

which, because of the second law of thermodynamics, is

hostile to integration.

"Information technology is a misnomer." "Information

technologies" are what we have. In fact, we have a blizzard

of technologies, with no effective means of ordering them.

These technologies are wholes unto themselves. They are not

parts of a whole. They are, in fact, dis-integrated, and

the growing business perception is that this condition is

becoming chaotic. Every corporation on this earth is

struggling to create a new order out of the chaos of disintegrated information technologies. And, this new order is

expensive. It is not the natural state of affairs. The

integration of information technologies into a coherent

information management strategy for business is something

that must be justified on its benefits; i.e., the reduction

of chaos. It is natural, therefore, that this workshop be

dedicated to the issue of the integration of information

technologies.

But, why do we need a general workshop on information

technology integration? Aren't the vendors of these

technologies seeking an integrated solution? Can't we just

wait until the integrated solution is ready for us to buy?

NO! Technology vendors feed on a condition of disorderliness because the alternative—order—preconditions

the process of selection. This preconditioning is an

economic promise to us, and an economic threat to many

vendors.

The raison d'etre of the National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST) is to facilitate the maintenance of

order through the sponsorship of standards activities. NIST

also has in its charter the challenge of stimulating the

development of new technologies. It is a fine balance that

must be maintained between the development of new technologies and the integration of those technologies into economic

investment alternatives for businesses. This fine balance

is nowhere more evident than in the area of information

technology.

The purpose of the Information Management Directions

workshop was to approach the issue of integrating information technologies into a comprehensive structure. The

outcome of the workshop was the determination that integration, itself, is a technology. But, it is not just a technology in the sense of bits and bytes; it is also a

management technology. Further, this workshop concluded

-4-
Chapter 1 —INTRODUCTION

that the natural foundation for the integration of information technologies into a comprehensive information management strategy for business revolves around a single common

denominator: data. Data, it turns out, is the common

structure that underlies the bits and bytes technology and

the management technology of the integrated information

environment. It is the foundation of integration technologyThe Information Management Directions workshop was

comprised of working groups that examined both aspects of

integration: 1) bits and bytes, and 2) management. The

bits and bytes issues were studied by: the panel on the

Integration of Heterogeneous Computing Environments; the

Integration of Technical and Business Data Management panel;

and the panel on the Integration of Knowledge and Data

Management. The management side of integration technology

was examined by the Integration of Systems Planning,

Development, and Maintenance Tools and Methods panel and the

Architectures and Standards panel

While these panels operated somewhat autonomously, they

were, in fact, integrated. The integrated conclusions are

very revealing. They are as follows:

1. While the technologies under study are disparate in

their origins and objectives, they contain many

elements in common. Technical data management and

business data management, for example, while seemingly

different technologies, share solution logics that are

greatly similar. The same is true of expert systems

and data management technology.

2. The solution logics in all of these technologies come

together at the level of data management. Data, it

seems, is a common denominator of all information

technology.

3. The shift from technological solutions based on

disparate problem definitions to solutions based on

common technological elements represents a major

paradigm shift in the world of information management.

The new paradigm is, in a sense, the "industrialization of information technology."

4. The common data management technology that can be

exploited to integrate technical, business, and

knowledge base information technologies appears to be

-5-
Chapter 1 —INTRODUCTION

what began as "relational data management" and is

evolving into what has become known as "object

oriented data management." These distinct data

management technologies provide a common denominator

for business computing, technical computing, and

expert systems, and they also provide the common

structure necessary for dealing with distributed,

heterogeneous computing.

5. The focus on data management as the driver of information technology integration and the new information

technology paradigm that it represents cannot be

implemented without a major shift in the methodologies, and consequently the CASE tools, used by

businesses for application planning, development, and

maintenance. This shift requires a focus more on the

"data driven" approach.

6. Architectures define an integrated end state vision

for information technology within a specific business

context. Standards are the harbingers of integration

and at the same time they are an essential element of

integration. Standards are the bridge among architectures, information technology, and applications

management

Like the universe, information technology began with a

Big Bang. Like the universe, information technology has

been expanding at the speed of light. Like the universe,

information technology is locked in a life and death

struggle with the inexorable force of entropy increase.

And, like the universe, information technology can only

survive if we expend energy to maintain and create order and

structure. This means integration.

-6-
Chapter 2—-KEYNOTE ADDRESS

2. KEYNOTE ADDRESS

STANDARDIZATION (AN OBLIQUE VIEW) (Abstract)

Tom DeMarco

Biographical Sketch

Tom DeMarco is a principal and founder of the Atlantic

Systems Guild of New York. He was the winner of the

1986 Warnier Prize for lifetime contribution to the

field of computing and software.

His most recent work is PEOPLEWARE; Productive

Projects and Teams (with co-author Tim Lister)

published by Dorset House. He is also the author of

Structured Analysis and System Specification (Prentice

Hall, 1982), and of more than ninety articles and

papers about management and the system development

process

Mr. DeMarco 's career began at Bell Telephone Laboratories where he served as part of the now-legendary

ESS-1 project. In later years, he managed real-time

projects for La CEGOS Informatique in France, and was

responsible for distributed on-line banking systems

installed in Sweden, Holland, France, and Finland. He

has lectured and consulted throughout the Americas,

Europe, Australia, and the Far East.

Mr. DeMarco is the current president of MODUS, the

Modula-2 Users Society. He has a BSEE degree from

Cornell University, an MS from Columbia University and

a diplome from the University of Paris at the Sorbonne.

-7-
Chapter 2—KEYNOTE ADDRESS

1. "A new technology is half of a good thing ..." the other

half is an accepting sociology. Technical innovation

frequently fails or fails to achieve its promise because

the accepting sociology is not there.

2 . Standards do more harm than good when they work against

the prevailing culture.

3. Excessive documentation is the most evident failure of

standards, "Documentation is more often part of the

problem than part of the solution." Our obsession with

textual documentation adds costs, early binding, and

excessive human drudgery to the life cycle.

4. Documentary standards tend to be cumulative: A new

method imposed adds to the documentation burden; old

documentation standards are carried along, unexamined.

The impact of CASE: we add a picture to the documentation, but forget to remove the thousand words.

5. Any standard that adds to the documentation burden is

likely to be counter-productive. Call for "Zero-Based

Documentation." Two goals to strive for: 1) a document

that won't be updated shouldn't be written in the first

place; and 2) documentation should be a free or nearly

free by-product of the process itself (we need to learn

to live with the 'working documents' that the projects

generates naturally)

6. The standardizers ' dilemma: It's more amusing to

innovate than to look for, and call attention to, defacto standards. But the essence of standardization is

discovery, not innovation.

-8-
Chapter 3—-THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

3. THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Robert Curtice has been addressing problems in

information processing, systems architecture, and

database management for clients since he joined Arthur

D. Little, Inc. in 1966. His consulting assignments

have centered on the design methods, software, and

other technical and managerial issues arising in the

planning and development of database oriented computer

systems. Mr. Curtice has worked with manufacturing,

financial, transportation, utility, retail, and

service organizations in the development of database

plans and applications.

Mr. Curtice was the General Chairman of the fourth

workshop in this series. Data Base Directions:

Information Resource Management—Making It Work, in

1985.

He is the author of Standards and Procedures for the

Data Base Administration Functions . Strategic Value

Analysis; A Modern Approach to Systems and Data

Planning , and is the co-author of Logical Data Base

Design. Second Edition .

Robert Curtice

CHAIRMAN

Biographical Sketch

PARTICIPANTS

Susan Blair

Don Libes

Richard J. Mayer

Prasad Nair

Marlene A. Palmer

Tim Rau

Robert S. Rosenzweig

Stanley Y. W. Su

Alvin Underbrink

9-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

3 . 1 INTRODUCTION

Data management technology has been a part of the

mainstream of information systems activities for many years.

Generalized database management systems (DBMS) have been in

commercial use for two decades. Research and development

efforts in the data management arena continue to produce new

concepts and products, (e.g., relational databases, distributed databases, semantic databases, object oriented databases) . Research and development in artificial intelligence (AI)

has progressed in a parallel, yet distinct, fashion from

data management technology. One definition of AI is that it

is concerned with automating work previously done by people,

by emulating human problem-solving behavior [FEI63].

Examples include duplication of natural skills (e.g., speech

and pattern recognition) , improved information systems

development (use of AI technology) , and duplication of

learned skills and expertise (e.g., expert systems).

Recently, workers in the two fields of data management

and artificial intelligence have discovered common ground

and begun to identify a new area of endeavor: knowledge base

management.

A knowledge base management system (KBMS) is a generalpurpose software system that provides not only the database

management functions provided by traditional database

management systems such as data modeling facilities, query

languages, transaction management, integrity and security

control, concurrency control, recovery, etc., but also

artificial intelligence systems functions such as knowledge

representation techniques, deductive problem solving

capabilities, enhanced user interfaces, explanation facilities, reasoning capabilities, etc. It is a new technology

yet to be developed and is the result of integrating

database and AI technologies. Many advanced applications

such as computer aided software engineering (CASE) , office

automation, and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) can

benefit from this new technology.

3.2 BENEFITS OF KNOWLEDGE BASE MANAGEMENT

Benefits and uses of knowledge base management are

understood within the broader context of information
Chapter 3 —THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

systems. All useful information systems involve encoded

human knowledge that takes the form of:

o data

o decision rules

o operations

in the commonly understood meaning of these terms. The

distinction between knowledge base and more traditional

information systems is then one of degree rather than

absolute. For example, knowledge base systems are more

likely to

o contain generalized inference processors in order to

exhibit complex human behavior

o be capable of recounting the inferences by which a result was arrived at

o be able to learn (self adaptive)

o involve heuristics, iterative search, and trial-anderror techniques

o be based on an explicit model of human behavior

o be able to determine inconsistencies not previously

thought of.

The knowledge base itself consists of

o stored data

o operations

o inference rules

and the knowledge base management systems provide facilities

for specifying and manipulating these objects. Both objectoriented database management systems and AI shells exhibit

some of the characteristics of complete knowledge base

management systems. Figure 3-1 provides a comparison of

some of the key facilities of a KBMS, and indicates which of

them are typically provided by traditional DBMS software,

object-oriented systems, and AI shells.

-11-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

KBMS

Loops?

Statice-Joshua

OSAM

Al

Shell DC 03 < ^

Object Oriented DBMS

Gemstone

V-Base

DBMS DB2

Oracle

Software System

acility

to

define

and

manipulate

tored

Data

Uegrity/Security

Constraints

ser

Defined

Operations

and

Data

Types

pplication

Constraints

iference

Rules

and

Engines

ther

Al

Features

C/5 ZD < O

Figure 3-1

-12-
Chapter 3 —THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Use of the complete facilities of a knowledge base

management system will have the following benefits over more

traditional approaches:

o increased application functionality

o cost savings to the business function supported

o reduced application development cost

o shortened implementation times

o improved application maintainability.

3.3 INTEGRATION OF AI AND DBMS TO ACHIEVE KNOWLEDGE BASE

MANAGEMENT

Several approaches for merging AI and DBMS technologies

have been proposed [GAL83], [BR084], [JAR84b] , [VAS85] and

[WHA87]. They are the bridging approach, the extension

approach and the integration approach.

3.3.1 Bridging

This approach, illustrated in figure 3-2, establishes an

interface (or bridge) between an existing DBMS and an

existing inference system so that the functions provided by

these two independently implemented systems can be combined

and used to establish a KBMS. The DBMS is used to manage a

database of facts or assertions (i.e., the extensional

database) and the inference system is used to manage and

manipulate deductive rules (i.e., the intensional database)

in problem solving. Good examples of this approach can be

found in [KEL82], [JAR84a] and [KEL84].

The main advantage of this approach is that it makes use

of what is already available. The only software that needs

to be developed is the interface between two existing

systems. This approach is also particularly useful in many

real-world environments in which many data and rule bases

have already been established in the existing systems. It

provides a simple and convenient way for accessing the

available "knowledge" that has been captured by these

systems.

-13-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Figure 3-2

9-14-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

This approach also has a number of disadvantages. One

disadvantage lies in the fact that there are two different

knowledge representations, one for facts and one for rules.

Conversion or translation of semantic contents between two

systems is necessary and system efficiency can become a

serious issue. The second disadvantage relates also to

efficiency considerations. Since an inference plan in an

inference process is created using the intensional database

and is verified using the extensional database, ping-ponging

between two systems by frequent program calls will take

place. This may generate a considerable amount of overhead.

The third disadvantage stems from the fact that two systems

are functionally independent. As a result, the expressive

power of rule specification in the inference system is

limited by the rule specification language used (e.g.,

predicates or horn clauses) . It is not possible, for

example, to use the full power of a high-level query

language to define the condition or consequent part of a deductive rule.

Lastly, functional separation between two systems may

require that some of the functions be duplicated in both

systems. For example, it was pointed out in [KEL84] that

aggregation operations (e.g.. Sum, Count, Average, Maximum

and Minimum) that are commonly available in a DBMS and are

useful in rule specifications, cannot be used to operate on

deduced facts in an inference engine and thus have to be

duplicated in both systems.

3.3.2 Extension

This approach, illustrated in figure 3-3, implements a

KBMS by extending either a DBMS or an AI system to include

the functionalities of the other. For example, one can

enhance a DBMS with deductive and triggering power as

demonstrated in [ST083], [WON84] and [ST084] or enhance a

logic programming system with database facilities [WAR84].

The advantage of this approach is similar to the bridging

approach. It takes advantage of an existing system to build

the desired KBMS. Although this approach may achieve some

of the necessary functionalities of a KBMS, it is difficult

to extend an existing system to handle requirements that

were not considered in the original system design and

implementation. The resulting system may not be as wellstructured, reliable and efficient as it could have been if

the KBMS had been built from scratch.

-15-
Chapter 3~-THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

oa mam c

><

LU

O

ca

o

a.

a.

<

c

o

c5

Ui

CO

Q

0)

nc ne

Q)

'C5) Q) c

LU C

CDo

CD C

CD

Q

COE

CD +-

W

COD)C

V-

00x

CDc

o

'5

DQ

CO

CDO)

CO f—

£=CO>

<

COE

CD -—

CO>%

COc

•*—

CO "x

CD

"D

O

E

o

Q

o

CO0

D)

CO +—

c

CO>

"a

CO

CO

CDD)

CO sz

*—

c

CDE

frt c—

CD CD Z3

•*—

"5

CD a- -t—

0)

o

>^ CO

COE E

0

c

»—

CO o >.

'1—

CO CO o

D)

CD

-*—

O

Figure 3-3

-16-
Chapter 3--THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

3.3.3 Integration

This approach, illustrated in figure 3-4, aims to

integrate the required DBMS and AI functions in a new KBMS

system architecture in which redundant functions can be

avoided and data and rules can be better organized and more

efficiently accessed. In this approach, integration can

take place both at the representation level and the functional level. Integration at the representation level means

that the KBMS provides a uniform representation framework

for defining facts and rules.

For example, the object-oriented paradigm is used in

[WIE83], [KER84], and [WIE84], to define the structures,

operations, and knowledge rules of the object classes of an

integrated knowledge base. In [SUSS], [RAS87] and [RAS88],

a knowledge manipulation language is used for specifying

both the users' queries and knowledge rules. At both

compilation time and run time, rules can be activated to

modify a user's query and be included as part of a transaction. Thus, the traditional techniques of a query processing, query optimization, and transaction management can be

used for rule processing as well.

Furthermore, the full expressive power of a knowledge

manipulation language can be used to express complex

knowledge rules. Also, knowledge rules are naturally

distributed among the object classes in a class lattice so

that rules relevant to the objects in these classes are

readily available when the objects are being processed.

They are considered as an integral part of the object class

definition.

Integration at the functional level means that operations

for processing data and rules are functionally integrated so

that functional redundancy can be avoided. Also, operations

on data and rules can be intermixed. This is important

since both forward and backward reasonings require intimate

interaction between facts and rules.

The main disadvantage of the integration approach is that

it cannot make use of any existing software. A new KBMS has

to be developed from scratch.

-17-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

T3

O

(D

O

(0

o

Q.

<

£

Ouwam "(5

o

03CO D

CO

(/) CDO

o

QD

CJ

CT3 O

Q.

Q.

CO D

Q)

M

'E3

0)

D)

CO

-f—

CO>

ID

<

H—

X2

13 Q0)

CO

COQ

O

o

CO

a;

UJ

o

O

CO

CO

CD

C

COCO

CDo

o

c:CD

0)

_C0

"cO>

CO

CO

CD

CO

CO

-t—

CO Q

X3

CD Q

COo

0)

CD JD

-—

COE

CO

Q)

COc

o

•f—

CO

•4—

c:CDE

0)

Q.

E

_C0

"cO>

CO

CD LL

CO

CDD)

CO

*-> C

CO>DCO

CO

7Dd

CO

CO

-»—

CO D

O)

COx

LJJ

Figure 3-4

-18-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

3.4 GLOBAL INTEGRATION IMPEDIMENTS

Five major areas have been identified as impediments to

the integration of knowledge and database management:

o existing investments in applications

o different application development cultures

o different application development methodologies and

tools

o lack of trained personnel

o need for definition of new jobs, roles, and organizations .

3.4.1 Existing Investments in Applications

The investment in applications using current database

management systems is enormous. Even moving an existing

application from one DBMS to another cannot be undertaken

lightly. Converting a major application running under IMS

to a relational database management system is only undertaken after a penetrating analysis of the need and the

economics of the opportunities; the effort is not trivial.

3.4.2 Different Application Development Cultures

AI solutions have usually attacked specific tasks from a

"stand alone" point of view; information system professionals have come to address more and more "total system"

solutions where components of the system work in concert and

data is shared and not redundantly introduced. The system

developers' increasing use of prototyping techniques, and

the integration of them as components of large systems,

should help prepare the information systems professional to

think in terms of integrated knowledge base management

systems. The users of the current AI and expert system

technologies are increasingly participating in the development of information systems.

-19-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

3.4.3 Different Application Development Methodolocries and

Tools

Current information resource dictionary systems (IRDSs)

do not directly support the development of knowledge base

applications. Their primary concern is to isolate the data

and data structures required by the applications. The

operations and inference rules and their manipulation, which

have historically been imbedded into the application, can

now be externalized through the use of specialized software

such as generalized expert systems. There are as yet no

design guidelines that help the application developer decide

where information should be stored, i.e., when should

information be stored as inference rules, data, operations,

or code. The current family of CASE tools is not geared

toward the concepts of KBMS. Until practical examples of

CASE tools addressing the issues emerge, there is not likely

to be an effort to design CASE tools for large application

development efforts under an integrated knowledge base

management system.

3.4.4 Lack of Trained Personnel

There are currently very few professionals who have

strong information systems backgrounds and have been

involved in knowledge base applications. This will begin to

change. The situation is similar to the emergence of office

systems and "stand alone" decision support systems. The

availability of work stations, the realization that there

are common data sources, and the acknowledgment that

networks of people solve problems and carry out activities,

drives toward integrated system solutions (loosely coupled)

In consequence, the necessary skill base gets developed in

solutions where accesses to extant databases are required

and the cost of redundant entry of information prevents

extending the use of the AX technologies.

3.4.5 Need for Definition of New Jobs, Rules, and

Organizations

Five areas have been identified requiring modified or new

definitions to support integrated knowledge base management

systems: data administration, database administration,

knowledge base administration, knowledge engineering, and

the user. In today's information systems environment, the

role of data administration and database administration is

-20-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

understood in terms of defining and managing the data needed

to model the objects of concern (business or other) and

performing functions using this data. In particular,

database administration is concerned with the organization

and sharing of the data. Depending on the sophistication of

the organization, the rules for the operations using the

data may be included in the data administration function.

The scope and authority of the positions depend on the

centrifugal and centripetal administrative forces throughout

the organization.

The users, or non-system professionals, would appear to

have a dominant role in determining where and how the

administration of data, operations, and inference rules

should take place; the systems professional would help to

define the system issues that must be addressed by knowledge

base administration. The clarification of the relationship

of knowledge engineering to systems analysis, and of both to

the user's role, needs to occur. In all these areas a lack

of understanding and clear definition of functions and

responsibility within the organization not only inhibits the

effective use of integrated knowledge and database management systems, it also exacerbates the struggle over turf.

3.5 REFERENCES FOR CHAPTER 3

[BR084] Brodie, M. L. , and Jarke, M. , "On Integrating Logic

Programming and Databases," Proceedings of the

First International Workshop on Expert Databases , October 1984.

[FEI63] Feigenbaum, E. A., and Feldman, J., Computers and

Thought . McGraw-Hill, New York, 1963.

[GAL83] Gallaire, H. , "Logic and Databases," Panel discussion, Proceedings of the International Joint

Conference on Artificial Intelligence , 1983.

[JAR84a] Jarke, M. , Clifford, J., and Vassiliou, Y., "An

Optimizing Prolog Front-end to a Relational Query

System," Proceedings of the ACM SIGMOD Conference . June 1984.

[JAR84b] Jarke, M. , and Vassiliou, Y. , "Coupling Expert

Systems and Database Management Systems," in

Artificial Intelligence Applications for Business,

Ablex, Norwood, NJ, 1984.
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

[KEL82] Kellogg, C. , "Knowledge Management: A Practical

Amalgam of Knowledge and Database Technology,"

Proceedings of the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence , Carnegie-Mellon University,

August 16-20, Pittsburgh, PA, 1982.

[KEL84] Kellogg, C. , Kogan, D. , Travis, L. , Van Buer, D.

and Whitney, R. , "Knowledge Management," submitted

to SIGART Special Issue on AI and Data Base

Research, 1984.

[KER84] Kerschberg, L. , and Shepherd, A., "Constraint

Management in Expert Database Systems," Proceedings

of the First International Workshop on Expert

Database Systems , October 1984.

[RAS87] Raschid, L. , The Design and Implementation Techniques for an Integrated Knowledge Base Management

System, Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Electrical Engineering, , University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 1987.

[RAS88] Raschid, L. , and Su, S.Y.W., "A Transaction

Oriented Mechanism to Control Processing in a

Knowledge Base Management System," Proceedings of

International Conference on Expert Database

Systems . April 1988.

[ST083] Stonebraker, M. , Woodfill, J., and Andersen, E.,

"Implementation of Rules in Relational Database

Systems," Database Engineering , Volume 6, Number 4,

December 1983.

[ST084] Stonebraker, M. , Kung, R. , Hanson, E., loannidis,

Y. , Sellis, T. , and Shapiro, L. , "Heuristic Search

in Database Systems," Proceedings of the First

International Workshop on Expert Database Systems , October 1984.

[SU85] Su, S.Y.W., and Raschid, L. , "Incorporating Knowledge Rules in a Semantic Data Model: An Approach

to Integrated Knowledge Management," Proceedings of

the AI Application Conference, Miami, FL, December

1985.

[VAS85] Vassiliou, Y. , "Integrating Database Management and

Expert Systems," Proceedings of the Conference on

-22-
Chapter 3 —THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Data Base Systems for Office, Engineering and

Science . Karlsruhe, West Germany, March 1985.

[WAR84] Warren, D.S., and Sciore, E., "Towards an Integrated Database-Prolog System," Proceedings of the

First International Workshop on Expert Database

Systems . October 1984.

[WHA87] Whang, K.Y., and Navathe, S.B., "An Extended

Dysjunctive Normal Form Approach for Processing

Recursive Logic Queries in Loosely Coupled Environments," IBM Technical Report . IBM Watson Research

Center, Yorktown Heights, New York, 1987.

[WIE83] Wiederhold, G. , Milton, J., and Sagalowicz, D. , "Applications of Artificial Intelligence in the

Knowledge-Based Management Systems Project,"

Database Engineering . Volume 6, Number 4, December

1983 .

[WIE84] Weiderhold, G. , and Missikoff, M. , "Towards a Unified Approach to Expert and Database Systems,"

Proceedings of the First International Workshop on

Expert Database Systems , October 1984.

[WON84] Wong, E., loannidis, Y., and Shinkle, L. , "Enhancing INGRES with Deductive Power," Proceedings of

the First International Workshop on Expert Database

Systems , October 1984.

3.6 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Database Technologies

Al-Zobaidie, A., and Crimson, J.B., "Expert Systems and

Database Systems: How Can they Serve Each Other?" Expert

Systems . Vol. 4, No. 1 (February 1987), pp. 30-37.

Bell, D.A. , "An Architecture for Integrating Data, Knowledge, and Information Bases," Informatics 8, Advances in

Intelligent Retrieval: Proceedings of a Conference

Jointly Sponsored by Aslib. the Aslib Informatics Group,

and the Information Retrieval Specialist Group of the

British Computer Society . Oxford, England, April 1985,

pp. 240-257, London, England, Aslib, 1985.

-23-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Gardarin, G. , and Gelenbe, E., eds . , New Applications of

Data Bases , London, England, Academic Press, 1984.

Guida, G. , and Tasso, C. , "An Expert Intermediary System for

Interactive Document Retrieval," Automatica . Vol. 13, No,

6 (1983) , pp. 759-766.

Hancock, P.A. , and Chignell, M.H., eds.. Intelligent Interfaces; Theory, Research, and Design , Amsterdam, North

Holland, 1989.

Harris, L.R. , "The Marriage of AI and Database Technology,"

AI Expert . Vol. 2, No. 3 (1989), pp. 7-8.

Hushon, J.M. , and Conry, T.J., "The Evolution of Gateway

Technology," Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on

Computer Interfaces and Intermediaries for Information

Retrieval, Boston, MA, May 1986 . Office of Information

Systems and Technology, Defense Technical Information

Center, Alexandria, VA, 1986, pp. 181-201.

Jakobson, G. , "Toward Expert Database Front-Ends," Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on Computer Interfaces and

Intermediaries for Information Retrieval, Boston. MA, May

1986 , Office of Information Systems and Technology,

Defense Technical Information Center, Alexandria, VA,

1986, pp. 317-318.

Jones, K.P., ed., Informatics 7; Intelligent Information

Retrieval; Proceedings of a Conference Held by the Aslib

Informatics Group and the Information Retrieval Group of

the British Computer Society, Cambridge, England, March

1984 . Aslib, London, England, 1984.

Keller, R. , Integrating Artificial Intelligence; Managing

Expert System Technology , Yourdon Press, New York, 1986.

Kowalik, J.S., ed. , Coupling Symbolic and Numerical Computing in Expert Systems , Elsevier Science, New York, 1986.

Monarch, I. and Carbonell, J., "CoalSort; A Knowledge-Based

Interface," IEEE Expert . (Spring 1987), pp. 39-53.

Mylopoulos, J., and Brodie, M. , Readings in Artificial

Intelligence and Databases , Morgan Kaufmann Publishers,

Palo Alto, CA, 1989.

-24-
Chapter 3 —THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Pederson, K. , "Connecting Expert Systems and Conventional

Environments," AI Expert . Vol. 3, No. 5 (May 1988), pp.

26-35.

Risch, T., Repon, R. , Hart, P., and Duda, R.A., "Functional

Approach to Integrating Database and Expert Systems,"

Communications of the ACM . Vol. 31 (1988), pp. 1424-1437.

Sparck-Jones, K. , and Boguraev, B.K., "A Natural Language

Front End to Data Bases with Evaluative Feedback," New

Applications of Data Bases . Academic Press, London,

England, 1984, pp. 159-182.

Worden, R. , "Integrating KBS into Information Systems —The

Challenge Ahead," Knowledge-Based Systems: Applications

in Administrative Government . Ellis Horwood Ltd. on

behalf of the Central Computer and Telecommunications

Agency, Chichester, UK, 1988, pp. 23-33.

Knowledge Base Systems

Beeri, C. , ed. , Third International Conference on Data and

Knowledge Bases , Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Palo Alto,

CA, 1988.

Brodie, M. , and Mylopoulos, J., eds., On Knowledge Base

Management Systems , Springer-Verlag, New York, 1986.

Cleal, D.M. , and Heaton, N.O., Knowledge-Based Systems;

Implications for Human-Computer Interfaces . Ellis Horwood

Ltd, Chichester, UK, 1988.

Davis, R. , "Knowledge-Based Systems," Science , Vol. 231, No.

4741 (February 12, 1986), pp. 957-963.

Davis, R. , and Lenat, D.B., Knowledge-Based Systems in

Artificial Intelligence: Two Case Studies . McGraw-Hill,

New York, 1982.

Davis, R. , Shrobe, H.E., and Szolovits, P., Readings in

Knowledge-Based Systems , Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Palo

Alto, CA, 1989.

Duffin, P.H., Knowledge-Based Systems: Applications in

Administrative Government , Ellis Horwood, Ltd. , on behalf

of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency,

Chichester, UK, 1988.

-25-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Edosomwan, J. A. , "Ten Design Rules for Knowledge Based

Expert Systems," Industrial Engineering , Vol. 19, No. 9

(August 1987), pp. 78-80.

Ercegovac, Z., "Knowledge-Based Expert Systems: A Profile

and Implications," Proceedings of the 5th National Online

Meeting. New York. NY. April 1984. Medford. NJ . Learned

Information, Inc., 1984, pp. 39-46.

Garner, B.J., "Expert Systems: From Database to Knowledge

Base," Information and Software Technology . Vol. 29, No.

2 (March 1987), pp. 60-65.

Ginsberg, A. , Automatic Refinement of Expert System Knowledge Bases . Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Palo Alto, CA,

1988.

Kellog, C. , "From Data Management to Knowledge Management,"

IEEE Computer . Vol. 19, No. 1 (January 1986), pp. 75-84.

Mockler, R.J., Knowledge-Based Systems for Management

Decisions, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1988.

Mockler, R.J., Knowledge-Based Systems for Strategic

Planning . Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1989.

Ow, P.S., and Smith, S.F., "Two Design Principles for

Knowledge-Based Systems," Decision Science , Vol. 18

(Summer 1987), pp. 430-447.

Sriram, D. , Knowledge Based Expert Systems , Computational

Mechanics, Billerica, MA, 1987.

Sriram, D. , and Adey, R.A. , eds.. Knowledge Based Expert

Systems for Engineering: Classification. Education, and

Control . Computational Mechanics, Billerica, MA, 1987.

Ullman, J. P., Principles of Database and Knowledge-Base

Systems . Computer Science Press, Rockville, MD, 1988.

Voelker, J.A. , and Ratica, G.B., "The Genesis of a Knowledge-Based Expert System," IBM Systems Journal . Vol.

25, No. 2 (1986), pp. 181-189.

Walker, A., "Knowledge Systems: Principles and Practice."

IBM Journal of Research and Development , Vol. 30, No. 1

(January 1986), pp. 2-14.

-26-
Chapter 3—THE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND DATA MANAGEMENT

Walker, A., et al, eds., Knowledge Systems and Prolog; A

Logical Approach to Expert Systems and Natural Language

Processing . Addison-Wesley , Reading, MA, 1987.

Winstanley, G. , Program Design for Knowledge Based Systems . John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1987.

Object-Oriented Computing

Cox, B.J., Object Oriented Programming; An Evolutionary

Approach . Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1986.

Meyer, B. , Object Oriented Software Construction . PrenticeHall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1988.

"Object-Oriented Languages Reorient Programming Technigues,"

Computer Design . Vol. 26, No. 20 (November 1, 1987), pp.

52-62.

Parsaye, K. , Chignell, M. , Khoshafian, S., and Wong. H. , Intelligent Databases; Object Oriented and Deductive

Hypermedia Technologies , John Wiley & Sons, New York,

1989.

Shriver, B. , and Wenger, P. , Research Directions in ObjectOriented Programming , MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1987.

Stefic, M. , and Bobrow, D. , "Object-Oriented Programming;

Themes and Variations," AI Magazine . Vol. 6, No. 4

(1986) , pp. 40-62 .

Stein, Jacob, "Object-Oriented Programming and Databases,"

Dr. Dobb's Journal , March 1988, pp. 18-34.

Yonezawa, A., and Tokoro, M. , eds., Object-Oriented Concurrent Programming . MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1987.

Zdonik, S.B., and Maier, D. , eds.. Readings in ObjectOriented Databases . Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Palo

Alto, CA, 1988.

-27-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4. THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

Mr. Bernstein is the program manager for the Air

Force's Integrated Design Support System, an advanced

development program to create an information system

concept for acquiring and disseminating critical

engineering data for Air Force weapon systems. Mr.

Bernstein received his B.S. degree in Aeronautical

Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. He has

planned, directed, and performed research in structural analysis and design, primarily computer aided

design, and has spent the last 10 years in information

resource management.

T. N. Bernstein

CHAIRMAN

Biographical Sketch

PARTICIPANTS

Olin Bray

Jean-Pierre DeJean

Mary Ann Engelbert

Randall Johnson

Mary Loomis

Shamkant B. Navathe

Lawrence E. Frank

Robert E. Fulton

Larry L. Johnson

Stephen Ritzman

John F. Willis

28-
Chapter 4—-THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4 . 1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the

amount of data used within organizations that are concerned

with design, development, modification and operation of

complex technical products. These products include aerospace vehicles, transportation systems, energy facilities,

computers, and buildings. Traditionally, data has been

separated into technical data and business data. Separate

organizational and system capabilities have been developed

to support the management of these two sets of data.

It has become increasingly apparent that the separation

of these two islands of technical and business information

is not in the best interest of the organizational enterprise. Accordingly, steps toward integration of technical

and business data are needed. This report summarizes the

issues and findings of a study on the ramifications of

integrating business and technical data.

To clarify the issues it is usefu]. to define information

integration as used herein. Information integration is the

establishment of the appropriate computer hardware/software,

methodology, and organizational environment to provide a

unified and shared information management capability for a

complex business enterprise. A measure of the effectiveness

of information integration is whether a user can get the

right data, at the right place, at the right time, in the

right form, and at the right cost. The user's limitations

are based only on his need to know, store, modify, and

otherwise access the data. Key elements of information

integration include an infrastructure composed of:

o an information architecture with — single logical database — location transparency — physical transparency

o an organization to control and manage the information

and take advantage of the available integration tools

o a software architecture and set of appropriate tools

o a hardware architecture of appropriate levels of

computers and peripherals.

-29-
Chapter 4 —THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

The benefits of information integration are many, and

include such areas as:

o cost reductions through — increased productivity — reduced time for locating data — minimized data redundancy

o reduced product development time

o improved quality through — reduced development changes — improved change control

o streamlined operation

o formalized communication.

This study investigated the characteristics and end

results of information integration, the process and metrics

of integration, and the techniques and tools of integration.

The report contains a summary of key findings and details of

the areas studied.

4.2 BASIC FINDINGS

The panel on Integration of Technical and Business Data

concluded its discussion with the following four major

findings:

4.2.1 Characteristics of the Data

The characteristics of technical data and business data

differ in degree.

Data Characteristics : The superficial view of business data being characteroriented and technical data being graphics oriented was

promptly set aside. A table showing the various characteristics of technical and business data was constructed.

Upon review of this table, the panel reached the conclusion

that technical and business data differ from one another

only in a matter of degree.

-30-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

Data Management : Technical data management requires mechanisms that are

not required in most current business applications. These

mechanisms include version and configuration control,

support of rich data types, handling of high volumes of

data, access to the data at different levels of abstraction

to support a variety of presentation capabilities, support

of rigorous release procedures, and authentication of the

data. However, some office data (for example, "what-if"

analysis) seem to be more closely aligned in its data

management requirements with technical data than with

business data.

Data Transactions ; Technical data and business data have markedly different

transaction duration and rate requirements. Further, the

consistency problem., as viewed by the applications, can be

tackled through different approaches. For example, version

control in the technical case versus locking in the business

case.

Database Management : The traditionally more demanding data management requirements of technical data (data types, multiple levels of

abstraction, authentication, version control) will be of use

in the advanced business applications of the future. This

will further lessen the perceived differences between

business and technical data. It is questionable as to

whether a single database management technology could

satisfactorily meet the functional and performance needs of

both business and technical data systems. If so, then

perhaps the distinctions between technical and business data

will be seen as insignificant and immaterial.

4.2.2 Organizational Considerations

Organizational considerations are significant determinants of the success of an integration project.

Eliminate sub-optimal (parochial) solutions : Typical integration efforts uncover duplication of

efforts, and recommend shifts in workloads and respon-

-31-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

sibilities to resolve the problems resulting from suboptimization in the existing organizations. Each organization typically has been organized and automated without

concern for the overall strategic (profit driven) goals of

the corporation.

Involve users : Early involvement of the users in the definition of the

functions and data needs of the business (as-is and to-be)

and in the future allocation of business functions in the

to-be system is mandatory for the success and acceptance of

an integration project. Integration must be viewed as a

means to leverage existing business advantages of the

corporation while lessening known shortcomings. Through

integration, the organization is presented with the opportunity to reduce cost and cycle time, to improve quality,

and to identify new products and market opportunities.

Users are jointly responsible for success : The responsibilities for the success of any integration

project rest squarely with the user organizations acting as

the primary system through the integration of their business

functions. The integration of the information systems,

supporting the newly redefined business functions into a

cohesive whole, then becomes an implementation step of

secondary concern.

Roles of the Information Systems Orcfanization : The Information Systems organization should not be viewed

as the primary beneficiary and sole proponent of integration. Instead, it should be viewed as a co-consultant,

focused on solving a business rather than information system

problem. The primary role of the Information Systems

organization is:

o to facilitate the system analysis (as-is, to-be) of

the user organization operations

o to ensure that the newly integrated system complies

with the corporate information and computer architectures

o to define and evolve the information and computer

architecture capable of supporting the overall

business goals of the corporation.

-32-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

Top manacfement support ; Top management support was identified as a key contributor to the success of integration. This support is

crucial in undertaking projects that transcend traditional

organization boundaries, and that exceed, in scope and

duration, typical Information Systems project norms. Top

management support is also required to keep systems compliant with the corporate information and computer architectures as systems evolve in response to the changing business

and technical environments.

Gaining top management support ; Support from top management can only be expected when top

management is convinced that integration serves the strategic (primary concern of top management) rather than the

tactical goals of any one organization. In particular,

integration must not appear to be a goal only of the

information systems portion of the organization. Top

management must understand that integration yields competitive advantages that competition cannot duplicate. This is

as opposed to the ease with which stand-alone products can

be acquired and deployed. This occurs because integration

leverages the existing competitive position (market information, technical skills, installed assets) of the organization.

Top management commitment is not simply measured by the

resources (schedule, manpower) allocated to integration. It

is mainly expressed by the willingness to make the organizational trade-offs promoting and maintaining inter-operable

corporate systems. Top management must look at integration

of the business functions as a significant corporate asset.

4.2.3 Project Life Cycles

The project life cycle is important in setting proper

management directions.

A prime issue related to the successful definition and

implementation of integration in a corporation is the widely

shared consensus that integration activities are difficult

to justify to management. Management is viewed as being

accustomed to evaluating the merits of a project through

traditional financial measurements. Unlike hard automation

-33-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

projects, for which management has intuition, integration

demands the commitment of resources to activities (e.g.,

functional and data modeling) that have no appeal to

management. Further, benefits of these activities are

difficult to foresee at the beginning of the investment

period.

Essential elements of a successful integration project

are detailed below:

Define an open computing and information architecture : Integration efforts must begin with the definition of a

computing environment (hardware, network, system software,

system standards) , and an information definition methodology

(functional, data modeling methodologies, and integration

techniques) . It must also have the means of controlling the

transition of existing applications and systems into an

integrated computing environment.

The architecture must be closely aligned with the major

industry standardization efforts. This is necessary to

allow for the orderly growth of the computing environment

(new applications, new technologies, new standards) , and to

support unforeseen demands for inter-operability , both from

within a corporation and from the marketplace (anticipation

of more requirements like CALS in the defense and nondefense markets)

Identify and tackle visible problem areas that will benefit

from integration ; Integration can be implemented in a bottom-up fashion in

visible areas of the business where cost/benefits, quality

improvements, cost, and cycle time reduction can be realized

and demonstrated to management. This bottom-up approach can

be utilized as long as a well-thought-out information and

computer architecture is available and is used to proyide

technical directions (e.g., standards, methods, tools)

during implementation activities.

Develop metrics to assess the benefits of integration ; Given the difficulty in quantifying benefits in advance,

the anticipated benefits require that before integration,

productivity metrics be acquired to evaluate the success of

the integration project throughout its life cycle.
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

Likewise, it is important to establish reasonable

expectations among the user organizations. These expectations must be documented in memoranda of understanding

reflecting the commitments of the user organizations to the

integration effort.

Involve users early in the project ; This is the key to a generation of truly useful ideas

yielding significant business benefits. Justification of

integration through savings in data processing costs is

unlikely to be significant. This is because data processing

costs amount to only a few percent of the design and

manufacturing cost of a high technology product. The

mechanisms recommended to obtain early user involvement are:

o tackling a pressing user business need through

integration

o joint development of the as-is and to-be functional

and data models of the user business.

4.2.4 Integration Metrics

The panel developed four sets of metrics to evaluate the

presence, or absence, of an integrated information system.

These metrics cover the following major areas:

o data integration

o organization integration

o system integration

o identified financial benefits resulting from integration.

The metrics are both qualitative and quantitative measurements of the success displayed by a corporation in defining,

implementing, and maintaining an organization structure, a computer architecture, and an information architecture that

bring about identified profits to the corporation through

novel use of information management.

-35-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4.3 THE INTEGRATION PROBLEM

The integration problem is defined across the following

categories:

o differences in the nature of business and technical

data

o differences in business and technical systems

o differences of maturity in business and technical

methodologies

o organizational and cultural issues.

4.3.1 Differences in the Nature of Business and Technical

Data

To assess the problem of integrating business and

technical data, we began by evaluating the difference in the

basic nature of the two data domains. These potential

differences are important because:

o Integration of the two domains will require data

management facilities that can accommodate the data

from both domains where necessary.

o Since virtually all commercial DBMSs were developed to

support business applications and data, it follows

that fundamental differences between technical and

business data would render the current offering of

DBMS tools useless for technical data, producing a

serious impediment to integration of the two data

domains.

In searching for fundamental differences, we assessed a

list of fundamental data characteristics. The panel was

looking for those that are not required by one domain or the

other, or which were fundamentally different in some sense.

Among the data characteristics examined were:

o standard data types

o extended data types

o relationships and relationship types

-36-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

o schema characteristics

o data volume

o data sharing

o data integrity

o data distribution

o data semantics

o data versioning and configuration management

o paradigms of interoperability, interchangeability , and

behavior.

Although the investigation was begun with the common

presupposition that there are fundamental qualitative

differences between technical and business data, we could

find no such differences between the two domains. The

fundamental differences found were quantitative in nature.

A few of the important quantitative differences are discussed below.

o Standard data types . The "exotic" data types encountered in technical data are also arising in office

automation concepts as office integration proceeds.

o Extended data types . The requirement for perapplication data types, which originates in objectoriented programming concepts, is seen as defeating

integration, which focuses on persistent objects

coordinated under a global schema. That is, data types

that cannot be recorded, coordinated, and communicated

cannot be shared.

o Relationships and relationship types . Both business

and technical data require a fundamental capability in

expressing relationships and relationship types.

Technical data, however, tends to have a richer set of

relationship types, and extremely complex relationships among data objects.

o Schema characteristics . Technical data (particularly

in a business such as electronics manufacturing) will

have a richer vocabulary of objects and relationships

than business data. Additionally, technical schemas

-37-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

will tend to change more frequently, tracking new

technology and standards; whereas business schemas

are more stable. However, as mentioned, this is a

matter of degree.

o Data volume . Both business and technical data involve

large amounts of data. Technical data items tend to

aggregate other data items into much larger objects

than is customary for business data. In these early

days of engineering information models, entire design

"databases" are often tracked and managed as a single

data item measuring from megabytes to terabytes in

magnitude

o Data versioning and configuration management . Versioning is only modestly used in business data, but is

an extremely important feature in technical data.

Versioning is not well supported in current DBMSs.

o Paradigms of interoperability and interchageability

and behavior . These paradigms illicit a strong

feeling that technical and business data are fundamentally different. This is due to their requirement for extremely frequent application in the

technical domain, and its occasional use in the

business domain. In business, a purchase order is

predictably relatable to a relatively small number of

entity-types. The technical community (electronics

design in particular) requires applying the paradigms

heavily. An electrical part is relatable to a large

number of entity-types, i.e., any type of electrical

part (there are a myriad) . An electrical part,

furthermore, also serves a role as a mechanical part

that must be fit together with other physical (mechanical) entity-types. Once a design has been made (a

relationship of electronic and mechanical objects)

,

its behavior must be simulated. Therefore, the

occurrence of a part-type in a design must also

contain its behavior. This type of complexity is the

forte of object-oriented approaches seen increasingly

and frequently in CAD tools today.

It is felt that the business domain will require increased use of these paradigms as office automation

proceeds into such areas as hyper media, etc.

However, it is unlikely that it will make the heavy

use of them that the technical domain demands.

-38-
Chapter 4—-THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

The observation then, is that business and technical data

differ primarily in a quantitative rather that qualitative

fashion at both the level of instantiation and at higher

levels of abstraction, including metadata. This implies

that technical data and business data will be able to be

moved among technical and business systems. This does not

imply, however, that the systems currently in use in

business are, or will be, adequate for technical use or vice

versa. The question as to whether a single data system

architecture would ever prove suitable to both domains was

left open. It was felt that the domains currently require

different architectures, but that the data will be migrateable where necessary.

4.3.2 Differences in Business and Technical Systems

In addition to data characteristics, the following system

characteristics were examined for differences:

o Operating environment. The operating environment of

business systems tends to be focused on large mainframes that are tightly controlled.

Technical systems are often found distributed on small

workstations with little or no formal control. The

operating systems on which they are hosted are

diverse

.

o Transaction size . Transactions on technical systems

can, by orders of magnitude, consume more time and

involve more data than business systems. Business

systems often quantify performance in terms of

transaction response time. Technical transactions can

be as brief as business transactions, or take many

hours to execute.

o Public (standard) models . Business oriented DBMSs

enjoy standardization (e.g., CODASYL and SQL).

Business data models tend to be uniform within a company, but very diverse among different companies.

The DBMSs of technical data are often proprietary and

incompatible from tool to tool. The DBMSs are

individually designed to meet the demands of complexity and the demands of interactive graphic-based

editing. However, there are a number of efforts

underway to standardize the conceptual models against

-39-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

which some of these tools operate, e.g., EDIF, VHDL,

PDES, and CALS

o Application types . Applications in business systems

are generally designed against an external data model.

Multiple applications have little trouble in operating

against the same data.

Applications in technical systems are generally

designed against a proprietary representation of data.

Multiple tools from different vendors will not, in

general, operate on the same data without a conversion

of format. Consequently, data conversion utilities

are frequently encountered when multi-vendor tools are

needed to operate on a design.

o Data distribution . When they are distributed,

business systems tend to be tightly coupled, behaving

more or less as a single system.

The data distribution in technical systems is broad

and loosely coupled. There is, in general, no

effective way to coordinate the distributed data

beyond the islands of servers mentioned below.

o Data sharing . Generally, the entire body of business

data is interpretable by a single system.

Technical workstations consist of diverse tools

running on diverse platforms, with few of the tools

understanding the data of another. Data sharing

requirements have led to islands of small-scale

centralization implemented as servers. The servers,

like the workstations, are diverse and seldom are

able to take advantage of one another as networked

servers.

Essentially, the problem of integration from a systems

standpoint is one of accommodating data across a great

diversity of platforms, and the migrateability of data

across multiple formats, data organizations, and levels of

control. It was the general feeling that homogenization of

the technical and business domains is doomed to failure, but

that each could adapt to and learn from the other. Any

system integration approach will have to accommodate those

features of each that have evolved out of necessity.

-40-
Chapter A—-THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4.3.3 Differences of Maturity in Business and Technical

Methodologies

The methodology used to conduct business in most companies has evolved over literally hundreds of years. The

automation of the methodology was one of the first targets

of early computing, making it mature and well defined.

Technical methodologies, such as mechanical or electrical

design, are generally not formalized to an adequate degree,

making the construction of external data models and sufficiently formalized procedures difficult.

It is felt that formalization of technical methodologies

is a critical step toward integration of the various

technical domains themselves, let alone the integration of

technical and business domains.

4.3.4 Organizational and Cultural Issues

It was generally agreed that the integration of business

and technical domain data is as much a problem of organization and culture, as it is a problem of technology.

The way technologists regard their data is different than

that of their counterparts in the business domain. In the

business world there is seldom any difficulty in viewing

data as belonging to the company, with access granted

according to a well established methodology of doing

business. The data produced by technologists, however, is

often a product of their personal creativity, causing a strong sense of personal ownership. Trusting this data to

"the system" is often not an easy step for a technologists

to make. When the data is submitted to "the system," it is

not uncommon to find that copies remain behind, cluttering

up disks with files and shelves with floppies. This

redundancy seldom serves well as the intended safeguard, but

more often frustrates configuration management efforts when

the role of "master" gets confused between the submitted and

the shelved data.

As mentioned above, standardization and documentation of

the technologists' methodologies is essential in an integration program. Technologists often resist attempts at standardization for fear of having their creativity overencumbered by "rules and regulations." There is a danger in

this. However, it can be avoided. The capture of the

-41-
Chapter 4 —THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

methodology must include levels of control and coordination

to accommodate "the creative spirit" early in the design

cycle. However, as it becomes necessary to share work among

technologists, whereby one's work is dependent on another's,

the data must be brought under control , or the team members

will find themselves working at odds with one another. The

level of control must be escalated as the product definition

moves toward production. Convincing the technologists that

the standardization will not needlessly encumber them will

be at least as difficult as defining the methodology itself.

Existing organizations have evolved around existing ways

of doing things. The way things are done in an integrated

environment is different from the way they are done in an

environment that is not integrated. Imposing integration

over an existing organizational structure can result in

"mixed signals." For example, it may be necessary to incur

greater costs in one functional area or department in order

to achieve great offsetting savings across many other

departments. If budgetary goals and evaluations do not

reflect the necessity of the increased costs, then the

integration program will be undermined by the conflicting

goals of the departments.

Parochialism is the enemy of an integration program.

Such parochialism will exist whenever it is possible for

individuals to advance by making their departments look good

at the expense of overall detriment to the corporate whole.

Criteria must be carefully established so that an individual

or department looks good only when the corporate goals are

being met.

One often finds a pervasive lack of understanding between

technologists and their business counterparts. Bringing the

two groups to a mutual understanding and appreciation of one

another's particular problems and point of view is important

to the integration effort, particularly if the business

systems group is to address the data integration needs of

the technologists. In many companies, two data processing

support groups have arisen due to the differences in the

business and technology cultures. Properly managed, such an

arrangement can aid an integration effort, but is probably

not a necessary feature of an integration program.
chapter 4—-THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4.4 PROCESS TO ACHIEVE INTEGRATION

4.4.1 Establishing Goals for an Integration Effort

Integration is not something any company or manager wants

for its own sake. What they desire are the benefits derived

from integration.

To obtain a commitment from management, the benefits to

be derived must be enumerated in the terms of the business.

The problems of the current operational environment that can

be addressed by integration should be identified with their

possible savings. Further, they should be ranked according

to the amount of the savings. If possible, costs associated

with the solutions should be approximated. However, the

principal objective is to identify and rank the problem

areas according to potential payback from integration.

Unless the organization has had some experience in integration, the identified potential benefits will tend to be

conservative and the costs elusive. Case studies of other

companies that have suffered similar problems and successfully solved them will be useful.

Goals must be established for each of the problem areas.

Each goal should have reasonable metrics associated with it.

It is through these metrics that progress towards the goal

is to be measured. The goals must be stated in the terms of

the business itself, rather than in terms of data systems

technology.

The goals must be prioritized according to the amount of

potential payback, so that the initial focus is on the

departments or functions of the organization that suffer

most from the lack of integration. In general, the members

of these organizations will be the most enthusiastic and

cooperative players in the integration effort.

Some example goals are:

o reduce cycle time from product specification to

production

o reduce scrap caused by use of the wrong revision of

numerical control programs

o eliminate incorrect or untimely parts delivery to the

assembly line.

-43-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

All of these goals have metrics associated with them that

often are already being tracked and used by the corporation.

In the case of broad, general goals, it will be useful to

establish subgoals (milestones with corresponding metrics)

,

and an understanding of the relationship of each subgoal to

its broader goal. Often a subgoal will contribute to the

accomplishment of a number of broad goals. This may

indicate a high priority subgoal.

4.4.2 Formulating an Integration Plan

The formulation of the integration plan involves a formal

analysis of the organization and the integration goals. The

plan is generally devised by systems engineers and operations analysts working closely with management and technologists. This team must start with, or acquire, an

intimate knowledge of the workings of the corporation.

The plan focuses on "what" has to be done to achieve the

goals, rather than how things are to be accomplished. The

"hows" are addressed primarily in the integration strategy.

The only analysis of the "hows" done in this planning stage

is to support cost estimation.

Typical deliverables of the analysis of goals are:

o Information Model . This is the identification of data

and materials that are used in common by the organizational units to be integrated. During the planning

stage, the information model will only be as detailed

as is required to determine data bottlenecks and

islands that are inhibiting the ability of the company

to function efficiently.

o Analysis of Flow . The organization and functional

units of the business must be modeled with attendant

flow of information among the units.

o Methodology Documentation . This is the set of

standard policies and procedures that govern the

production of the organization's products and/or

services. The methodology needs to be examined for

information flow requirements. When it comes time to

do this, many are surprised at how much of their

business is governed by an "oral tradition" that has

escaped the scrutiny of operational analysis.

-44-
Chapter 4—-THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

o Orcfanization Study . This is the determination of how

a company's organization helps or hinders the flow of

information required to accomplish its principal

objectives (the production of its products, services,

etc.)

Having completed the analysis of the "as-is" situation;

models should be constructed to reflect candidate "to-be"

scenarios

.

The integration plan must address the "granularity" of

integration in terms of technical and organizational issues.

This involves identifying what data is to be controlled in

the integrated environment and when in the data's evolution

it is brought under control. For example, controlling

design data too early can place a needless burden on the

system and may impede its development; controlling it too

late will defeat many of the benefits integration has to

offer.

The plan must also address how far down in the organization the integration is necessary. Often it will be found

that functional areas have small, well-defined data overlap

with other areas. Each area can implement its own sub-plan

of information integration and control as long as it meets

the requirements of an "umbrella" plan that governs the data

sharing among them.

The "to-be" models must then be analyzed to assure that

they will meet the established goals of the effort. Cost/

benefit analysis must be performed on the "to-be" models.

In the early stages of the integration effort these estimates will be rough, but will be refined over time.

The objective is to rank the goals of the effort to

revisit the goals of the effort; adding, deleting, and

refining. The goals and the implementation plan are

iteratively refined until acceptable "as-is" and "to-be"

models have been produced.

4.4.3 Developing an Integration Stratecrv

A strategy must be developed through which the integration plan is to be accomplished.

-45-
Chapter 4 —THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

One of the foremost issues in forming the strategy is

determining what needs to be standardized to achieve the

plan's objectives. Standardization is one of the principal

tools of an integration strategy. Where possible, public

standards, guidelines, and conventions should be used.

It is generally necessary to standardize information

models, interchange protocols, data representations, etc.,

but that is not the total extent to which standardization

should be considered. It is useful to standardize platforms

(hardware, operating systems, and communication software)

However, it has been noted that the challenge of integration

is typified by a great diversity among these items. The

root of this diversity is basically a diversity in requirements for different data applications. It is often found,

however, that the diversity of the systems in use is broader

than dictated by the requirements of the business. It is

best to "standardize" on a minimal set of platforms selected

to address the requirements of various aspects of the

business

Cultural and organizational issues must also be addressed

in the strategy. Although a sound technical strategy is

necessary for a successful integration program. It is not

sufficient by itself. Too often the organizational and

cultural aspects of an integration strategy are underemphasized or ignored entirely, severely hobbling or even

dooming the effort. An elegant technical solution will not

succeed if its use cannot be accepted and assimilated by the

culture of the company. User readiness for each step in the

strategy must be assessed before it is implemented. When

necessary, interim technological solutions that are short of

what is possible can be inserted to allow a more gradual

evolution of the system.

The strategy should include a project management strategy

through which short-, mid-, and long-term goals can be

tracked. The tasks that need to be performed to accomplish

the goals are identified and detailed with all dependencies

noted. The tasks are then costed in detail and critical

issues and risk are assessed.

The results of strategy formulation may well impact the

integration goals and integration plan from which it was

derived. The goals and the plan should be revisited if this

is the case.

-46-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4.4.4 Iteration and Incremental Refinement

The end of each of the sections on plan and strategy

state that the previous "step" may have been impacted and

will have to be revisited. This deserves emphasis. Integration involves a great deal of refinement. During the

execution of the integration tasks, much will be learned

about the problem as it specifically relates to the organization. This new knowledge must be folded into the plan

repeatedly.

It is not feasible to envision a total solution from the

outset. An organization must start with what is known at

the time, and refine the plan iteratively. Although one

must be on guard against constant changes in direction,

there will be a number of false starts in different areas

that will shed light on the problem at hand, further

defining it. Management needs to know that a certain amount

of this is expected as necessary and desirable.

Frequent reviews of progress and effectiveness in

measurable terms will help in the early identification of

things that "seemed like a good idea at the time."

4.4.5 Organizational Commitment and Participation

From the start, the central theme of an integration

effort must be cooperation and focus on the corporate whole.

A major barrier to the integration of corporate information

systems is parochialism. In order to bring together

disparate disciplines, a program is required with the

following goals:

o Discovery by participants of their common crround . This includes identifying common problems as well as

emphasizing that all are contributing indispensably to

the goals of the corporation.

o Discovery and appreciation of the problems that are

unique to each discipline, as well as of the "mind

set" that each discipline has developed over the years

to assure its success . For example, it can be

difficult for MIS professionals to understand the

environment of technologists in which data is "created

from thin air." Conversely, although technologists

understand the rigor required by their particular

discipline, they are often not appreciative of the

-47-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

rigor required to handle large quantities of data due

to the fact that electronic design and automated

manufacturing is relatively new. Each group must

learn from and accommodate each other. This applies

from general categories such as business, engineering,

and manufacturing, down to the specific functional

areas within each of the categories.

A "public relations" program will be necessary to inform,

educate, and solicit the cooperation of all impacted members

of the organization. The goals of the program should be

made clear. The importance of the program to management

should be made equally clear. Incentives for compliance or

participation should be considered.

Seminars and feed-back sessions should be held to

identify problems, refine ideas, review suggestions, etc.

Progress will be facilitated by cooperation, commitment and

participation of the broad spectrum of people involved.

Progress is difficult (though not impossible) in environments where the effects of integration are received as a

necessary (or superfluous) evil.

4.4.6 A Note on Conflict Goals

Usually, the goals in an integration program are laid

over original operational goals. This can often lead to

conflicting goals. For example, a common goal for organizational units is to minimize cost for a given level of

service. Occasionally, an integration program will cause

one group to incur increased cost for what appears to be the

same service. This increased cost is significantly offset

by savings in other groups, or leads to improved reliability

in a product or service.

If examined by itself, the increased cost represents a "failure" by the group's management. Examined in context,

the group has increased its level of service, and therefore

suffers increased expense.

4.5 METRICS OF INTEGRATION

4.5.1 Introduction

One of the major challenges of an integration project is

determining its real value to the corporation. This

-48-
chapter 4--THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

challenge should be faced both at the inception of an

integration concept and during the lifetime of any resultant

projects.

A typical situation is that an integration project is

proposed and defended in the hope that it will produce real

benefits. If management decides to gamble on these projects, it is highly likely that the benefits (if any) will

never be quantified. As more and more resources are poured

into the project, hope typically wears thin and evidence of

real progress is required by management for continuation of

the effort. When management asks for evidence of progress,

they usually want evidence of solving real business problems, not evidence of the adoption of new technologies.

Another important reason to be able to determine the

value of integration is to manage expectations. User

organizations need to know not only what their commitments

are to the integration project, but also what benefits they

can expect to accrue from the project. When users have

unreasonable expectations, the integration project may be

viewed as unsuccessful, even if it meets or exceeds the

expectations of the information technology group facilitating the work.

The thesis of our panel was that value cannot be determined without metrics. We identified four major classes of

metrics that can be used to assess the progress of an

Integration project: data, systems, organizational, and

cost/benefit. We focused on quantifiable, measurable

parameters. The lists are undoubtedly incomplete, but

represent a good start. Some of the metrics are binary: a factor contributing to integration that either exists or

does not. Some are measurable in degree, others can yield

absolute numbers.

4.5.2 Data Metrics

The following data metrics relate to the definition,

storage/ implementation, and management of data resources.

The first three metrics are viewed as the most important.

The prioritization of the others is optional.

o The degree of data redundancy and overlap across data

stores. If a single baseline version of a data object

exists, then there is evidence of integration progress. Integration is difficult with uncontrolled data

-49-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

replication. Which version of the data object is the

correct one?

o Standards for data naming . The existence of a datanaming standard and the scope of its acceptance and

enforcement within the corporation are important

factors in enabling integration. Naming standards

facilitate communication among developers and users;

their adoption is necessary to achieving and promoting

consistent understanding of data semantics.

o Existence and scope of a data dictionary and common

data model . Data dictionaries are essential tools for

managing data resources, integrated or not. Giving a dictionary knowledge of the corporation's common data

model means that the dictionary can become an active

component in integration. The common data model need

not be (and probably will not be) developed and

implemented on an enterprise-wide scale all at once.

Rather, its scope should evolve through time. Start

with a kernel data area that addresses visible problem

areas for the business.

o Use of database management systems and databases

instead of files . Because DBMSs promote data sharing

(while protecting data from the perils of concurrent

access and a variety of kinds of failures) , the scope

of their use is an indicator of progress in integration.

o Distinction between private, project, and enterprise

data. Once an organization begins to distinguish

between these types of data, then it can remove

ownership of data from individuals' hands and put it

in the enterprise's lap. Enterprise data is typically

data that is accessible to integrated applications.

Project data represents integration on a smaller

scale.

o Use of a system development methodology that encourages integration . Such a system development

methodology provides the policies and procedures,

techniques and ideally tools that help to manage

integration projects and to build integration skills

into an information group. A systems development

methodology that encourages integration usually

emphasizes data modeling, model integration, and

evolution of a common data model of enterprise data.

-50-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

o Use of a common data model to guide application

development . If each new application starts over with

its own data definitions, integration will never

occur. By contrast, evolving a common data model as

applications are developed builds the glue that

integrates applications. The common data model shows

how the data items relate to each other, transcending

the boundaries between individual applications.

o Mapping of common data model to implemented data

stores. If the common data model is to play an active

role in achieving integration, then the common data

model must be mapped to implemented databases and

files. Then the common data model can be used to

guide application requests to their desired data,

independent of the data's implementation structure or

physical location.

o Granularity of data definition and management . Managing data at the file level typically indicates

less integration than managing data at the entity

level. The finer the level of granularity, then the

more precise the definition of data semantics can be.

Data semantics must be well understood and clearly

communicated to achieve integration.

o Connectivity and transparency . The greater the span

and scope of data stores that can be accessed from a common data interface, the higher the degree of

integration. If an organization has a variety of

kinds of databases or files that can only be accessed

by separate specialized interfaces, then this data is

not part of the integrated data resource.

o Penetration and automation of configuration management, consistent with responsibilities and accountabilities . The more pervasive configuration management is, the more integration has probably been

achieved. Configuration management is important to

control the release of information. Configuration

management can be manual, but automated support is a good indicator of having achieved a degree of integration .

-51-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4.5.3 System Metrics

The system metrics relate to hardware, networks, operating systems, user interfaces, and applications. The most

important metrics are the first two listed. The prioritization of the others is significant.

o Time and resources required to install and integrate

new applications and systems . Integration does bring

with it some overhead for data definition, data model

integration, and so forth. However, a well-integrated

system minimizes the overhead and reduces the effort

required to bring new applications and systems onboard.

o Extent of heterogeneity . Systems with many heterogeneous components (hardware, operating systems,

database management systems, and so forth) are more

difficult to integrate than are more homogeneous

systems. The extent to which heterogeneity is hidden

from the user is a good indicator of progress in

integration.

o Time and resources required to develop new applications . With a mature common data model, adding a new

application typically becomes a matter of defining the

logic of a new transaction using existing data and

sometimes existing processes. For applications that

use data known to the common data model, integration

will reduce development resource requirements.

o Reusability of application code, data definitions, and

data stores . The higher the degree of reusability,

the greater the extent of integration. If every new

application has to be developed from scratch, there is

much room for improvement.

o Reusability of data, especially designs . One of the

typical goals of integration in an engineering

environment is to get greater leverage of engineers'

work. This can be achieved in part by making designs

reusable. This implies having a facility to catalog

designs so that they can be found, usually based upon

product definition characteristics. A high degree of

reusability would be an indicator of having achieved

some degree of integration.

-52-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

o Completeness of product definition capture . Product

definition is typically the result of efforts of teams

of engineers, who may specialize in a variety of

functional areas and disciplines. Complete and

coherent product definition capture represents

integration across these areas. Product definition

data then is a facilitator of concurrent engineering,

and can ease the interfaces between engineering and

manufacturing

.

o Consistency of user interfaces across related applications . A user ideally should interact with applications pertinent to his or her job in a unified,

consistent manner. Having learned the user interface

style for one application, the user should be able to

anticipate (without additional training) how to

interact with a related application. The more

consistent the user interfaces are, the more integrated the system will appear.

o Maintenance costs of applications and systems . High

maintenance costs may be an indicator of a myriad of

non-integration linkages between system components.

Integration should reduce the resources required to

convert data from one file format to another, to

maintain replicated data, and so forth.

o Extent of specification and control of system interfaces . A well-documented system architecture is key

to effectively implementing integration technologies.

The architecture should specify standards, interfaces,

policies, and procedures, and should guide the

development of the integration environment.

4,5.4 Organizational Metrics

There are several organizational metrics. The first two

are the most important; the prioritization of the others is

optional

.

o Procedures for communicating and sharing data . With

inadequate procedures for communicating and sharing

data across functions and disciplines, there will be

redundancy of work. Evidence of room for improvement

in this area includes re-entry of data that already

exist in computerized form, manual consolidation or

reorganization of data from computer-generated

-53-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

reports, inconsistent data on reports at various

levels of aggregation (as when the sum of several

department totals do not match the sum of division

line items for those departments) , and so forth.

Procedures for communicating and sharing data affect

the way that people do their jobs.

o Level of explicit commitment for intecfration . The

higher in the organization structure that stated

commitment for integration is, the more likely that

integration projects will yield real business results.

Integration past a certain scope requires cross

functional coordination, which must be supported by

the management involved.

o Existence of cfoals and objectives related to integration . An organization that is committed to integration will have both personal and organizational goals

and objectives related to integration. These goals

and objectives, in aggregate, will help to ensure that

individuals see how integration is an important part

of their jobs and that all aspects of the integration

project receive sufficient attention. These goals and

objectives assign explicit responsibilities for

integration

o Performance appraisals tied to integration progress . A logical fallout of having personal and organizational goals and objectives related to integration is

to make people accountable for achieving those goals

and objectives. This can be done effectively by using

integration progress as a measure in an individual's

performance evaluation, guaranteeing that it will get

attention! An organization's performance should also

be evaluated based on integration goals and objectives, with progress made visible to appropriate

management

o Integration-related policies and directives . Directives (indicating what is to be done) and policies

(indicating how to accomplish the directives) for

integration need to be established and enforced.

These directives and policies can help to ensure

effective cross-functional communication and can help

to make responsibility and accountability for integration explicit. The first directives and policies

established are typically for Data Administration, for

-54-
Chapter 4—-THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

example, establishing change authorities for shared

data.

o Training programs . People need to be trained in the

concepts and procedures instituted as part of the

integration project. If there are explicit training

programs in place, with a high degree of participation

by the appropriate people, then the integration

project will have a relatively firm foundation on

which to build. Again, integration affects people's

jobs. If people do not do their jobs differently,

nothing will change. Or, to turn the statement

around, if people are not doing their jobs differently, nothing has changed, even if much money has been

spent studying integration concepts.

4.5.5 Cost/Benefit Metrics

The cost/benefit metrics assess the real impact of an

integration project on the corporation. They are all

quantifiable, and all measure aspects of the business that

contribute directly to the bottom line. They are all the

kinds of metrics that should be considered in determining

the objectives of an integration project. Depending on the

scope of the project, some of the metrics may or may not be

appropriate.

o Design cycle time . A major area where an integration

project may have a positive impact is in reducing the

cycle time required to design a product. The aspects

of integration that help to reduce design cycle time

are: being able to reuse design data, reducing design

iterations by improving cross-functional communications, early weed-out of unattractive designs, and so

forth.

o Manufacturing cycle time . Another major area where an

integration project may have a positive impact is in

reducing the cycle time required to manufacture a product. The aspects of integration that help to

reduce manufacturing cycle time are: integrated design

of the product and its required tooling or fittings,

improving manufacturability of product designs by

improving cross-functional communications, reducing

manufacturing reworks, and so forth.

-55-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

o Indirect (non-touch) labor . An integration project

can have positive impact in reducing the headcount

required to support direct design and manufacturing

activities. Integration can make not only touchlabor more efficient, but can also make communication

among management and other non-touch labor more

effective and efficient. A positive indicator of

integration progress is indirect headcount reduction.

o Time to market . Another positive indicator of

integration progress is reducing the time from product

conception to market introduction. Design and

manufacturing cycle times are components of this

measure. Time to market can be a corporation's

differentiator, making or breaking its competitiveness .

o Resources spent on translators . This metric is more

granular than the other cost/benefit metrics listed

above. If resource requirements are decreasing to

translate data from one form to another, for purposes

of passing data from one application or system to

another, then integration progress is being made. In

a non-integrated computing environment, each introduction of a new application program is likely to also

introduce the need for multiple translators, either to

feed data to new programs or to pass its results on to

other existing programs. Each time the data formats

change in any of those programs, the pertinent

translators must also be changed. These expenses are

commonly buried in a category known as "maintenance."

They are expenses that should dwindle as the integrated environment evolves.

4.6 END RESULTS OF INTEGRATION

In this section, we outline the overall framework for

integration of technical and business data. We first state

the assumption providing a model of integration, then we

point out the end results of the integration process and the

system considerations for achieving those results. Finally,

we provide a prognosis of what is likely to emerge in the

near future that will affect the possible end results of

integration.
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

4.6.1 Assumption and a Model

Figure 4-1 shows the general environment of the management of business and technical data. It consists of a

diverse set of users, a set of systems and stored databases

in different forms.

The USERS include end users who need the data for their

job functions, e.g., engineers, designers, analysts,

managers, clerks. They also include the intermediary people

who design and implement databases, programs or systems to

be used by the end users, and finally policy makers including middle and top management. People in this last category

depend heavily on the results of integration to provide them

information in the right form, with the right content to

help in decision making.

USERS SYSTEMS DATABASES

+ FILES

Figure 4-1

-57-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

In the middle component called SYSTEMS we include

hardware and software systems as well as organizational

systems. The power and functionality of the hardware is

continually improving. Moreover, hardware is the only area

where the user is getting more computing power per dollar as

technology evolves. The software developments are generally

lagging both from the standpoint of meeting the end user

needs and in terms of allowing the end user to exploit the

available hardware powerfully. In the area of business and

technical data, better and better user interfaces and

software tools are expanding the range of people who can

directly interface with the systems. These tools or

software systems include spreadsheet packages, simulation

programs, analysis packages for complex systems and drafting, and analysis CAD tools. Organizational systems include

methodologies and procedures in place for collecting,

organizing, manipulating, and disseminating business and

technical information within organizations.

The final component in figure 4-1 refers to repositories

of information in the form of FILES and DATABASES . They are

on various media, including magnetic tapes of different

kinds, disks in a variety of packaged forms, as well as

archived hard copy information. We should actually include

non-magnetically readable information in our discussion of

integration since, historically, a large amount of such

information still exists in that form. Some good examples

are engineering drawings, product specifications, business

correspondence, reports, manuals, etc.

When we discuss integration, we will assume the above

scenario as outlined in figure 4-1.

4.6.2 Final Results of Integration

The results of integration can be viewed from different

perspectives. They correspond directly to the threecomponent framework presented above.

o User Perspective . From the user's standpoint, when

integration is accomplished, it results in a single

user interface accessing a variety of system components, that in turn access diverse databases. To

achieve the results, it is necessary to have a single

conceptual model of data that can be used to capture

the entire gamut of information. Current developments

-58-
Chapter 4 —THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

in semantic data models are addressing these diverse

needs. Integration should also allow users to have

their own "external views" of relevant information for

each individual application.

o Database Perspective . From the standpoint of stored

data, we can say that good integration is achieved

when the following conditions are met: — In the stored form, each basic element of information is represented only once. This means redundancy is eliminated, making management of information easy. This has been the main goal of database

management software systems. — Data should be integrated by removing the barriers

between applications and between systems. Thus,

within the limits of security, all potentially

relevant data should be physically within the reach

of a user or an application. — Databases must contain all possible crossreferences or links allowing a user or an application program to navigate through all related data.

o Systems Perspective . If integration is achieved, the

variety of systems should appear as a unified whole to

user and applications. This results in a number of

technical requirements that should be met by a

well-integrated technical/business information system.

It also raises several issues/problems. We address

them in the next subsection.

4.6.3 System Considerations to Achieve the Results of

Intecrration

In order to achieve the above results of integration, we

must consider the requirements of computerized software/

hardware systems, both from a technical standpoint and an

organizational standpoint. The technical aspect merits

discussion because there has been a proliferation of

hardware, operating systems, database management systems,

and application packages over the last 25 years, and

particularly in the 1980s. To integrate all business and

technical data for those systems is indeed a major challenge

of the 1990s.
Chapter A—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

At the same time, the user population has been constantly

growing, due to the advent of easy-to-use systems and

packages that have enabled the most naive and untrained

users to access and process data directly. Consequently, a

large number of fragmented databases have been created and

are growing in an uncontrolled way. To integrate them

presents a major organizational challenge.

We highlight below the technical consideration that must

be dealt with in order to achieve integration:

o Need for new architectures . Today's software systems

are developed for specific hardware under one or more

fixed operating systems. Providing them a common

interface, thus allowing a user to access and interrelate data among diverse systems, remains a research

problem. Standards in interfaces, models, languages,

etc., would alleviate the situation in which there is

a loose-coupled integration of information processing

systems involving repositories of data in the form of

files and databases. "Loose coupling" allows

substantial autonomous control, yet affords an

integrated "global access."

o New for "common" building blocks . In the above types

of architectures, there will be need for some common

(possibly standardized) building blocks from which any

system can be configured. These would include

operating systems, programming environments, standard

software components (such as the graphics core systems) , common data models, standardized query languages, and even common windowing type facilities.

o Security specification and enforcement . Integration

implies sharing. To control the sharing of programs

and data, elaborate mechanisms for the specification

and control of security would be needed.

The challenge for future integrated systems spans the

spectrum from providing conceptually integrated views

and uniform user interfaces to dealing with the nittygritty details of physical data merging, redundancy

control, efficient cross-referencing indexes, etc.

Future system architectures would need to be flexible

and open-ended to support a variety of levels of

coupling and user-controlled parameters.

-60-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

In order to achieve a desired level of integration of its

business and technical data, an organization must cope with

the following issues:

o Control of user population . Given certain security

provisions, this deals with the control of authorized

use of integrated information by users. The control

problem becomes increasingly severe as we include more

and more information in the integration.

o Orcfanizational boundaries . Referring back to figure

4-1, the system components (hardware and software) as

well as the data itself belong to different organizational units. Along with integration comes the

problem of managing the systems and the data across

these organizational unit boundaries.

o Training and education . Even with the easy-to-use

systems of today, there is still a major problem of

training the end users and the designers on every new

system. The number of systems one has to learn has an

adverse effect on the systems being fully utilized.

Integration, if achieved properly, can cut down on the

users' training requirements. Ideally, there should

be a single application system and a desired database.

o Dealing with historical data, legacies, and inertia . Typically, users inherit systems and data and have a tendency to continue to use the same perpetually until

they are discarded. With integration, it is necessary

to accommodate all historical information into a single environment. "Old users" may severely oppose

using the new integrated environment. This problem

would need special managerial and interpersonal

skills.

4.7 FUTURE ISSUES

The above discussion of the results of integration

presumes the current technology and the visible trends. It

has also implicitly considered only the components from

figure 4-1. In terms of the future technological possibilities, the following issues will have to be addressed:

o Use of "intelligent" systems . In the scenario presented above, a predefined integrated conceptual schema

is developed from which external user views are

-61-
Chapter 4—THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT

derived as needed for different applications. Another

possible approach would be to consider "on-the-fly" ad

hoc integration. In the latter, a user's request for

information is processed by an "intelligent request

processor" that determines what information systems

and databases are needed by the user. It then

proceeds to establish appropriate connections and uses

the cross-referencing knowledge to retrieve and

compile the necessary information. The FIB (federated

information base) research project at the University

of Florida under the direction of Prof. Navathe is

researching this problem.

o Along the same lines as above, it may be desirable in

the future to build "tailored" database management

systems by using standard parameterized building

blocks and system components to provide the best

logical interfaces and physical design options for a

given set of application needs. Experimental research

is under way at IBM research, the University of Texas,

and the University of Wisconsin in this area.

o Multimedia database management will soon become a

commercial reality. We expect the results of integration to appear in the form of integrated modules

containing text, voice, and images. This is likely to

have a major impact on the way we keep documentation

or write memos to disseminate business and technical

information.

It is expected that as the technology progresses and more

and more people start using computerized systems, the data

subject to integration will increase in volume as well as in

complexity. A number of challenges lie ahead in terms of

technical aspects like interfaces, data models, languages,

and operating systems as well as the organizational problems

of security, controlled access, incorporation of historical

information, etc.

-62-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5. THE INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT,

AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

John A. Zachman is a consultant for IBM's Applications

Enabling Marketing Center. He joined the IBM Corporation in 1965 and has held various marketing-related

positions in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. He

has been involved with Strategic Information Planning

methodologies since 1970, and has concentrated on

Information Systems Architecture since 1984. In 1989

he joined the CASE Support organization of the

Applications Enabling Marketing Center where he

continues his work on Information Systems Architecture .

Mr. Zachman travels nationally and internationally,

speaking and consulting in the areas of Information

Systems Planning and Architecture, and has written a number of articles on these subjects. His current

responsibilities include working internally with IBM

as well as externally with IBM customers in supporting

management with information systems.

John A. Zachman

CHAIRMAN

Biographical Sketch

PARTICIPANTS

Dale Goodhue

James Hosmer

William Inmon

Beverley Kahn

Anne Miller

Linda Nadeau

Jean Berube

Bruce Buckelew

Donald C. Burnstine

Douglas Erickson

Gerry O'Beirne

T. William Olle

Gerard Otten

Judith Quillard

Gary Schuldt

Charles Shoecraft

Richard Smith

Douglas Snyder

T. Travers Waltrip

Miles Welter

63-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5 . 1 INTRODUCTION

The 1988 National Institute of Standards and Technology

Workshop on Information Management Directions was comprised

of five panels and focused on the subject of integration of

information within the enterprise. By way of introduction,

it is interesting to note that the dictionary definition of

"integration" is: "the condition of being formed into a

whole by the addition or combination of parts or elements."

Each of the five panels addressed a different aspect of

"integration." The aspect that is covered i^: this panel

report relates to the formation of the "whole'' enterprise

through the addition or combination of the various information systems "parts" or "elements" that are produced over

the process of planning, developing, and maintaining the

enterprise's information systems.

It is in the context of the "integrated" enterprise that

the "integration" of information systems tools and methods

is meaningful and in which it is possible to speculate about

the future directions regarding the tools and methods.

The panel also discussed the sociological implications of

"integration" in the enterprise, both from the perspective

of the enterprise itself as well as from the perspective of

the Information Systems organization within the enterprise.

The major conclusions drawn by the panel were that

Information Systems planning, development and maintenance

tools and methods must evolve dramatically to make integration cheaper and easier. Also, and maybe more significantly, the culture of the Information Systems organization as

well as the enterprise must change drastically if the

enterprise is to compete effectively in the dynamic environment so uniformly predicted by social and economic prognosticators

The report summarizes and details the panel's findings.

5 . 2 APPROACH

5.2.1 Adoption of a Framework as the Basis for Discussion

The panel on Integration of Systems Planning, Development, and Maintenance Tools and Methods decided that it

would be useful to adopt a framework to serve as a basis for
Chapter 5

INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

discussion. This framework would pre-define a set of

logical components and their relationships and, in so doing,

minimize the time taken by a diverse group of Information

Systems professionals to agree upon basic definitions and

terminology. This would maximize the time available during

the workshop to focus on the essence of the issue, "integration." The framework that was selected was one with which

nearly all of the panel members were familiar, namely, the

"Framework for Information Systems Architecture" [ZAC87].

In brief, the hypothesis that supports the adopted

"Framework" is the following: In any discipline in which

construction of complex engineering products is the primary

objective, there is not a single architectural representation produced over the process of building the product, but

there is a set of representations produced. These representations depict the perspectives of the primary participants

in the design and construction process, namely the perspectives of the Owner, the Designer, and the Builder, as well as

representations that establish the scope of the project and

the out-of-context representations used for actual assembly

and fabrication. For example, over the process of building

a building. Architects and Contractors produce the following

set of representations:

"Bubble Charts" (or sketches) , depicting the gross size,

shape, scope of the project, or a "ballpark" view of the

end object.

Architect's Drawings . floor-plans, cut-aways, 3-dimensional representations depicting the Owner '

s

view of the

product.

Architect's Plans , engineering drawings and bills-ofmaterial depicting the Designer '

s

view of the product.

Contractor's Plans . technology and laws-of -nature

constrained views depicting the "how-to-build-it" or

Builder '

s

perspective.

Shop Plans . out-of-context, detailed descriptions of

parts or pieces (sub-components) , the Sub-contractor

s perspective

.

Analogous representations can be found in Engineering and

Manufacturing as well as in Information Systems, as shown in

figure 5-1.

-65-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Architecture/

Construction

Engineering/

Manufacturing

Information

Systems

Ballpark

View

Bubble-charts

or Sketches

"Concepts

Package"

Objectives, Scope

Statement

Owner '

View

Architect '

Drawings

Work-breakdown

Structure

Model of the

Business

Designer '

view

Architect '

Plans

Engineering

Design

Model of the

Info. Sys.

Builder '

View

Contractor '

Plans

Mfg. Engineering DesignModel of the

Technology

(physical)

Out-ofcontext ViewShop Plans Assembly & Fab.

Drawings

Detailed

Representations

End Product. Building e.g. , Airplane System

Figure 5-1

Further, disciplines that build complex engineering

products also use different kinds of descriptions of the

product in the design and construction process including,

for example, descriptions of the material of the product

(bills-of-material) , descriptions of the function of the

product (functional specs) , and descriptions of the geometry

of the product (drawings) . The Information Systems analogues for these descriptions are shown in figure 5-2.

Material Function Geometry

Architecture and/ Bills-of- Functional Drawings

or Manufacturing Material Specs

Information Data Functional Network

Systems Models Models Models

Figure 5-2

In summary, the combination of the two ideas that

constitute the underlying logic of the "Framework for

Information Systems Architecture" are:
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o There is a set of architectural representations

produced over the process of building complex engineering products that represent the viewpoints of the

Owner (the Model of the Business) , the Designer (the

Model of the Information System) and the Builder

(Model of the Technology) , and so on.

o Different types of descriptions are used over the

design and construction process including descriptions

of the Material (Data) , Function (Process) , Geometry

(Network) , etc.

The combination of these two ideas produces the "Framework for Information Systems Architecture" as seen in figure

5-3. This "Framework" suggests that for each of the

different types of descriptions, for example the Data

Descriptions, there will be an Owner's View, a Designer's

View, and a Builder's View, etc. Likewise, for the Function

and Network Descriptions, there will be the Owners' Views,

Designers' Views, Builders' Views, etc.

Therefore, in looking at an "Enterprise," this "Framework" puts some explicit specification around a set of

Information Systems Models that potentially could be

produced over the process of planning, developing, and

maintaining information systems for the Enterprise.

The panel found the specification of these models useful

in that it provided a "language" for quickly establishing

meaningful dialogue between professionals of diverse backgrounds on the subject of integration.

5.2.2 Definition of Integration

The "Framework for Information Systems Architecture"

suggests by implication that integration could be defined in

at least three different ways.

First, there could be "horizontal" integration, that is,

integration of the cells (models) across a row of the

"Framework," for example, integration of the Business Data

Model (Entity/Relationship Diagram) with the Business

Functional Model (Functional Flow Diagram) with the Business

Network Model (Business Logistics System) . "Integration" in

this context would mean a "mapping" of one model to another

as well as the maintenance of the mapping to ensure continuing consistency between the models.

-67-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE - A FRAMEWORK

DATA FUNCTION NEHl^ORK

OBJECTIVES/

SCOPE

Ust of Things Important

to the businass Ust of Processes the Business Performs

List of Locations in Which the Business

Operates

E^fr^Y » ctass of Business Thing Process Class of Business Process Node > Business

Location

MODEL

OF THE

BUSINESS

e.g.. "Ent/Rel Oiag' e.g., "Funct How Diag"

i

e.g.. Logistics Network

J

Ent " Business Entity

Rein " Business Rule

Proc • Bus Process

I/O - Bus Resources

(Including Info)

Node — Business Unit Link Business

Relationship

(Org, Product. Info)

MODEL

OF THE

INFORMATION

SYSTEM

e.g., "Dota Model" e.g., "Data^ow Diag" e.g.. Distributed ' Sys. Arch.

Ent - Data Entity

Rein " Data Rein

Proc > Application

Function

I/O » User Views

(Set of Data Elements)

Node • l/S Function

(Processor, Storage, etc

Link « Line Char.

TECHNOLOGY

MODEL

e.g.. Data Design e.g.. "Structure Chart" e.g.. System Arch

Ent Segment/Row

Rein » Pointer/Key

Proc

I/O -

Computer

Function

Screen/Device

Formats

Node " Hardware/Sys

Software

Link - One

Specifications

DETAILED

REPRESENTATIONS

e.g.. Data Design

Description

e.g.. "Program" e.g.. Network

Architecture

Ent - Helds

Rein - Addresses

Proc Language Stmts

I/O - Control Blocks Node " Addresses

Link > Protocols

FUNCTIONING

SYSTEM

e.g.. DATA e.g., FUNCTION e.g.. COMMUNICATIONS

Copyright 1987, International Business Machines Corporation

Reprinted with permission from IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 26, No. 3

Figure 5-3

-68-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Similarly, horizontal integration would apply to the

Information Systems Model Row as well as the Technology

Model Row.

Second, there could be a "vertical" integration of the

models down a column of the "Framework," for example,

integration of the Business Data Model (Entity/Relationship

Diagram) with the Information System Data Model (Data Model)

with the Technology Data Model (Data Design) . "Integration"

in this context would mean the "transformation" of one model

to the next, ensuring the assumptions implicit in higher

level models are accommodated/reflected in lower level

models.

Once again, vertical integration would also apply to the

Functional Model Column and to the Network Model Column as

well

.

Third, there could be an integration of any one of the

models in the "Framework" across the entire scope of the

enterprise. For example, examining the cell in figure 5-3

that forms the intersection of the Business Model Row and

the Data Model Column, integration could apply to producing

an entity/relationship diagram (model) that would span the

scope of the entire enterprise in a single, contiguous

fashion. In this case it would constitute an "integrated,"

enterprise-wide model of the business data. Similarly,

selecting once again any cell in the "Framework," integration could apply to producing a single, contiguous model

that spans the scope of the entire enterprise.

In summary, "integration" could be construed to mean:

o Horizontal Integration—integration of different kinds

of models

o Vertical Integration—integration of various points of

view of the same kind of model

o Intra-cellular Integration—integration of any given

model, representing a single, contiguous view of the

entire Enterprise from the perspective of a single

cell.

Any discussion of integration would have to address at

least these three possibilities, as their implications

differ significantly.

-69-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5 » 2 . 3 Integration Questions

The questions that seemed to be logical to pose against

each of the definitions of integration were:

o What is the value, if any, for integration?

o Assuming that there is value, what are the obstacles

that keep us from integration?

o What are the method and tool implications for integration?

o What sociological impacts would such integration have

on the business or on information systems?

These four integration questions were asked in relation

to horizontal integration across the Business Model Row, the

Information System Row and the Technology Row. They were

also asked in relation to vertical integration down the Data

Column, the Function Column and the Network Column. Last,

they were asked in relation to integration within each cell

in the "Framework" as it would depict a perspective on the

entire enterprise.

5.2.4 Work Structure

The panel participants were carefully selected such that

each of the nine major cells in the "Framework" had at least

one panelist that was experienced, that is, expert in that

cell. Therefore, the assembled panel represented a widely

diverse group of professionals whose expertise covered every

one of the nine major cells, or the broadest possible

spectrum of Information Systems Planning, Development, and

Maintenance for Data, Function, and Network and who, therefore, were well qualified to address all dimensions of the

integration questions.

The panel divided up into sub-groups as follows:

To address "horizontal" integration:

Business +Don Burnstine Judith Quillard Doug Snyder

Models Doug Erickson Dick Smith Trav Waltrip

Row Linda Nadeau

-70-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

I/S +Gary Schuldt Dale Goodhue Gerard Otten

Models Jean Berube Beverly Kahn Miles Welter

Row Bruce Buckelew Ann Miller

Techno- +Bill Inmon Gerry O'Beirne Chuck Shoecraft

logy Row Jim Hosmer Bill Olle

To address "Vertical" integration:

Data Column

+Linda Nadeau

Bill Inmon

Beverly Kahn

Judith Quillard

Gary Schuldt

Dick Smith

Miles Welter

Function Column

+Jean Berube

Don Burnstine

Doug Erickson

Ann Miller

Bill Olle

Gerard Otten

Doug Snyder

Network Column

+Chuck Shoecraft

Bruce Buckelew

Dale Goodhue

Jim Hosmer

Gerry O'Beirne

Trav Waltrip

(The "+" symbol denotes the Chairperson for the group.)

To address intra-cellular integration, the same teams

were used as those that addressed vertical integration, with

the exception that the Chairpersons were assigned as

follows:

+Judith Quillard +Ann Miller +Bruce Buckelew

The work products that were produced by each of the

sub-groups comprise sections 5.4 through 5.12. Section 5.3

below presents some overall observations and conclusions

that are derived, in a general sense, from those work

products

5.3 OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

5.3.1 Value and Obstacles Ouestions

First, with regard to the "value" and "obstacles"

questions, a pattern appeared to develop along the lines of

the three definitions of integration, as follows:
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

"Horizontal" Integration (i.e., Integration of the cells

across the rows of the "Framework")

The recurring themes that appear to underlie the three

working teams ' perceptions of the values of horizontal

integration are:

o enabling the enterprise to manage change

o providing Flexibility/Adaptability.

("Flexibility" was considered to relate to internal change,

that is, change within the system. "Adaptability" relates

to change of the enterprise as it relates to its external

environment.

)

The underlying explanation for the panel's observations

regarding those values of horizontal integration probably

relates to the concept of separation of independent variables. If independent variables are separated and managed

independently from one another, then the probability that

changes to one can be made without affecting the others

appears to increase significantly. Further, if each of the

independent variables is mapped to (that is, related to or

"integrated with") the others, then changes to one that do

impact another would likely be readily detected, evaluated

and then could be implemented as appropriate.

The information systems implications of this would be

that separation of the Data Models from the Functional

Models from the Network Models, coupled with a mapping (or

"integration") of the three different kinds of models with

one another, would produce a systems environment in which

change would be more readily manageable, that is, the system

would be more "flexible," making the enterprise more

"adaptable."

This appeared to apply consistently across all of the

rows in the "Framework": the Business Model Row, the

Information System Model Row and the Technology Model Row.

The obstacles to horizontal integration seemed to have

underlying themes as well, namely:

o No standard definitions and relationships exist for

all the models in the "Framework"
chapter 5

INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING. DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o "Inertia," that is, inertia of past practices and

methods for managing the enterprise and its systems.

The substance of these obstacles apparently lies in the

fact that, historically speaking, industry practice tends to

embrace a "one-model-does-it-all" approach. That is, we

have tended to attempt to imbed all variables (Data,

Function, and Network as well as Business, Information

Systems, and Technology) into a single "architecture."

Therefore, for example, even though the data models are

growing in acceptance vis-a-vis the functional models,

little effort has been expended to date to become definitive

about what belongs in which model, how the models relate,

establishing standard definitions and relationships, etc.

The Network Models (at least the higher order models)

have not had sufficient general usage (that is, they don't

even tend to be produced in actual practice) . Therefore,

few generally accepted formalisms exist and little thinking

has been done with regard to what belongs in the models and

how they relate to other models. Regarding the "Systems

Architecture" (Network Column, Technology Row) , there is

significant current focus, wrestling with vendor standards,

international standards, etc. However, formalization of

standards for the contents and relationships with other

models has yet to emerge.

Because of the historic industry practice (inertia) of

attempting to produce a single "architectural" representation to express multiple perspectives, there appears to be

some reluctance to separate the independent variables. As a matter of fact, professional parochialism and/or vested

interests even cause a strong inclination to imbed even more

independent variables into single representations. Therefore the "champions" of the various design technigues, in

attempting to "enhance" their products, present formidable

obstacles to horizontal integration and thus inhibit the

realization of the values associated with change management

and flexibility/adaptability. The ultimate impact is to

render the enterprise incapable of responding to the demands

of its external environment.

Vertical Integration (i.e.. Integration of the cells down

the columns of the "Framework")

The uniform value pattern that arises from looking at

integration of the Business Model with the Information

-73-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Systems Model with the Technology Model of each of the

columns in the "Framework" appears to be: Quality.

An apparent explanation for this observation might be

that the quality of any given model (cell) in a row is

primarily dependent upon whether it was satisfactorily

derived from the next higher order model (cell) in the

column.

In general, three possibilities exist:

o If a higher order cell has not been produced prior to

defining a lower order cell, assumptions about the

content of the higher order cell would have to be made

when producing the lower order cell. If the assumptions are in error, these errors will degrade the

quality of the lower order cell.

o If a higher order cell is produced but not utilized

when defining the lower order cell, then once again,

assumptions would have to be made that could introduce

error.

o If the transformation from the higher order cell to

the lower order cell did not maintain semantic

integrity or accurately carry over the constraints

defined by the higher order cell, then error will be

introduced into the lower order cell.

In each case, whether assumptions have to be made, or

whether the transformation lacked integrity, the quality of

the lower order cells (and therefore the quality of the

resultant product) is degraded.

This would be consistent for integration of the cells of

the Data Column, the Function Column, and the Network Column

and supports the observation that the value for vertical

integration relates to quality of the end product.

The obstacles to Vertical Integration are:

o inadequate transformation methods/tools

o lack of experience/skills

o strong user demands for implementations.

-74-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Underlying the obstacles is the inordinate user demand

for "running code" and a perception in the data processing

cominunity that specification techniques (higher order

models) are "mere" documentation. Therefore, insufficient

time appears to be available to be taken either to build

higher order models or even to acquire experience/skills for

building higher order models. Further, there is not

universal confidence that the methods or tools for performing the higher to lower order transformations are adequately

defined to ensure a semantically (or otherwise) accurate

transformation. Much more work needs to be done in this

area to realize the values that vertical integration

promises.

Note that without the ability to produce higher order

models and accurately transform them into working systems,

it is inevitable that errors will be introduced. Studies

clearly show that the cost of rectifying errors in an

implemented system is substantial, but beyond this cost is

the cost of damage that the system errors can do to the

enterprise itself.

Intra-cell Integration (i.e., integration of a given cell

model across the scope of the enterprise)

.

The working groups' recurring theme regarding the value

of integration within any given cell appears to be found in:

o Reusability of existing design, and

o Consistency/audit (exposing anomalies or inconsistencies, another source of errors.)

The key here seems to be seeing the total scope of

potential implementations in order to identify (and therefore plan and design for) reusability. This would provide

enormous potential for leveraging investments in development . Although much industry attention has been focused on

reuse of lower level components, reusable higher order

models would provide even more avoidance of wasted project

development dollars where projects have significant but

subtle overlap.

The converse of leveraging reusability is identifying

inconsistencies or anomalies. It is the inconsistencies and

anomalies that are costly, not only from an operational

-75-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

standpoint, in that they require costly operational reconciliation, but also from a management standpoint in that

policy inconsistencies (conflicts in objectives) cause

resource dissipations. Even in the Network, inconsistencies/anomalies (called "incompatibilities" in the Network)

require substantial investments either in hardware or

software and on-going management to reconcile.

In any case, the value of enterprise-wide models appears

to be reusability and/or identification of inconsistencies,

which translates into increased productivity, in a positive

sense by leveraging reusable "assets" and in a negative

sense by reducing sub-optimization.

The obstacles to Intra-cell Integration appear to distill

into several categories:

o Existing investment—in applications, tools, technologies, methods, etc., (which perpetuates disintegration)

o Short term versus long term trade-offs (the cultural

penchant for immediate gratification)

o Perceptions that integration means "centralization" or

"control" (raising the "ownership" question)

It is interesting to note that the promise of dramatically increased productivity through asset leverage (reusability) and the containment of resource dissipations from

sub-optimization have not been perceived as sufficient to

overcome the obstacles that constitute dis- integration. The

questions that this raises are:

o Is this because the methods and tools have not

materialized to make intra-cell integration cheap or

easy enough?

o Or, is it because the potential has not been articulated or quantified?

o Or, have we just not evolved to a stage where the

impact of asset leverage and productivity take

precedent over short term results?

In all likelihood, all of the above possibilities are

operative.

-76-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Furthermore, the enormous existing investment in

dis- integrated, implemented systems upon which an Enterprise

might well be dependent for continuing operations not only

is a deterrent in its own right, but spawns a host of vested

interests that "philosophically" inhibit integration. This

leads to the "ownership" question: who owns the implementation? The Enterprise? Or is it a component of the Enterprise? It is in this context that integration is perceived

to equate to "centralization" or "control" and therefore

constitutes an obstacle to achieving leverage and increased

productivity

5.3.2 Methods and Tools Question

After examining all of the answers to the methods and

tools question from all of the working groups, it seemed

appropriate to consolidate them into a conceptual structure

of the factors that form the rationale or motivation for

method and tool development.

In the context of Planning, Development, and Maintenance

as suggested by the "Framework for Information Systems

Architecture," there appear to be four conceptual areas of

opportunity that could be addressed by methods and tools:

o Reduce "production" cycle time

o Facilitate change management

o Integrate existing systems

o Improve quality.

The specific method and tool directions identified by the

working groups within each of the above categories are

briefly summarized below.

Reduce "Production" Cycle Time

a. Normative Models

The concept here would be to "generate" a model (cell in

the "Framework") based upon some external variables,

reducing the time required to produce the model using a "discovery" process. The concept of normative modeling

usually applies to models in the Business Model Row that

-77-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

establish the "Planning" context for downstream Information

Systems design activity.

b. Automated Transforms/Mappings

Once again, the concept is to reduce the time it takes to

produce a model (cell) by automatically deriving it from

another model (cell) . The terminology usage seems to be

that a "transform" applies to deriving a lower order cell

from a higher order cell; a "mapping" derives a cell from

another cell in the same row.

c. Design and Documentation Aids

Here the idea is to reduce the time a designer needs by

eliminating the paper of the design process, that is,

designing directly onto electronic media (analogous to CAE

or CAD in manufacturing) and generating paper (documentation) as required from the electronically stored models.

d. Pattern Recognition

Here the idea is leveraging reusability by identifying

designs already completed that could be reused, avoiding the

necessity to re-design from scratch.

Facilitate Change Management

a. Model Storage and Maintenance

This is the "storing" function in which each model (cell)

would be stored independently from the others, such that

changes could be made within a cell as long as they did not

impact adjoining cells. Coupling the idea of versions with

model storage would produce extensive possibilities for

"configuration management" and change control.

b. Impact Analysis/Costing

When changes to a given cell impact the structure of an

adjoining cell, it would be necessary to identify and cost

those changes before allowing them to be made. If the

storage facility contained the transform/mapping algorithms,

not only could the impending changes be identified and

costed, they could actually be implemented when authorized.

-78-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

c. Automated Rule Management

Unlike Architecture/Construction or Engineering/Manufacturing, in Information Systems, the media for the actual

product is the same as the media for the design of the

product. Therefore, not only could changes be automatically

enforced in the design process (as in a.. Model Storage and

Maintenance and b. , Impact Analysis/Costing, above) , but all

the rules/constraints of the various design models could be

automatically enforced during transaction processing if the

design models were part of the transaction processing

environment. The implication of this is that the higher

order cells could be active in the sense that transactions

could actually be processed by the design models and

therefore all the design rules/constraints automatically

enforced during operations.

d. Dynamic Process Path Selection

If the transactions were processed through the higher

order models (as suggested in c. , Automated Rule Management) , orders of magnitude greater flexibility would be

available for selection of process paths. The implications

of this are that the business could dynamically restructure

the transaction processing paths, only constrained by the

business rules inherent in the data models, the functional

modules in inventory and the installed network.

Integrate Existing Systems

a. Incremental Integration

The concept here is that as soon as any system (and

actually, the logic applies to any model, or cell in the

"Framework") is built, it becomes an "existing system" (or

model) . If it were not designed as integrated across the

scope of the entire Enterprise (re: intra-cellular integration) , then, as an existing system (or model) , it is

sub-optimal. Ultimately, like all sub-optimal systems, it

would be a candidate for some type of post-integration at

some point in time.

The tool idea would be to incrementally integrate the

"pieces" of a "total" model as the pieces are constructed.

Further, when the method/ tool, in attempting to integrate a new piece with an existing piece, discovered that structural

changes were required in the existing piece to effect the

integration, it could invoke the change management facili-

-79-
Chapter 5~INTEGRATI0N OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

ties of tools like those described above in Model Storage

and Maintenance and/or Impact Analysis/Costing.

b. Reverse Engineering

The issue addressed here relates to existing systems that

are physically running in incompatible environments. In

order to integrate them (or even to achieve the economics of

converting them to compatible environments) , they would have

to be "reverse engineered." That is, higher order models

would have to be abstracted out of lower order models until

the technology independent model is achieved. The technology dependent model could then be forward engineered into a

compatible technology environment. This concept, coupled

with the concept of incremental integration (a., above)

could produce compatible, enterprise-wide, integrated

systems (models)

Note: The question here is whether it is, in fact, possible

to logically deduce valid higher order abstractions that are

only implicit in the "Technology Models." It is likely that

it will not be possible in every case. This is particularly

relevant in the Data Column. However, if rule-based

processing approaches can be used to expose possible

anomalies and assist the re-engineers in examining the

implications of the assumptions, this obstacle may be less

formidable.

c. Heterogenous, Distributed Systems

Here the issue is existing systems in incompatible

environments in which there is no desirability or possibility for making the environments compatible. This would

force the integration to take place operationally as the

transactions are processed. The implication of this is the

transaction would have to be processed through a higher

order model, a technology independent model, in the sense of

Automated Rule Management above, enabling the implementation

to appear to be integrated even when the technology dependent designs (the physical environments) were not integrated,

that is, were incompatible. The real question here is

whether it is possible to produce a semantically consistent

"Data Model" (Information Systems Row, Data Column) from

more than one pre-designed "Data Design" (Technology Model

Row, Data Column). (See ch. 6, the report from the Panel on

"The Integration of Heterogenous Computing Environments.")

-80-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Improve Quality

a. Model Analysis

The concept here is to analyze any one of the models

(cells) based upon some objective criteria that would define

completion, or some other aspect of quality. This would

include, for example, analyzing the highest order cells, in

which planning decisions are made, based upon criteria that

are designed to determine priorities, segmenting the models

into implementable segments. The model analysis capability,

coupled with the transform/mapping capability (see Automated

Transforms/Mappings, above) would be very significant for

controlling the quality of the end product.

b. Validation

The concept here is to provide the ability to analyze a piece of a cell to ensure that it is consistent with the

rest of the cell, or to analyze a cell to ensure that it is

consistent with the constraints of an adjoining cell. Both

of these ideas contribute to end-product quality.

5.3.3 Sociological Questions

As in the methods/tools question, it seems useful to

present the overall pattern of all working groups regarding

sociological impacts of integration.

There are three major observations:

First, the concept of integration, taken to its logical

conclusion, blurs the distinction between the enterprise and

its information systems. The information systems are

clearly a representation, and may be even the implementation

of the infrastructure of the enterprise.

Second, integration would have substantial impact on the

enterprise power structure in that it would change the

concept of "ownership" and provide the flexibility to

distribute power based on criteria other than merely

"ownership." That is, if the old adage "knowledge is power"

is true, then in the dis- integrated environment where

systems are "owned" by departments and data is "private,"

power is the happenstance of "ownership." However, in an

integrated environment where the systems are owned by the

enterprise and the data is shared, power can be distributed

-81-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

on a rational basis independently of who has control of the

data

Third, integration would have an impact on the value

system as well as the processes—of I/S as well as the

Business—in that it would give either or both, great

flexibility for dynamic infrastructure change. Therefore,

integration is the basis for facilitating infrastructure and

culture change in the enterprise as the external environment

changes around it.

Within the purview of sociology, it seems significant to

make the observation that integration and centralization are

independent variables. Integration has to do with consistency. Centralization has to do with authority. It is true

that in a centralized environment, • consistency can be

legislated through exercise of authority. But it is equally

true that in a decentralized environment, anarchy is

prevented by decentralizing within the context of an

integrated infrastructure.

The converse is also true. That is, an organization can

be either centralized or decentralized on a dis-integrated

base, although neither of these options is particularly

effective. In any case, integration and centralization/

decentralization are independent variables.

This means that integration IS NOT tantamount to taking

away the authority for independent action at any level of

management. Integration IS providing all levels of management a consistent view of the data such that decisions could

be taken on a rational basis. It also means that all levels

of management would have consistent views of top management's strategies and objectives. This is all quite

independent of where management chooses to grant authority

for taking independent action.

It is useful to add that integration also makes change

possible because, having explicitly described the rules of

association of all the parts, the impact of changes can be

readily understood and implemented when appropriate. In

contrast, it is virtually impossible to change a disintegrated or anarchistic environment, first because the

impact of changes could not be discerned and second, as any

one piece is changed, there is no forewarning of how any or

all of the other pieces have to be changed to prevent

discontinuity

-82-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

In summary, the perception that integration is centralization or control is no more valid than saying the chart of

accounts prevents granting responsibility to spend money.

In both cases, the consistent definition of the parts and

the rules for their association have nothing to do with the

delegation of authority for independent action. That is an

independent variable.

Sections 5.4 through 5.12 present the work products

produced by each sub-group of the panel.

5.4 HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION: BUSINESS MODEL ROW

5.4.1 Introduction

Why consider Inter-connection

Integration

Inter-dependence?

Re: Tom Peters "Thriving on Chaos"

Global Competition, Global Markets demand:

o 400 times improvement in quality

o Product cycles reduced to 38 weeks

o Focus on quality and service

How do we make this happen? What role can I/S play? Is

DIS-integration better for responding to change?

5.4.2 Value

o Referring to the Business Models, "interdependent"

seems to be a better term than "integration."

o The business' nodes are interconnected for: — Effectiveness — Flexibility — Adaptability

o The business is interconnected or interdependent at

some level. For example, a conglomerate, at the

highest level, might only be interconnected financially.

-83-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Interconnection provides the opportunity to support

the reality of the business, for example, the interconnection of engineering and manufacturing.

o Interconnected/ interdependent models permit and

encourage iteration and "what if" kinds of question

asking.

o Identifies reusable, redundant "chunks."

o When asking: should the business models be integrated?

The immediate reaction is, "of course!"

o Considering inter-connected

integrated

inter-dependent definition and design

versus d is- inter-connected

d is - integrated

d is - inter-dependent definition and design.

Integrated definition and design: — supports organization behavior and structural

change — enables control of the information resource — enables response of the enterprise to competitive

thrust

5.4.3 Obstacles

o General inability to translate the business vision

statement into the information systems implications. — The vision statement spans the "columns" — Can't translate from Row 1 to Row 2

o Lack of business analysis skills (We lost . the

business analysts about 2 5 years ago—we converted

them to programmers.) — Methodology — Tools — Models

o We are trying to use Row 3 tools and skills to do Row

1 and 2 kinds of things.

-84-
Chapter 5~INTEGRATI0N OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o The P . C .

— Decentralizes control — Offers fast , high quality (i.e., service) results — Dis-integrates processes and/or data — Later realizes that it is not isolated, and

wants access to a database.

o Perception that "integration" implies "centralization. "

o No tools for "Connectivity" (Network Column) models.

Connectivity is key mechanism for interdependence.

Without it, the Business: — Can't optimize process — Loses quality — Loses control and tracking — Loses synchronization.

5.4.4 Methods and Tools

o Need tools or methods within I/S for Row 1.

o Need ability to make a translation from Row 1 to Row

2 .

o Need tool or method for documenting and controlling

changes to the relationships between Data and/or

Function and/or "Connectivity" (Network) and/or

Business Practices/Rules.

o Need tools to produce inter-related models from

Business "Vision," then to retain, maintain and

control changes that affect them. Also, must deal

with existing systems and new systems.

(Normative Models are candidates)

5.4.5 Sociolocfical Implications

o Defined and clarified models of information (processes

and rules) changes the power structure. — Information is power

-85-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS — Impacts "old boy" network — Trading information as a "barter" goes away — Can audit to the rules.

o There is difference between the Manager (controller)

of the Business Models versus the Administrator of the

Business Models. (Where does the power reside?)

5.5 HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION: INFORMATION SYSTEM MODEL ROW

5.5.1 Characterization of the Information Systems Row

o Model of the information system

o Designer's view

o Technology independent

o Subset of the business model in the sense that this is

where the automation boundaries are drawn.

5.5.2 Value

Integration defined as "consistency across all models in the

row .

o Efficiency of the process, that is, the process of

designing and building information systems. The

further down the "Framework" you get, the more

expensive it is to fix problems. Therefore, integration at the I/S model level makes the overall process

more efficient.

o Consistency, completeness and flexibility of the

product.

o Provide better input to the next level (the Technology

Model Row)

5.5.3 Obstacles

o No accepted definitions of the components in the

models (cells) and how they relate;

-86-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

e.g.. Entity < > Data Store

Attribute < > Data Element

etc.

o Lack of any accepted model at all in the "Distributed

Systems Architecture" cell.

o Lack of agreed upon mappings between columns (i.e.,

points of integration)

o Practitioners that build cells are in separate

organizations and don't talk to each other (i.e., Data

Administration, Database Administration, Analysts,

etc . )

o Lack of a well-articulated "Owner's View."

o Investment in existing architectures.

o CASE tools are not integrated.

Note that the tools affect how we think about our

methods. CASE tools are to I/S what applications are

to the business—and we are inviting the vendors to

tell us how to run our business.

o Too many choices—methods, tools, CASE products,

vendors, educators, authors, etc.

We need model primitives relative to each cell to

"normalize" the proliferation of choices.

o Methodologies are fragmented and support the "old"

ways (which are column-oriented—i.e., not horizontally integrated)

o Resistance to change within I/S.

o Decentralization of I/S functions makes methods

integration difficult.

o Several hats worn by the same person makes rows difficult to differentiate (e.g., same person plans,

designs, builds, tests, etc.).

o No appreciation for payoff—the short-term view,

particularly when it comes to funding.

-87-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Time integration problem—migration from existing

systems

o Technology features determine model characteristics,

(e.g., 20 years ago we thought data was hierarchical

due to the existing database technology—IMS)

5.5.4 Methods and Tools

o We need to discover the basic primitives of components

in each model (cell) (e.g., Process, Entity, Data

Element, Data Group, etc)

(These are the "atomic particles" out of which we

build the models, systems, etc. Without them, we have

no basis for "normalizing" the myriad of views of

them.

)

o Having discovered the basic primitives, we could

require the vendors to conform.

o The "Framework" could become a "database" and the

vendors could construct "views" (different visual

representations of the models) from the primitives.

o The tools should be more graphic.

o There should be less redundancy in the primitive view.

5.5.5 Sociological Implications

o Analytic vs. heuristic approaches can influence the

structure of the organization (e.g., end user views

squeeze the rows together)

"Analytic" refers to the classic "waterfall" approach

to building systems.

"Heuristic" refers to the iterative, prototyping

approach, cycling through the models.

o Integration will restrict "freedom" but not necessarily creativity.

o The focus shifts to values and objectives of the

-88-
Chapter 5

INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

models rather than organizations and procedures, how

to do the work.

THERE IS NO CHOICE BUT TO INTEGRATE

o Once we understand the problems addressed by the

"Framework," we can then allocate the functions to

specific organizations.

(That is, first we have to recognize that there is

such a thing as a Data Model. Next we can understand

the problems it is trying to address. Then we figure

out who is to build it.)

o Development of the integrated "Framework": — Continuous innovation — Constrained by budget/projects — Need people to do methodological integration.

(It's a project that needs users, etc.)

5.6 HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGY MODEL ROW

5.6.1 Value

o Consistency of data, processing — to the customer — to the systems developer — to the organization.

o "Seamlessness .

o Data/Process independence—separation of independent

variables for purposes of managing change.

o Ability to work within the organization from different

perspectives, not only from a project by project

perspective

.

That is, to work "horizontally"—from the perspective

of the corporation/enterprise and its concerns and

interests as well as to work "vertically"—from the

perspective of a project and its concerns and interests .

-89-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Note: Conflicting goals

Coordination difficulties

o Ability to blend the short and long term goals

together in a seamless fashion.

5.6.2 Obstacles

(Note: these obstacles do not appear to be limited to the

Technology Row alone, but appea-r to be universal for all

rows .

)

o Economies of scale

o Coordination

o Motivation

o Existing Systems

o Inertia

o Economics—this relates to the ability of an organization to cost-justify rebuilding a system purely for

integration purposes.

o Integration is viewed statically when it should be

viewed dynamically—integration is a "moving target."

5.6.3 Methods and Tools

o Method and tools tend to be more of a "columnar"

consideration than a row "consideration," that is,

"vertical" integration is more dependent on tools than

is "row" integration.

o At the Technology Row level, it is clear that crossreferencing is required between the Data column and

the Function column. That is, for every piece of data

there must be a process structure to support it, and

vice versa. Similarly, there needs to be a crossreferencing with the "Systems Architecture," the

Technology Model of the Network Column.

o Cross-referencing in itself is not adequate—other

factors are volumes, frequencies, etc.

-90-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING. DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Regarding "distribution"—the implications of distribution are so pervasive that they affect everything

else—therefore, distribution must be the first issue

decided upon.

Distribution decisions tend to be made based upon: — technology — economics — to some extent, business.

Having established the distribution structure, the

other technology models vary independently.

o The technology models are defined at the end of the

design process and therefore quality and productivity

are determined by re-iteration up and down the

columns

.

5.6.4 Sociological Implications

o If the wrong methodology/approach is chosen, people

end up defending technology decisions rather than

solving business problems.

o Data Modeling is, at times, used as a political device

to shift control in the organization.

o Integration requires discipline—therefore the

maturity of an organization determines the level of

commitment it could have to integration.

5.6.5 Other Issues

o "Old" versus "New" integration. — We know what integrating "new" systems means. — What does integrating "old" systems mean?

o Operational versus decision support needs—there is a "Collision" problem between short program needs and

long program needs—that ultimately leads to extract

processing or separate databases.
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o A data model, on its own is not adequate—but essential nonetheless.

o Cost justification at a MICRO level works against

integration

Cost justification at a MACRO level works for integration.

This conflict is very interesting—it explains part of

the confusion within the organization. Managers with

a "micro" view prioritize and act very differently

than managers with a "macro" view. Reconciling the

views is a real challenge.

o There is a real difference between external and

internal integration — External integration is integration as perceived by

the user of the system. — Internal integration is integration as perceived by

the builder and maintainer of the system.

o The role and affect of "application generators" is not

clear.

5.7 VERTICAL INTEGRATION: DATA COLUMN

5.7.1 What Belongs in the "Data" Column?

o The unit of analysis is a "thing" versus an "activity"

(process). That is, if you can "do" it, it's a process and not data.

(To most of us it's intuitive.)

o Business rule content

Rules of Association ==> Data

Rules of Transformation => Process

-92-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5.7.2 What is Integration? (Some Views)

o Input/Output View:

Previous row's

model

\/

Extra, outside

ingredient

(new conceptual

material)

> < Other Models

in the same

row

/\

Succeeding row's

model

Figure 5-4

o Traceability View (a.k.a. "impact")

("If X changes at a particular level, how do I make

corresponding changes at lower/higher levels?")

This relates to impact analysis, quality control —how do you recognize that you have reused conceptual

material from above and brought new conceptual

material in (or vice versa) to form a new model?

o (A general point) Integration is independent of

scope—scope is a project characteristic. Scope has

to do with the "instances" of a column, not the "metacontent" of the column.

* o Integration down a column means one thing, integration

across a row means another thing.

-93-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5.7.3 Content of Each of the Cells

Perspective Data

Obj ectives

"Ballpark"

View

o List of critical business entities

o Quick and dirty data model

o Critical success factors

Model of the

Business

Owner '

View

o Business Data Model

o Analytic model of the business

o Showing interrelationships

(relationships)

o Business rules (constraints,

integrity, dependency)

o Uniqueness (of entity) criteria

o Quantitative (volumes of occurrences)

o Business entity: descriptive

attributes

o Business purpose or role of an entity

o Analysis of access control

requirements

Model of the

Information

System

Designer '

View

Technolocfy Independent

o "Normalization" of business data

model, including attributes

o Business needs access model (logical

navigation, process constraint)

o Prescriptive model of an information

system (data portion)

Technology

Model

Builder '

View

Technolocry Dependent Data Model

o Identify specific hardware/software

products

o Account for technology constraints &

features

o Factor in performance considerations

o Security/privacy/recovery/backup

o "Internal Model" (ANSI/SPARC)

o Field sizes, etc.

Figure 5-5

f!!»

-94-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5.7.4 Value

o Traceability of requirements through implementation.

o Avoids restarting from scratch—if higher level models

are available, you don't have to re-gather the data

required to produce lower level models.

o Validation and completion criteria are exposed at each

level, which allows for traceability.

o Allows a change in business rules to be reliably

propagated into the implementation system.

o Allows for impact analysis of change

y

>

e.g.. If y changes and has an impact on the model,

then it is possible to determine what changes have to

be made to x (the next higher level model) to accommodate the change to y.

o Communication between rows (levels, perspectives)

Each model is described from the perspective of the

owner of the model, that is, the Owner describes the

business, the Designer describes the Information

System, the Builder describes the Technology, etc. , and the models make it possible for communication in

that they provide for shared vocabulary as the

transformation is made from level to level.

5.7.5 Obstacles

o Lack of methods for transformation from one level to

the next. — performing the integration — controlling the integration — evaluating the integration.

-95-
Chapter 5—1 NTEGRAT I ON OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Different perceptions of the various row roles. (For

example, the business modeler who does not understand

information systems design will have a difficult time

negotiating with the designer. The information

systems designer who does not understand technology

will have a difficult time negotiating with the

builder, etc . )

o Organizational commitment is difficult to get (power,

resources, beliefs, etc.).

o Integration is perceived as (and may be) : i impediment

to flexibility (e.g., in some industries, the "cowboy"

style of management seems to be in fashion and

planning is out of fashion)

o Integration is perceived as centralization.

o Bottom-line/short-term payoff orientation.

Business planners, for example, don't understand how

models can be of value to them. Therefore they are

reluctant to invest the time or resources required to

build them.

o Perceptions at the higher level are less dataoriented.

Higher levels of management find it difficult to talk

about data without talking about how the data is used.

Data design requires knowledge about data structure,

but when you talk about semantics the idea of processing starts to creep in and it becomes hard to draw the

line between the structure and the process which

complicates building a data model. The concept of

data as data seems to be lacking.

o Data is not thought of as a corporate asset but as an

information systems asset (no matter how much the

words "data is a corporate asset" are used) . This is

probably due to the fact that today, data is often not

available to the corporate planners/strategists. They

clearly are not presently using data models or metamodels in their day-to-day activities.

o Data analysts/business analysts misperceiving their

role as "designers" (i.e., they tend to get prematurely physical, talking about physical structure

-96-
Chapter 5

INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

issues, navigation issues, etc., when they should be

talking about the underlying business rules.

5.7.6 Methods and Tools

Note: The method is the fundamental issue—the "tool" is

"just" an implementation of the method.

(There was not universal agreement in the sub-panel on this

issue. The disagreement centered around the word "just.")

o Need methods that carry through all rows of the

Framework—methodologies that cover more of the "lifecycle"—where the definition of "life-cycle" is much

broader than current usage, for example, life-cycle

that emphasizes reuseability , or life-cycle as related

to an "entity," etc.

o Need methods and tools that help us validate from one

row to another (e.g., from analysis to design, etc.).

o Need tools that will generate first-cut models.

o Methods must provide for carrying business rules,

constraints, etc., through the levels—not only

carrying the structure (i.e., we need better information along the interfaces)

.

o Need intelligent, expert, sensitive user interfaces to

the tools that help the "user" do the job better. For

example, interfaces that: — help the analyst ask business questions — help the designer cover all design bases — provide tutorial help for novices and "short-cuts"

for experienced users — etc.

o Need improvement in methods/methodologies That is: — more options and paths through the methods/tools,

not merely a "black box" type method where the

intermediate models are not discernible — better understanding of the purpose or steps of the

methods—methodological primitives—to produce

"recombinant" methods — better criteria for evaluating evaluation criteria.

-97-
Chapter 5

INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5,7.7 Sociological Implications

o If I/S were indeed "integrated," it would be integrated into the business—that is, it would be seen as

part of the business rather than an issue to be dealt

with.

o Methods integration requires "I/S Business" integration.

(Decentralization, that is, dis-integration, is not a

"black or white" issue. Different factors come to

bear at different points in time, and therefore

decentralization is a trade-off that needs to be

understood and controlled.)

o Data integration requires business integration.

o Attempts to integrate will expose inconsistencies/

incompatibilities that create human insecurities and

power issues.

o Integration makes more information available to more

people, which could cause a given business person to

do/perceive his or her job differently.

o Integrated methods produce metadata that will result

in integrated data. This could have significant

ramifications, for example: — it would make security/privacy issues far more

complicated — it would make the power issue more difficult to

manage — it could cause information overload — etc.

o Access to metadata—business rules would be modeled,

recorded, and possibly publicized, which could have

unpredictable impact on business units.

(This problem is different from managing access to

operational data.)

-98-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5.8 VERTICAL INTEGRATION: FUNCTION COLUMN

5.8.1 Function Column Definitions

REAL WORLD

Level 2—Business Model

Responses to events

Activity oriented (Abstract/concrete

Time/material/products Low level/high level)

Resource, product life-cycle

Precedence

Level 3 —Information Systems Model

(Technology Independent)

Subset of level 2 ?

Automation boundary < Level 4 —Technology Model . . . Same ?

(Technology Dependent)

Technology decision < Manual systems

Level 5—Specification

Level 6—Product

Main part of what is delivered

REAL WORLD

5.8.2 Program of Work

o Answer integration questions

o Review interfaces between cells

(Ignore the contents of the cells and concentrate on

what goes on between the cells.)

5.8.3 Value

o Enable consistency and requirements tracking at every

interface

o Enable quality assurance — Check point — Quality criteria — Product identification

-99-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Enable capture of metrics along the value chain (i.e.,

from cell to cell)

o Increase of the value/cost ratio is directly linked to

communication

(If the interfaces between the cells are not clearly

defined, then a major expenditure is made in communicating about the contents of the cells. That is, we

work at the boundary, either understanding or ignoring

the work in the previous cell, and don't do the real

work inside the cell.)

o User acceptance will be better if we implement

integrated systems (i.e., integrate manual portion and

automated portions) from an integrated life-cycle. In

this event, there would be a higher probability of

matching the implementation with the business function.

5.8.4 Obstacles

o No language to convey the whole problem to more than

one person.

o Lack of communication requires 60% re-work.

o IS/IT reluctance to comply with user requirements,

given restricted time frames.

(As time grows short, we forget about doing what the

user wants .

)

o Organization boundaries may not allow the resources of

all partners to be made available in sync.

(In an integrated life-cycle, resources may not be

available when you need them. For example, you can't

hire a temporary user.)

o The whole process is, at present, people dependent

that is, the integration (whatever there is of it) is

being performed by people.

o The user's perception of the process is that it is a

"black box." That is, there is no level differentiation—which refers back to the resource availability

-100-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

issue—the users are not available except at the

beginning and the end.

o Lack of skills in: — conflict resolution — communication — analysis versus development.

o Accounting systems cannot cope with missing values for

cost/benefit in rows 1-3.

o North American short term view creates problems for

high front-end cost, delayed return situation.

o Reusability is limited by our own experience and

history.

(We would much rather create new things than reuse old

things .

)

o "Discover the solution" mentality (ignore requirements) .

5.8.5 Methods and Tools

o Partnership of IS/IT and the business—the result will

be that the business will become: — less people dependent — more "process" dependent.

o Need multiple level of cost estimating/planning to

secure execution of 2 steps at a time.

(If commitment cannot be secured for the entire

implementation, at least two steps are required to

have the funding to do the proper job at the proper

time.

)

o Need methods/tools to produce short term, "quick fix" — to gain credibility, but also — for integrating quick fixes into the long-term

portfolio.

-101-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Need integrated tools (tools that "talk" to one

another) to enable fast production for prototyping/

gathering right requirements.

(The idea is to build the "wrong" system very fast and

then build the "right" system. Without integrated

tools, it is impossible to iterate through the

development process in a reasonable amount of time.)

o Without tools, people concentrate on precision, not on

judgement or direction.

o JAD-type approaches to integrate participants all

along the cycle.

o Usage of normative models/reusable components built

into the methodologies.

o Need to focus on innovation in the business, not

innovation in techniques/methods.

o Tool integration depends on method integration.

5.8.6 Sociological Implications

o How to gain commitment from management/users when you

are at the beginning of the cycle.

(We are selling "futures" and we tend to sell things

like entities and relationships. Maybe that is the

wrong thing to try to sell. Maybe we should gather

some information, make something run, and then sell

the system.

)

o User resistance to change needs to be addressed

throughout the cycle.

o Loss of "ownership" (of a cell) versus integration.

(When there is no integration, there is no problem

finding owners. In fact the problem is too many

owners. However, if there is good integration, it is

hard to find an owner.)

o Sharing of the business purpose all along the column

is the key to quality.

-102-
Chapter 5

INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Blurring of distinction between the business and IS.

o Creates a need for new skills—e.g., business analysts.

5.9 VERTICAL INTEGRATION: NETWORK COLUMN

5.9.1 Introduction

o Understand the content of the column.

Technology resides in this column—and is a major

issue. (For example, it could be observed that if

there were sufficient, raw compute power to provide

access between any one piece of data and any other

piece of data, our interest in data models would be

much less intense. Therefore, even though things can

be built without understanding the underlying technology, we still carry around with us a collective

knowledge of what can and can't be done with current

technology. This limits, in almost every case, the

scope of what we do.)

o Suggested alternate names for the column.

There is a certain discomfort with the name of the

column, "Network". It is an enterprise issue that

needs an enterprise perspective, and "network" has a connotation that is somewhat limiting. Several

alternative names were discussed, including: — Technology Infrastructure — Enabling Technology — Connectivity.

However, no consensus was reached and so, for the time

being, the sub-panel settled for "Network."

The enterprise is made up of things that, once again,

were hard to name. That is, "nodes" or "chunks,"

which are concentrations of activity—and the relationship between the "chunks." The "chunks" are

aggregations of data and processes built around "where

the decisions are made," not necessarily around the

geographical dispersement . However, there may be a requirement for physical means of communication

-103-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

between geographical locations in order to make the

decision process viable.

This raises the issue that there clearly is a relationship between the three columns, Data, Function,

and Network (chunk) , which may not be only three

dimensional, but n-dimensional , as other factors, like

organization (politics) , may also be related.

Further, decisions made in higher rows have dramatic

impact on lower rows, and decisions about "dispersement" in higher rows have to be made early on because

they become very specifically and physically geographic in the Technology Model Row. If the decisions

are not made early on, then the Technology Model

decisions of the Network column will constrain the

logical or conceptual model decisions of higher rows

by default.

o Integration of "connectivity" implies an enterprise

with a hierarchy of decisions.

5.9.2 Value

(Or, cost of not integrating.)

o If there is no integration (from the top, down the

column) , then there will be DIS-integration, driven by

the marketplace (what the capability of the technology

is in the marketplace) and not by the enterprise

purposes. For example, the existence in the marketplace of personal computers that can be purchased in

large quantities by departments without having to

obtain corporate authorization to do so, will result

in systems all over the enterprise with their own data

models, and with no hope of ever integrating them.

Two possibilities: — A service approach, in which you allow people to

move at their own pace until they make a request

that takes them a step further. Then you must be

technically prepared to deal with the technology as

it comes to your door. If you are not technically

prepared, then you risk the users concluding that

I/S is stubborn and doesn't want to change.

-104-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

(If you can't deal with complexity, then simplify.) — Create an ability to forecast the future and

participate in that process on an on-going basis in

order to avoid failure in the future.

(Note: The OSI model is NOT an analog of the Framework. In the OSI model, you can ignore the lower

levels, but in the Framework, you CANNOT ignore the

lower levels.)

5.9.3 Obstacles

o Technical competence of the information organization.

o Ability to forecast availability of enabling technologies.

o The industry has become so specialized that the

specialized knowledge tracks create boundaries that

are difficult to integrate because the specialists

can't think across the boundaries. What is needed is

education to help future I/S managers view the whole

and have some hope of understanding it. By the same

token, future business managers must be educated to

view the whole and understand the role and responsibilities of I/S.

5.9.4 Methods and Tools

o A primary tool is education—we need an Information

Management Degree.

o The Framework needs to be viewed holistically rather

than as parallel, independent processes.

5.9.5 Sociological Implications

o It is important that the responsibility for Information Architecture not reside in the I/S organization

as long as the I/S organization does not understand

that the objective is to serve the enterprise, not to

optimize the technology.

-105-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Current trends/capabilities in I/S technology allow

end users to have enough technical expertise to create

conflict with the I/S Department.

o The I/S organization must have service-oriented

consultants who have a solid technological basis of

understanding of the I/S Architecture.

5.10 ENTERPRISE-WIDE INTEGRATION: DATA CELLS

The approach the group used was to make general observations that applied to all cells in the column and then to

take a specific cell to validate the general observations

while noting any additional observations relevant to that

specific cell.

5.10.1 Dimensions of Integration

o Addressing integration within a cell, it was important

to distinguish between:

a priori integration vs. post hoc integration

(systems designed with (after-the-fact

integration in mind) integration)

Note: Most of our discussion during the workshop

centered around a priori integration, whereas the real

world problems were probably post hoc integration

problems

o Different issues must be addressed when discussing:

integration of vs. integration of

operational data informational data

Note: We really didn't spend time on this distinction, however focused more on the operational data

issues

o Three dimensions of scope-related integration: — across business units — across business activities — across locations (this is the domain of the network

column)

-106-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Another consideration is at what level does the

integration start? The assumption that was made is

that given any cell, all cells above were integrated

to the same scope. In practice, this may or may not

be the case, since scope of integration of a lower

level cell may be narrower than that of a higher level

cell

.

5.10.2 General Comments

o Each cell has its own tool/method implications — due to model characteristics, primitives, etc.

o Sociological implications—similar to previous

observations — Levels 1 and 2 —very similar — Level 3 (Conceptual Data Model) —very different — Level 4—very similar.

5.10.3 Value

Note: What we are trying to integrate are Business Data

Models

e.g. : A B C

Engineering Manufacturing Finance

o The values of integration: — Communication between systems is possible.

(Identifies interfaces) — Identifies inconsistencies/inefficiencies between

systems. (Identifies anomalies—due to the lack of

a common business language between the different

systems) — Expedites development activities due to reusability

of components of the business data model. (Identifies redundancies, identifies non-value-added

tasks) — Multiple perspectives can be represented. (Across

business units within a single company, across

multiple companies within a holding company)

-107-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS — May improve quality and save time in requirements

process due to reusability of parts of the data

model. (Data inventory—data item definition) — Expose anomalies in business rules. (Produces a

more robust data model, enables an impact analysis

down the column)

5.10.4 Obstacles \

\

o Different business units use different terminology and

data names

— Homonyms/synonyms have to be resolved — Hard to detect commonality, conflicts, complementariness due to lack of robust, precise descriptions (no standard language for describing entities) .

o Ownership (of data models) and "not invented here"

syndrome

o Lack of funds for integration. (Long-term vs. shortterm payoff .

)

o Difficult to articulate, in "dollar" terms, the

benefits to the business.

(High level personnel are less data oriented and more

activity/function oriented.)

Note: Many of the group took issue with this observation. However, there was agreement regarding the difficulty

in articulating the benefits. In this regard, it was

suggested that a more viable approach may be to articulate

the costs of not integrating.

o Who resolves conflicts? — Power to do so — Ownership issues — Business rule resolution.

o Conflicting organization/political goals. (In some

cases it may be perceived as not in an individual's

best interest to integrate the data.)

-108-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Current models may not be sufficiently rigorous

semantically to be integrated.

5.10.5 Methods and Tools

Note: The objective of the methods/tools is to merge

business data models. That is, to synthesize/rationalize

models, to identify/remove redundancy, to identify commonalities .

o High level model description required—meta model

level with instantiations

o Need semantic models

o Need procedures/ rules for identification and resolution of commonalities — Synonyms — Homonyms — Complementarity

o Some existing data modeling tools/methods do not lend

themselves to integration (they emphasize structure

rather than rules)

.

5.10.6 Sociological Implications

o Most of the obstacles identified have sociological

implications

.

o When systems are integrated (e.g. , A + B —> AB ) it

forces us to look at the business in a new light—to

identify new business problems and inconsistencies.

o The person who delivers the message (above) runs the

risk of being "shot," or even worse, ignored.

5.10.7 Re: "Database Design Model"

Note: The Data Design Cell (Data Column, Technology Row)

was chosen to validate the above general observations and to

identify where potential anomalies occur.

-109-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Assumption: Integration has already been done at all

higher rows.

o Value of integration—same as above

o Obstacles (basically consistent with the above) — Incompatibilities among DBMS technologies — Data naming conventions — Conflicting performance tuning — Conflicting denormalization — Conflicting organization/political goals (DBAs) — Who resolves the conflicts?

o Methods/tools—Every cell really has its own method/

tool implications because of the different model

characteristics and units of analysis.

o Sociological Implications—Same as above.

5.11 INTRA-CELL INTEGRATION: PROCESS CELLS

The approach the group used was to select one cell, the

Information System Cell, and as each integration question

was addressed, to identify any additional observations for

other cells.

5.11.1 Value

o Reduced cost, improved quality.

(Because, looking at the entire enterprise, we can

predict results and impact of the relationships

between processes. That is, we can see each process

in context .

)

o More consistent results.

(Due to dependency on common methodologies rather than

on different individuals.)

o Provides consistency in definition, acquisition and

compensation of skill levels.

(Other Cells)

-110-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Value increases as we move from level 1 through level

5 (i.e., the models become less subjective and more

explicit, and the cost of change increases)

.

5.11.2 Obstacles

o Conflicting and competing tools and methodologies.

o "Sunk" resources in existing inventory utilizing

previous methodologies and tools.

o Continuing investment to maintain "old" and "new"

(e.g., Tool/Method support, education).

o Tradition and history ("Last idea didn't work," etc.)-

o Missing definition of product of cell and its associated evaluation criteria.

o Competition between creativity and conformance.

o Cost of retrofitting of "new" (method) to "old"

(product)

.

o Process can be expressed as data or vice versa (e.g.,

derived data)

.

5.11.3 Methods and Tools

o Tools will need to derive different representations

from the same information.

o If more than one tool/method is required, the tools/

methods must comprise an integrated (no overlap)

family.

o Must be adaptable to size (i.e., tailor cost of use to

project size)

.

o Maintain version control.

o Impact analysis between current and proposed versions.

-Ill-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5.11.4 Sociological Implications

o Tradition and History ("last idea didn't work")

o Competition between creativity and conformance.

o Provides consistency in definition, acquisition and

compensation of skill levels.

5.12 INTRA-CELL INTEGRATION: NETWORK CELLS

5.12.1 Introduction

o AKA: Node - Line - Node

Infrastructure

Geography (Schematic and real)

Technology Architecture

Delivery Mechanism

o Scope

Hardware and software that support the storage (node)

,

processing (node) and distribution (or communications

or transmission) (line) of information from corporate

centers to workstations.

(NOT the storage, processing, distribution of iPhvsical

goods)

Node = All pieces of hardware and systems software

involved with the delivery mechanism.

Line = transmission or distribution mechanisms.

o Purpose

To deliver functions and data to users in a timely,

reliable and cost effective manner.

o Some general characteristics — Flows from the culture of the business. — Supports the business by delivering the data and

functions of the other two columns. — Supports (directly) the other two columns by

providing the architectures, products and configurations that will allow them to work.

-112-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS — Constrains the other two columns by limiting the

architectures and products that can be used and by

providing (or not providing) technical feasibility

of proposed data and functions. — "Prices" the infrastructure required to deliver the

data/function required. (Residency, transport and

"crunch" all have costs associated with them.) — Always works best when it works in conjunction with

the other two columns.

5.12.2 Some Characteristics of the Cells by Level

LEVEL 0

Vision of the Business

o Mission (products and markets)

o Business Environment (competitors, substitutes,

finances, government regulations and other factors

that have an impact on business operations)

o Culture — Centralization vs. Decentralization

Decision making

Management processes

Operational control — Formal vs. Informal

(These are very important to understand so that they

can be incorporated in any design considerations.)

o Geographic Boundaries

For all of the above

What is it now?

What is the vision of the future?

What are the business strategies and plans to get there?

-113-
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

LEVEL 1

"Ballpark"

What is NEEDED by the cell:

o A basic understanding that there is a need to control

the integrity of the infrastructure

o What products/types of products are offered by the

enterprise

o Where (by location) will different functions be

performed, including a rough "flow,"

e.g.. Plants in Little Rock, ... Data Center in Canton, . .

Home Office in San Francisco, etc.

o What "types" (in general terms) of data are required

to support the functions

What is PROVIDED by the cell:

o List of the things involved, i.e., scope of the

infrastructure in order to — estimate or measure gross volumes — estimate or measure gross performance requirements — "configure," i.e., grossly size process, storage

and communications requirements — determine gross feasibility—price (?)

What is ESTABLISHED by the cell:

o The highest level principles from which the architecture will be derived.

For example: — it will be simple vs. functionally rich — it will be common or standard vs. diverse — it will be medium risk vs. high risk

etc.

-114-
Chapter 5—I NTEGRAT I ON OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

LEVEL 2

Model of the Business

(Owner's View, "Logistics Network")

What is NEEDED by the cell:

(Where possible)

o Volumes (that can be translated into rough process/

storage/distribution numbers)

o Performance characteristics

o "New" technologies envisioned, if any

o Ownership of infrastructure architecture

What is PROVIDED by the cell (to the function and data

columns)

o Technical feasibility (yes/no)

o Cost vs. performance trade-offs

o Integration feasibility on existing infrastructure

What is ESTABLISHED by the cell:

o Current information infrastructure — High level — Pictures — Words — Principles

LEVEL 3

Model of the Information System

(Designer's View, "System Architecture")

What is NEEDED by the cell:

o Understanding of I/S technologies available at

architecture level

o Any new functional requirements required for design

-115-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Volumes and performance requirements from function and

data columns (next refinement)

What is PROVIDED by the column:

o Specific "architectures" that are approved to support

the functions and data

o Assistance in the selection and use of architectures

if more than one choice exists

o Price estimates

o General configuration

What is ESTABLISHED by the cell:

o Explicitly stated system principles

o List of supported "architectures"/vendors

o Usage guidelines

ISSUE:

o Which column owns security?

LEVEL 4

Model of the Technology

(Builder's View, "System/Product Architecture")

What is NEEDED by the cell:

o Industry/Product knowledge

o Specific volumes and dates

o Compliance to architecture and product standards by

data and process people—inside and outside the I/S

organization

What is PROVIDED by the cell:

o Assistance in use of approved products

-116-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

o Implementation/integration plans of network components

to support data/ function

o Capacity plan

What is ESTABLISHED by the cell:

o Specific list of products with configuration and usage

guidelines that will work, are supported, and fit

within our architectural principles

o Either acquisition authority or the right to exclude

from infrastructure

LEVEL 5

Detailed Representations

(Out-of-Context View, "Network Architecture")

What is NEEDED by the cell:

o Programs and databases that — Meet user requirements — Work — Comply with network architectures

What is PROVIDED by the cell:

o Infrastructure upon which — Data will reside — Programs will run — Users will have access

o Feedback/actual cost

What is ESTABLISHED by the cell:

o Physical capacity

o Management processes required to meet service levels.

-117-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

LEVEL 6

Functioning System

What is NEEDED by the cell:

o Ability to ensure data integrity

o Programs be maintained.

What is PROVIDED by the cell:

o Operations of infrastructure where appropriate

o Support (infrastructure) to other "operators"/useroperators

What is ESTABLISHED by the cell:

o Dollars and resources

5.12.3 Issues

o These are examples but not industry accepted models

and conventions.

o Data and function columns are dispersing, and not

generally owned by I/S professionals—process and data

are DlSintecrratinq .

o Network "Disintegration" has occurred to varying

levels. Therefore, "network" architecture will be

more or less difficult to implement depending upon the

state of the mess.

o If not understood and endorsed and supported at the

highest level in the organization and at the highest

level of the architecture, it won't work.

o It must be (and be perceived as being) ENABLING , not

DISABLING.

5.12.4 Value

o There is NO value to supporting interfaces that didn't

have to exist to begin with

-118-
Chapter 5

INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

— They are expensive — They are specialized — Long term, they won't work

o Long term survivability of the infrastructure

o Must be the combination of "central plan" and market

determined

5.12.5 Obstacles

o Existing physical inventory

o "Belief" that architecting the infrastructure stifles

creativity

o Existing data/programs with no funding or ability to

replace, phase out or kill, built before network

architecture

o Lack of ability to sell importance to top executives

o Everyone is a technical "know-it-all"

5.12.6 Methods and Tools

o Few exist

o Need diagrammatic language/conventions to depict the

complexity of the network environment — Re: GUIDE project on Software Planning — Re: System Planning Grid—IBM Systems Journal

Summer '87 — etc.

Note: We have Entity/Relationship diagrams for data,

data flow diagrams for function—we need "node/line

diagrams" (or whatever) with the equivalent descriptive richness and semantic rigor for the network.

o Tools may have to be invented in each organization to

map to the culture

-119-
Chapter 5 —INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

5.12.7 Sociological Implications

o Will take a long time to change—mainly due to dollars

invested and age of the installed portfolio

o "Let a thousand flowers bloom" needs to end without

destroying its benefits

o Technologists must: — Take "systems" view — Sell its benefits — Facilitate cooperation of specialists

5.13 POSTSCRIPT

Although this completed all of the work that the panel

set itself to accomplish, reflecting on the 2 days work

produced some very interesting, if not profound, overall

observations

In spite of the focus on integration in the workshop, the

practical fact of the matter seems to be that: Information

Systems are PIS -INTEGRATING—not integrating!!

o Existing systems are decaying through constant

maintenance (patching, incremental change) . Very

likely, in the near future, we will see some major

catastrophes

o The cost of incremental change is accelerating,

leaving less of the development dollar available for

"building new."

o Users have lost faith that I/S can produce anything

useful within an acceptable schedule at an acceptable

cost.

o Technology price/performance escalation allows users

to "do it themselves," resulting in isolated,

( d is - integrated) "islands of automation."

o The diversity and proliferation of technologies defy

"connectivity" (integration)!

o Integration is perceived negatively by the business

and I/S alike in that it is perceived to be "centrali-

-120-
Chapter 5—I NTEGRAT ION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

zation" and "control," which runs counter to the

current trends to decentralize control to the lowest

levels of the organization.

o Dis-integration may even have cultural origins in the

Western world where individualism is dominant (in

contrast to the Eastern world where the orientation is

to the group)

o ... and so on ! In contrast, the very concept of "Enterprise" is undergirded by integration. The word "enterprise" etymologically

comes from concepts that mean "purpose in action." "Integration" means unitv of purpose in action. Furthermore, the

word "corporation" derives from words that mean "a body that

acts as one."

What appears to be happening in information systems, as

well as in the enterprise, is that we have "purpose in

action," but it is at the sub-unit level, as opposed to the

Enterprise level. This constitutes PIS -integration. The

"pieces" are, at a minimum, uncoordinated, and are likely to

be in conflict with one another. This results in "the sum

of the parts being less than the whole." The question that

this raises is, "is it possible for such an enterprise to

compete effectively with an enterprise in which the sum of

the parts is crreater than the whole?" (Probably not!)

As global markets evolve with international competition

and an unprecedented increase in the rate of change, it

would seem that survival may well be dependent on maximizing

asset leverage, minimizing the resource dissipation of

sub-optimization, and structuring for flexibility in

response to the markets and the competition.

Therefore, it would appear that this is a time of great

risk—great risk, not only for I/S, but great risk for the

Enterprise as a whole!

The two days work on integration, through the analysis

based on the "Framework for Information Systems Architecture," clearly leads to the following conclusion: The parts

(by any definition, information systems or the Enterprise)

are, in fact, or at least should be, integrated . Otherwise,

they would not be included as a part of the whole at all!
Chapter 5—INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND METHODS

Further, it is only through integration that it is

possible to achieve advances in productivity, asset leverage, quality, flexibility for assimilating changes, and so

on. These are the characteristics that are mandatory for

operating in the dynamic, future marketplace so universally

forecasted by social and economic prognosticators alike.

In short, it would appear that survival in the future, in

which change is the predominant environmental characteristic, will be dependent upon integration—which is

apparently inconsistent with the current trends 1 The singular conclusion is that the challenge to I/S

professionals is not merely to design the methodologies and

build the tools that make integration feasible and practical

(that is, cheap and easy) , but to introduce the cultural

change—to counter the dominant trend—to establish the

precedent of employing integration, not to restrict, but to

release—not to immobilize, but to make flexible—not to

control, but to SERVE the Enterprise—to enable the parts of

I/S and the parts of the Enterprise to function in integration such that the "sum of the parts becomes, in fact,

greater than the whole."

Our success in understanding integration, reshaping our

own agenda and culture—in SERVING the Enterprise through

integration—may well be the dominant factor that determines

the destiny of the Enterprise in the dynamic environment of

this age.

5.14 REFERENCE FOR CHAPTER 5

[ZAC87] Zachman, J. , "A Framework for Information Systems

Architecture." IBM Systems Journal . Vol. 26, No. 3,

September 1987.

-122-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

6. THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

Sandra Heiler is a member of the technical staff at

Xerox Advanced Information Technology (formerly CCA)

where she is currently the technical leader of Xerox's

project to develop an object model and an object

management system to support Engineering Information

Systems (EISs) . The result will be a system to

integrate heterogeneous software tools, DBMSs, and

databases. Ms. Keller's research interests include

frameworks for federated systems, object-oriented data

models, and database management systems for specialized data types, including engineering, statistical,

and bibliographic data.

Sandra Heiler

CHAIRMAN

Biographical Sketch

PARTICIPANTS

John R. Callahan

Ahmed Elmagarmid

Elizabeth N. Fong

Andrew Frank

Amrish Kumar

Amit Sheth

Walter Simonson

Jacob Stein

William Kent

-123-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

6.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the report of the workshop Panel on

the Integration of Heterogeneous Computing Environments.

The panel discussions focused on mechanisms for producing

federated systems, that is, systems comprised of autonomous

software components and heterogeneous databases. This is in

contrast to systems where homogeneity is induced by modifying the components to embed knowledge of the other components in them and standardizing their interfaces.

We believe that federation is the only practical approach

to configuring large computing environments that must accommodate a legacy of existing systems and be extensible to

incorporate new components. In a federation, components are

coupled to allow them to exchange information and provide

services for one another. They are made interoperable in

order to provide the benefits of integration without

requiring that they be modified internally.

The emphasis in this report is on problems of information

integration, primarily on semantic issues because they are

the least-understood aspects of the integration problem. In

general, the report assumes that most physical aspects of

integration, including hardware interconnection and lowlevel communications standards, are solved (or nearly

solved) problems.

Section 6.2 describes various aspects of heterogeneity in

computing environments and why they present persistent

problems. Section 6.3 considers various models of integration that range from loose coupling of autonomous components, sometimes called "interoperable" systems, to tight

coupling or "integrated" systems. Section 6.4 presents an

architecture for federated systems that comprise heterogeneous components, focusing first on the meta-model and schema,

then on integration services that must be provided outside

of the components. Section 6.5 presents some conclusions.

6.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

In integrated computing environments, systems communicate

to exchange information or get services from one another.

Heterogeneity among software systems and databases causes

problems when it results in incompatibilities that prevent

systems from communicating. The problems are particularly

serious when systems appear to communicate but there are

-124-
Chapter 6—-THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

misunderstandings in the interchange, e.g., data are

misinterpreted or incorrect services are provided. These

problems are related to the inability to communicate the

semantics of data or services.

Mechanisms to integrate heterogeneous systems, i.e., to

establish effective communications among them, must meet

four requirements:

o Accommodate existing systems . Installations have

costly investments in existing environments that

include not only hardware and software systems and

databases but also user training. These systems are

unlikely to be replaced all at once, by new, integrated systems. Modifying systems in such environments can cause costly maintenance problems if the

systems were developed locally; modifications can be

infeasible if the systems are vendor-supplied.

o Preserve the specialized nature of software and databases . Certain applications and databases are

inherently heterogeneous. For example, graphics

systems deal with specialized hardware; engineering

tools manipulate specialized design representations.

Modifying them to make them compatible would result in

a "lowest-common-denominator" approach that would

deprive them of needed features or in an enormously

complex approach that addresses every feature from

every system.

o Extend to new systems . New components cannot necessarily be constrained to be compatible with existing or

standardized systems. To do so would stifle innovation or at least restrict available choices. Such

restrictions may eliminate choices that use new

hardware or programming language implementations or

avoid new concepts because they cannot be accommodated

in the schema of the existing environment.

o Avoid depending on complete standardization . Standards take so long to establish that often they are

impractical as the only means of integration.

Furthermore, competing standards exist and will

continue to exist for many domains. In addition,

conversion of existing software and databases to meet

new standards is often impractical or very costly.

-125-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

We view heterogeneity among systems and databases as not

only inevitable but in some cases actually beneficial. We

are concerned with providing mechanisms for hiding the

heterogeneity among systems when it interferes with their

ability to exchange information or request services from

each other. That is, our goal is not to make the systems

homogeneous but merely to remove or make transparent

incompatibilities that preclude effective communications.

Heterogeneity occurs in both physical and logical aspects

of systems and databases. Components may be syntactically

incompatible, i.e., have different formats, interfaces or

names, and they may be semantically incompatible, have

different meanings.

One can classify the differences among systems and

databases according to the various aspects of the computing

environment that are involved, e.g., hardware platform

(instruction set, data representation), communications

system (protocols) , operating system (file names, transaction management, inter-process communication) , data (representation, access methods) , applications (naming conventions, algorithms) , and model (execution paradigm, schema

structures, semantics)

The ability to integrate heterogeneous components is

based on the specification of agreements between users of

the components and among the components themselves.

Existing engineering solutions to integration problems

mainly address physical incompatibilities because agreements

on physical aspects are easily specified. For example,

physical aspects of databases are described using the

constructs of a data model. This results in a schema that

defines the structure of the data and constraints on using

it.

On the other hand, few constructs are available for

expressing agreements on logical aspects of components. The

"behavior" of a component is expressed through algorithms or

procedures; the "meaning" of a component is expressed in

natural language or not expressed at all, just understood

among users. Semantic data models provide some facilities

for expressing semantics, e.g., generalization and aggregation relationships. However, they are not adequate for

describing procedures or deeper meanings. Object models

attempt to address some of these deficiencies but they, too,

are not completely adequate.

-126-
Chapter 6—-THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

The result is that data is difficult to integrate and

applications are even more so. In neither case can we

really capture the semantics of the information or procedures, except in very limited ways through common naming

conventions or agreements on the meanings of built-in

relationships. What is needed are formalisms for describing

more aspects of components so that agreements can be

expressed and interpreted by the integration mechanism.

6.3 COMPONENT AUTONOMY AND COUPLING

The components of a federated system can be coupled in

various ways that make certain assumptions about the

autonomy of the components. The goal is to preserve

autonomy, but to exploit whatever commonalities exist among

the components. Tightly coupled components use common

protocols, share data, and "cooperate" in performing tasks.

Loosely coupled components, on the other hand, may use

incompatible protocols and data representations, communicate

only indirectly, and execute independently. In general,

object-oriented systems, which support encapsulation and

data abstraction as ways of dealing with complexity in large

systems and of providing modularity and code reuse, are

associated with loose coupling.

The level of autonomy of a component affects "ownership"

of its procedures and data, how it communicates with other

components of the system, and how it encapsulates its

semantics. We can characterize component autonomy along

three axes:

o Design autonomy results in systems that have different

protocols and data structures.

o Execution autonomy allows each component to decide

whether to execute a given request, when to execute

it, and how to execute it.

o Communication autonomy allows each component to refuse

to communicate, i.e., to be inaccessible.

Within a federated system, pairs of components can be

coupled in ways that range from very loose, where each

component is autonomous with respect to the other, to very

tight, where each component interacts directly with the

other. Notice that the degree of autonomy need not be

uniform across the whole federation. It applies to subsets

-127-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

of the components of the federation and determines how those

components communicate with one another.

The mode of coupling components affects the number of

translations required to exchange information between them.

Zero translations are needed when both components use the

same representation. One translation corresponds to

point-to-point mapping; data produced by one component is

translated directly into the format required by the other.

Two translations are needed when systems translate into

neutral formats, i.e., one to and one from the neutral

format (a star configuration) . Even more tra" -.lations are

conceivable, e.g., if there are multiple neutral formats or

multiple translations required by communication links.

Loosely-coupled systems are the most modular; they

provide the best means of dealing with complexity in large

systems. They are also usually far easier to maintain than

tightly coupled systems because changes to the implementation of a component are unlikely to affect other components.

In addition, they are often the most responsive to user

needs since interactions among components are controlled by

the user.

However, loosely-coupled systems necessarily involve more

user knowledge of the system architecture and the characteristics of the components. In addition, they may result

in inconsistencies, since there is no central authority to

guarantee correctness. Furthermore, they may have performance problems due to excessive translations.

Tightly-coupled systems behave more like integrated

systems. The coupling is more transparent to users, who

may, in fact, be unaware of the components. In addition,

they are more consistent in their use of resources and in

their management of shared data. They may also provide

better performance than loosely-coupled systems.

However, they must provide a large suite of utilities to

help build, manage and maintain coupled components because

components are inter-dependent. Changes to one are likely

to affect others. This will be a particular problem for

very large systems or systems whose components come from

different sources, e.g., different vendors. Furthermore,

they require central control mechanisms that are outside of

the user's control (and maybe outside of his knowledge).

-128-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

The various forms of coupling and associated component

autonomy affect all aspects of the system architecture and

execution, particularly with respect to data translation,

sharing system resources, and handling of constraints. In

addition, they affect the role of the meta-model whose

constructs are used to describe the components.

In a loosely coupled arrangement, the meta-model is

primarily descriptive; its purpose is to describe, but not

to influence the implementations of the components. It

"bottoms-out" in procedures and data structures that are

determined by the components, without regard for compatibility. That is, the implementations of the components

are external to the type system of the meta-model. They are

not part of its implementation nor were they generated by

it.

In a tightly coupled arrangement, the meta-model must

become more prescriptive; i.e., it determines the procedures

and data structures of the components, or at least ensures

that they are compatible. We describe the role of the

meta-model in more detail in the next section.

6.4 ARCHITECTURES FOR INTEGRATING HETEROGENEOUS COMPONENTS

In general, federated systems have three types of

elements

:

o the set of software systems and databases that

comprise the underlying components.

o a description of the components provided by a schema.

The schema is defined using the common terminology of

a meta-model

.

o a set of integration (or "glue") services. These

services provide facilities that cannot be provided by

individual underlying components because they span

components

.

The first are the systems that are integrated in the

federation. The second and third comprise the integrating

mechanisms. They are described below.

-129-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

6.4.1 The Role of the Meta-Model and the Schema

Systems to integrate heterogeneous components need to

capture agreements among the components on their semantics,

i.e., on all aspects of the meaning of data and procedures

that the systems incorporate. Usually, this meaning is

defined in a context. Exchange across contexts leads to

misunderstandings because the contexts themselves are not

exchanged. The goal of capturing these semantics in a

formal way is to avoid these misunderstandings.

The meaning of information includes, for example, its

definition (inclusion/exclusion of special cases) , units,

quality (precision, as-of, ...), algorithms, and pre- and

post-conditions of execution. Capturing the meaning of

information requires describing both the structure and

behavior of the data and procedures that comprise it, i.e.,

both information content and results of applicable processes .The role of a meta-model is to formalize descriptions of

information and processes to be shared in the integrated

environment. These descriptions are "schemas." The

meta-model is a set of concepts and terminology for expressing schemas, e.g., the relational model, entity/relationship

model(s), and object/function model(s).

The schema provides a common formal description of the

semantics of components. Its purpose is to facilitate

mappings from the semantics of one component to another.

Correct mappings in turn depend on correct understandings of

the formal constructs in the schema. "Semantics" ultimately

reside in the interpreters of the formalism.

While it might be desirable in many ways to have a single

meta-model, i.e., a single formalism for expressing all

schemas, multiple meta-models may need to be supported. One

consequence of autonomy is that it simply may not be

possible for all participants to agree on a single metamodel. However, if the environment is partitioned into

sub-domains, a meta-model may only need to capture the union

of capabilities in a sub-domain.

Every pair of sharers/communicators must be covered by

some common schema. The extreme case, though quite unlikely, would be that each pair was covered by a different

schema, with each using a different meta-model. Multiple

meta-models are tolerable so long as mappings between them

-130-
Chapter 6—-THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

are available and the number of meta-models is small. This

is a point-to-point translation paradigm, in contrast to the

star paradigm that would be provided if there were a single

"master" meta-model.

The state of the art in meta-models is more advanced for

data description than for process or procedure description.

Relational, entity-relationship, and semantic data models

are in common use to describe data. In the emerging

object/ function models, the distinction between data and

procedures is blurred, with information being described as

much in behavioral as in structural terms. However, though

object/function models may well emerge as the best candidates for a single universal meta-model, there is little

consensus among model developers as yet regarding the

formalism for the procedural aspects.

Integration of information and processes in the federation involves establishing mappings between local descriptions (i.e., local schemas) and the schema that covers the

sub-domain. Such mappings are probably not automatable,

since existing descriptions often do not contain enough

semantic information. The mapping process will need to be

augmented with additional descriptors and hand-crafting of

some mapping procedures.

The meta-model must also provide constructs allowing

schemas to express information needed by the integration

services described below, such as optimization, transaction

management, data/structure conversion, etc.

6.4.2 Integration (Glue) Services

Integration services are facilities that form the "glue"

that integrates the components. They cannot be provided by

the underlying components because they span components.

That is, they support the coupling of components. Such

services are not necessarily global; their scope may be

restricted to subsets of components.

The role of integration services is to provide mappings

between the descriptions of the components (using the

meta-models) and to provide services that need knowledge of

more than one component, e.g., transaction management. In

general, the form of coupling between systems determines how

powerful the integration services must be. Tight coupling

requires powerful integration services, whereas loose

-131-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

coupling tolerates some inconsistencies and imposes fewer

controls over components so the integration services can be

more limited.

Other non-local services may provide capabilities to

enhance performance of the federated system, e.g., caching

or replication services and optimizing transformations on

requests that span components. Still other services provide

for transparency for end users, for example, global name

space management or user interface facilities that give the

same "look and feel" to interacting with any component.

The following is a list of integration services that are

useful for producing federated systems. The required power

of the facility is usually determined by the tightness of

the coupling it must support.

o Request execution, process control. and plannincf . These services include invoking procedures provided by

components and controlling their execution, e.g.,

determining when they terminate, passing back exceptions, and passing parameters. Planning may include

selecting an appropriate host for executing a request,

based on data availability or load factor, and

synchronizing requests to increase parallelism.

o Name space management . This service involves binding

names to resources, mapping between incompatible name

spaces of different components and providing a uniform

naming mechanism across components at the level that

is visible to the end user.

o Request decomposition and mapping . These services map

operations requested by the end user or a software

component into requests against other components of

the system. An example is the decomposition of a

query into sub-queries and translation into appropriate languages for handling by component database

management systems.

o Translation and data structure conversion . These

facilities translate data representations from one

application's format to another's. They may have to

add, remove, duplicate, or reorder the data transmitted between components. Conversion services are

often provided in the form of algebras for expressing

transformations on various data representations.

-132-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

o Schema management . These services must provide for

maintenance of the schemas provided by the meta-models

(i.e., the component-spanning schemas). In addition

they must provide utilities .for schema development

through schema integration services that handle, for

example, name inconsistencies and model differences.

o Transaction management . These services synchronize

requests to ensure that intermediate results, which

may be inconsistent, do not cause global consistency

errors or have unpredictable effects. In addition

they support recovery after failures. Transaction

management services require knowledge of all applications sharing information. For collaborative applications (e.g., engineering and design systems) they may

have to allow controlled sharing of intermediate

results and support internal communications among

components.

o User interface . These provide services for interacting with end users. The services give a common look

and feel to various component interfaces. They must

provide various styles of interaction that are

compatible with the applications, yet appear somewhat

consistent. Moreover, they must adapt to various

hardware devices.

6.5 CONCLUSIONS

Integration is based on agreements between participants

in a federation. Physical integration is a solved or nearly

solved problem because formal methods of specifying agreements at this level exist, e.g., communications standards.

Logical integration is much harder because adequate formalisms for expressing semantics are not available.

Describing semantics (or "meanings") requires describing

behavior, which is usually embedded in procedures.

Meta-models provide description facilities for components

to support mappings between them. Existing models suffice

for describing information structure. However, they are

weak in behavioral specification capabilities. Object/ function models are the best candidates to provide solutions in

the future

Autonomous systems are independent of other systems in a computing environment. They provide needed modularity for

-133-
Chapter 6—THE INTEGRATION OF HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

large, complex computing environments. Federations of

autonomous systems are both easier to develop and easier to

maintain and extend than systems where components are

interdependent

The mode of coupling systems determines their degree of

autonomy. Loose coupling allows components to remain

autonomous. However, loosely coupled systems lack the

controls of tightly coupled systems. They are prone to

inconsistencies and may perform worse than tightly coupled

systems. The optimal degree of integration is probably not

at the extremes of loose or tight coupling, but someplace in

the middle. Moreover, most systems will mix styles of

coupling among components.

Integrating services becomes harder to provide as systems

are more tightly coupled because they must provide more

control and be based on more knowledge of the internals of

the underlying components. They must support direct

communications between components and ensure consistency

among their results. Integrating services for loosely

coupled components can provide generic facilities that are

customized based on formally specified external descriptions

of the components. Integrating services for tightly coupled

systems must be based on knowledge of the internals of

specific components.

-134-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

7. ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

W. Bradford Rigdon

CHAIRMAN

Biographical Sketch

Brad Rigdon is the Senior Vice President, Research and

Development, for McDonnell Douglas Information Systems

Company (MDISC)

.

Mr. Rigdon entered the data processing field in 1961,

joining McDonnell Automation Company (McAuto) a year

after it became a division. By 1966, he was a Senior

Consultant. He then held a variety of management

positions in systems services and marketing in New

York, including Regional Director of the Northeast

Region. He has also been a Director of Product

Planning, Director of Product Management, and Director

of Business Applications for McAuto in Long Beach. In

1980 he was named Director of McDonnell Douglas

Corporation Services, in 1983 Vice President of the

MDC Services organization of McAuto, in 1986 General

Manager of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Information

Services Company (MDAIS) , and Senior Vice President

Special Projects for MDISC in 1988, and Senior Vice

President—R&D in 1989.

Mr. Rigdon was graduated in 1961 from the University

of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in business

administration. He is currently a member of the

Executive Committee of the Regional Consortium for

Education and Technology and President and Chairman of

the Board of Product Definition Exchange Standard

(PDES, Inc. )

.

PARTICIPANTS

Helen T. Cohn

John W. Coyle

Robert J. Benson Jack H. Jones

Marilyn Parker

Bruce Rosen

John W. Eichler Robert Smith

Kenneth Gordon

Asaph H. Hall

Charles Tuller

Jim Wick

Merrill M. Hessel

Ray Hollenbach

Jerry Winkler

-135-
Chapter 7~ARCHI TECTURES AND STANDARDS

7 . 1 OVERVIEW

This panel addressed the role of architectures and standards in supporting information management throughout an

enterprise

This paper addresses the following issues:

o Levels of architecture in an enterprise

o Problems addressed by architecture

o Benefits and risks of having architecture.

The paper also includes a table (figure 7-2) with

specific examples of the standards within different levels

of architecture.

Architecture discussions frequently focus on technology

issues. This paper takes a broader view, and describes the

need for an "enterprise architecture" that includes an

emphasis on business and information requirements. These

higher level issues impact data and technology architectures

and decisions.

Standards are used to implement and enforce the architecture. There are mandated standards that are required by

regulation or the customer (e.g., IRS, OSHA) ; standards that

have been agreed to by industry or national and international bodies (e.g., ISO, ANSI); and standards developed and

promulgated within the individual enterprise (e.g., PROFS as

the electronic mail system)

There is not a single correct way to develop an architecture or implement standards for every enterprise; they must

be customized to the environment. For example, military

companies must consider CALS and the various MIL specs in

developing their architecture and the supporting standards.

7.2 LEVELS OF ARCHITECTURE

Architecture is defined as a clear representation of a

conceptual framework of components and their relationships

at a point in time.

In this definition, a component is an element or item

-136-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

addressed by a particular architecture, and relationships

are the connections between the components.

Any discussion of architecture must also consider the

role of standards. Standards enable or constrain the

architecture and serve as its foundation. They are an

essential part of an architecture implementation, but are

generally not selected until the architecture has been

developed.

The definition of architecture is general enough to

encompass planning needs throughout an enterprise. Thus, a discussion of architecture must take into account different

levels of architecture. These levels can be illustrated by

a pyramid, with the business unit at the top and the

delivery system at the base (figure 7-1). An enterprise is

composed of one or more Business Units that are responsible

for a specific business area. The five levels of architecture are:

o Business Unit

o Information

o Information System

o Data

o Delivery System

The levels are separate yet interrelated. The first four

are related in a top-down dependency, as discussed below.

The fifth level, the Delivery System architecture, is the

foundation architecture: it is created to meet the requirements of the other architectures. A successful Delivery

System architecture is dependent upon the definition of

relevant business goals and objectives.

The idea of an enterprise architecture reflects an

awareness that the levels are logically connected and that a depiction at one level assumes or dictates that architectures at the higher levels have been completed.

An architecture is a description of one of these levels

at a particular point in time. It may represent a view of a current situation with islands of automation, redundant

processes and data inconsistencies. It can also be a representation of a future integrated automation information

-137-
Chapter 7—ARCH I TECTURES AND STANDARDS

ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

External

Discretionary &

Non-discretionary

Standards,

Requirements

Business

Unit

Architecture

Drives

Information

Architecture

Prescribes

t_

Feedback Information

System

Architecture

1 Identifies

t

Data

Architecture

Delivery System

Architecture

Hardware, Software. Communications

\Enterprise

Discretionary &

Non-discretionary

Standards,

Requirements

Supported by

Figure 7-1

-138-
Chapter 7—ARCH 1 TECTURES AND STANDARDS

structure towards which the enterprise will move in a prescribed number of years. An architecture of the current

(or "as is") state is an important step in the development

of an "end state" architecture that gives context and

guidance for future activities.

The following descriptions of each level of architecture

apply to most large enterprises, with the recognition that

any level may be uniquely enabled or constrained by industry

or government standards, as well as by internal policies and

procedures

The Business Unit may portray either a total corporate

entity (that is, the enterprise is the business unit) or a corporate sub-unit. Architecture at this level establishes

a framework for satisfying both the internal information

needs and the information and data needs imposed by external

organizations. These external organizations include

cooperating organizations, customers, and federal agencies.

The information and data needs at this level impose requirements to be satisfied by lower levels of the architecture,

with increasing attention to technical considerations.

The representation of the Business Unit architecture

shows organizational units and their relationships and

business processes and their relationships, as well as

specific standards, policies, and procedures that enable or

constrain the accomplishment of the overall enterprise

mission.

The Information architecture establishes a framework to

meet the information needs of the Business Unit architecture. The Information architecture specifies the content,

presentation form, and format of the information, thus

establishing requirements for the Information System

architecture

The representation of the Information architecture should

relate the information sources and uses with the organizations that generate or use either internal or external

documents, data, etc. This level should represent technical

and management information flow, as well as the impact of

time on information integrity and meaning.

The Information System architecture establishes a framework for meeting the specific information requirements given

by the Information architecture. This architecture uses its

components to acquire and process data, then to produce and

-139-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

distribute information in accordance with the Information

architecture requirements and standards.

The representation of the Information System architecture

shows the automated and procedure-oriented information

systems that support the internal and external information

flow. Logical database designs occur at this level.

The Data architecture establishes a framework for

maintenance, access, and use of the data of the enterprise.

The data should meet the standards of the Business Unit and

the other upper levels of the architecture. The creation of

a data dictionary and associated naming conventions is an

important aspect of the Data architecture, because these

conventions establish the vocabulary necessary for communication among the human elements of the business unit.

The representation of the Data architecture relates the

data that supports the information systems structure. This

will include data models that support physical database

design; database and file structures; and data definitions,

dictionaries and data elements that underlie the information

systems of the enterprise.

The Delivery System architecture is a technical implementation to meet the requirements of all higher levels.

The representation of the Delivery System architecture

describes the computer and communication hardware and

software required to support the data and information

systems levels of the enterprise architecture. It also

describes the infrastructure and facility support requirements to properly accommodate and connect these assets in an

integrated manner.

Figure 7-2, Sample Elements of an Enterprise Architecture, gives examples of the following categories for each

level of architecture:

o Components

o Nondiscretionary standards to which an enterprise must

adhere

o Discretionary standards that an enterprise may select

as part of its architecture

-140-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

COu

i

C

•co

tno u R (D p O (« 6isE

inc

_o

c;«^^:o

O <fl

TO ^Uo a

(0

C

g o. <u t; Q

8

Q 3

O £ X O

COV e

s

CJ1-1

it QQ S

i-i c

CO cc S

I

o

CO

13 T3G

ce

^ E

3 CO o S ^ a c TM

ui — re —< c c

c a 7j

C

a;

I- a O C"

P o C Q,

lu 57

C

PC 8 S

C« t> 3

lo

EiS a O C5 >. U Q H K

CO 3

O

S CO

'

. ° c s « = 4^ O CO iS

CO DS < Q (5:

_2 E

td W Q 00x00

COam

(N 00 Q

iri

COBu

COfuQ

CD

Figure 7-2

-141-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

Note that the table begins with an additional level,

Industry . This level is included as a recognition that

certain standards exist above those in a specific enterprise

or business unit.

7.3 PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ARCHITECTURE

Creating an architecture for each level of an enterprise

enhances the enterprise's ability to guide decision-making,

to manage change, and to communicate the organization's

business goals, objectives and policies up and down its

hierarchy and across its functional components.

7.3.1 Guiding Decisions

Architecture provides the framework for ensuring that

enterprise-wide goals, objectives, and policies are accurately reflected in decision-making related to building,

acguiring, or changing information systems. Without appropriate architectures, there is no assurance that standards for interprocess communication, data naming, data

representation, data structures, and information systems

will be consistently or appropriately applied across the

enterprise. In addition, the organization will not have:

o An enterprise-wide conceptual framework for planning

information systems development

o Appropriate principles, criteria, and standards that

are agreed to by the business and can be used to

measure existing applications against proposed

upgrades or changes

o A relatively stable framework of agreed principles,

boundaries, and objectives within which specific

information systems can be developed and implemented

cost-effectively

o Standards and guidelines to measure conformance of

commercially available packages and tools in make-orbuy decisions

o Agreement within the organization about which applications, data, and interfaces are the targets for

implementation within a specified time-frame

-142-
Chapter 7--ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

The lack of architectures produces a conceptual vacuum

when decisions must be made about organization funding and

priorities for the Information System. Also, opportunities

for common reference files and applications, corporate

directories, common communications capabilities, data

naming, data structures and definitions, and other infrastructures cannot be optimized for the enterprise as a whole without architectures.

7.3.2 Managing Change

Managing change has become a pervasive issue, particularly as the penetration of information technology quickens the

pace of change within enterprises. A key issue in dealing

with the high rate of change in today's complex information

environment is understanding the effect of any given change

in the context of the enterprise as a whole, rather than in

terms of its components.

The context and perspective for evaluating simultaneous

and often interrelated changes is provided by an architecture that consists of the components and their relationships, and the enterprise's goals, objectives, policies, and

standards. In the absence of an architecture, an enterprise

cannot effectively deal with change and may not be able to

understand the impact of change within the enterprise and

across its components.

The first principle for managing change is an accurate

representation of the status of the enterprise's goals,

objectives, policies, and standards as they apply to

information systems prior to and after change. The architecture must be capable of accurately reflecting the

status of information systems across the enterprise, and the

interrelationships among them, at different points in time.

7.3.3 ImprovincT Communications

With a well-defined architecture, the enterprise's

business goals and objectives will be known consistently

across the functional components of the organization. Lack

of an architecture leads to information systems with no

clear picture of the interrelationships among the systems.

Organizational components will develop systems independently

and not adequately communicate about the linkages between

their information systems. The consequence is missed

-143-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

opportunities to share data and, worse, it can result in the

different definition and different naming of the same data,

or the same naming of different data.

The lack of communication about goals and objectives can

produce duplicate information systems. Not only are

communications across functions impaired, but communications

up and down the organization will not be adequate to ensure

that information systems are developed in conformance with

the essential business goals and objectives of the enterprise. The consequence can be information system projects

that are seen as not meeting requirements, redirection of

projects, slipped schedules, overrun development costs,

reworked systems, and general dissatisfaction with information systems progress.

In a worst-case scenario, lack of an architecture can

result in investments in "hobby horse" information systems

that do not satisfy the goals and objectives of top management but instead reflect only the more narrow goals and

objectives of a subcomponent of the enterprise.

7.4 BENEFITS AND RISKS

Underlying the following statements about benefits and

risks is a basic principle: architectures—at whatever

levels—are important only to the extent they link to and

enable success in the basic mission and performance of the

organization.

Consequently, the thrust of the benefits and risks

described here is to measure and define them according to

their relationship to the underlying business being served.

The benefits and risks are classified into three categories:

o consistency with business planning

o communication within the organization

o cost or economic impact.

7.4.1 Consistency with Business Planning

The enterprise has objectives (e.g., be low-cost provider, increase market share, create a new market) and a

strategic plan to meet these objectives. To the extent that
Chapter 7--ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

the architectures support the business strategies of the

enterprise and enable rapid change, benefits will accrue.

When the architectures constrain the business activities,

risk is increased.

Benefits include:

o Linkage of information system investments to business

purposes

The process of doing architecture forces a recognition

of business purpose, and consequently a linkage of

individual projects to recognized business purpose.

Architectures give a clearer sense of priorities among

information system investments linked directly to

changes in business processes caused by changing

business conditions. By linking the information

systems investments to the business purpose, as

conditions change the enterprise can maximize the

usefulness of these investments by synchronizing

implementation with the business change.

o Ability to follow-on from proven architectures

An enterprise may choose the strategy of following the

lead of others in their industry by implementing

proven architectures at a lower cost point in the

maturity cycle, and thus maintain a cost comparability

with its competition. In this case, the enterprise

sacrifices early achievement of benefits and potential

competitive advantage for reduced investment cost and

maintenance of market share.

In certain business environments, market dynamics demand

a high degree of organizational flexibility to service the

rapidly changing market. To the degree that the architectures support flexibility and change, benefits accrue.

Risks related to consistency with business planning

include:

o Responsive reaction to changes in business plan

Business changes may occur so rapidly that the

architecture cannot adequately anticipate the change

with new information systems investments.

o Short-term solutions with long-term support cost

-145-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

Short-term solutions in a specific area may dictate

purchase of a specific vendor application package.

The architecture limits flexibility in this area

because data and other standards may be incompatible

with the package. Thus short-term business expediency

can create a long-term information system support

requirement

7.4.2 Coimnunication Within the Organization

Architectural policy decisions at the enterprise or

business unit level will determine how major business

processes will be conducted. This implies cross-functional

decisions rather than unilateral, disconnected decisions by

individuals or separate functional units. This can cause

significant process improvements such as:

o Reduced span time

o Elimination of redundant activities

o Increased quality

o Reduced product cost

Benefits include:

o Resolve conflict

The process of establishing an architecture (at any

level) and of selecting the standards that support or

implement that architecture is based on achieving

consensus on architectural issues. Successful results

require agreement on key business requirements, on

strategies to satisfy those requirements, and on how

to implement those strategies.

Even if the architecture is not completed, the understanding and agreement resulting from the process

resolves conflict between organizational entities.

Implementation puts the agreements in place.

o Flexibility for future business changes

An architecture that is designed to allow for future

changes in products and business processes will enable

-146-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

an enterprise to respond to market shifts and

technology breakthroughs more quickly and at lower

cost. This implies the need for open technical

architectures and use of industry standards rather

than proprietary standards.

o Compatibility

Defining the architecture to allow for compatibility

with suppliers, customers and team members will

provide competitive advantage for the total group,

versus a situation where the units are neither

connected nor compatible.

o Communicate information

If the organization can better understand information

bottlenecks through the analysis of the integrated

levels of the enterprise architectures, much can be

done to resolve and eliminate those bottlenecks.

o Identify what standardization is required

Similar methods or processes should be implemented in

similar ways. An architecture assists in identifying

candidates for standardization.

o Facilitate cross-functional decisions

Architectures result in better definition of interrelationships among information systems, reduced

incompatibility of data, and the identification of

dysfunctional structures in the organization.

o Communications

A major purpose of the architectures is to facilitate

rational communications among organizations with

different perspectives on how they fit and contribute

to the successful accomplishment of organizational

goals

.

Communications are frequently aimed at solving current

critical problems. Within a structural framework

based on mutually understood goals, communication can

be used to avoid such problems through integrated

planning and teami-directed action tactics.

-147-
Chapter 7—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

o Define relationships

Architectures can transform the way an enterprise

functions. Such transformations generally cross

organizational boundaries and produce environments

where the boundaries themselves may change. The

relationships needed to proactively enable such change

are defined, and possibly coordinated, using the

architecture as a vehicle.

The business processes and information intersections

identified in the architectural process become the

basis for defining the working relationship, responsibilities, and dependencies within the organization.

Information-oriented relationships that exist across

departmental boundaries are defined in the process of

developing a Data architecture. As a consequence,

data sharing and data ownership is understood and

properly designated. Consequences of actions or

changes can be more predictably anticipated.

o Evaluation criteria for applications

The architecture and its associated standards provide

a means of evaluating applications and designs for

conformance to the standards. The more detailed the

architecture, the more specific and non-subjective can

be the evaluation.

o Insulate changes

To the extent that an architecture defines interfaces

between modules, the underlying code, data structure

and hardware can be replaced while retaining the

interface standard. Thus, upgrades can be continuous

and isolated from each other, rather than requiring an

all-or-nothing change.

Risks related to communications within the organization

include

o Acceptance of cultural impact

Often absent from the technology planning and implementation process is consideration of the human

impact and organizational dynamics. The risk in

overlooking this aspect is that new tools are provided

-148-
Chapter /—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

to an unreceptive (perhaps hostile) audience. When

this happens, the benefits of the new process or

technology may never be realized.

o Control by MIS or user management

Architecture and standards could be used by the MIS

organization to unnecessarily limit choice by the

user. It could also be used by short-sighted management to limit the cost of implementation and operation

at the expense of organizational effectiveness and

flexibility.

o Premature standards selection without accommodating

change

The business requirements can dictate early adoption

of internal standards that affect formats, data,

objects, or remote procedure calls that are implemented prior to international or industry standards

being established. The more these are incorporated

into designs and the more they differ from the

ultimate standards, the more difficult the subsequent

transition

.

o Premature implementation

The early implementation of untested technology and

standards frequently causes problems with raised

expectations that will not be realized.

7.4.3 Cost or Economic Impact

Economic impact is a function of cost reduction or

revenue enhancement for the business organization. Such

quantifiable benefits and risks related to architectures are

expressed in the accepted investment justification approach

used by the enterprise, e.g., ROI, discounted cash flow,

etc.

Benefits include:

o Reusability

A reusable component of the architecture is potentially a standard component, thereby reducing or eliminat-

-149-
Chapter /—ARCHITECTURES AND STANDARDS

ing redundant effort. Reducing redundant effort can

reduce cost to the organization.

Reusable components that provide the same or similar

functionality can best be identified through an

architecture. These reusable components should be

developed and structured to support all the overlapping functions and not be totally separate components.

o Reduced development and maintenance costs

Development and maintenance costs can be reduced where

a pre-defined architecture provides guidance and a

framework. For example, architectures reduce duplication of equipment (hardware) and functions through

clear architecture design; reduce maintenance through

selection of standards and appropriate tools; reduce

software costs by using neutral data exchange formats

thus eliminating individual translators; and improved

quality through conformance to standards and architecture.

Economic impact can be negative as well, where potential

risks or additional costs are not recognized. These risks

include:

o Premature adoption

Premature adoption of standards frequently leads to

unnecessary investments and the need to reinvest in

later technologies.

o Initial investment

There will be up-front costs to design, implement, and

convert to the architecture and specific standards.

-150-
Chapter 8—PART I CI PANTS

8 . PARTICIPANTS

The following is the list of Information Management Directions 5 participants:

Daniel Appleton

General Chairman

D. Appleton Company, Inc.

1334 Park View Avenue, Suite 220

Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Robert J. Benson

Architectures & Stnds

Washington University

Campus Box 1220

St. Louis, MO 63130

T. N. Bernstein U.S. Air Force

T & B Data Mgmt. Wright Aeronautical Laboratories

AFWAL/FIBLL

Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433

Jean Berube Assyst Technologies

Systems PD&M Tools 1080 Beaver Hill - Suite 1400

Montreal, Quebec,

H2Z 158 CANADA

Susan Blair DataDog

Knowledge & Data Mgmt. P.O. Box 15512

Alexandria, VA 22309

Olin Bray Combustion Engineering

T & B Data Mgmt. 51 North Main

West Hartford, CT 06107

Bruce Buckelew IBM Corporation

Systems PD&M Tools 425 Market Street

20th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94105

Donald C. Burnstine

Systems PD&M Tools

Burnstine Associates

25 Dana Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

-151-
Chapter 8—PART I CI PANTS

John R. Callahan

Heter. Computing Envir,

University of Maryland

Department of Computer Science

College Park, MD 20742

Helen T. Cohn

Architectures & Stnds.

McDonnell Douglas Aerospace

Information Services Co.

Advanced Systems Engineering

W401-304-1E/197

325 McDonnell Blvd.

Hazelwood, MO 63042

John W. Coyle

Architectures & Stnds.

U.S. Department of the Interior

Office of Information Resource Mgt,

M/S 5312, MIB

18th & C Streets, NW

Washington, DC 20240

Robert Curtice

Knowledge & Data Mgmt,

Arthur D. Little, Inc.

35 Acorn Park

Cambridge, MA 02140

Jean-Pierre DeJean

T & B Data Mgmt.

General Electric

55 Merchant Street

Cincinnati, OH 45246

Tom DeMarco

Keynote Speaker

Atlantic Systems Guild

P.O. Box 553

Rockport, ME 04 856

John W. Eichler

Architectures & Stnds

General Motors Technical Center

Advanced Mfg. Engineering

30300 Mound Road

Warren, MI 48090-9040

Ahmed Elmagarmid

Heter. Computing Envir,

Purdue University

Department of Computer Science

West Lafayette, IN 47907

-152-
Chapter 8—PARTICIPANTS

Mary Ann Englebert

T & B Data Mgmt.

U.S. Navy

Data Automation Command

Building 166, Washington Navy Yard

Washington, DC 20374

Douglas Erickson

Systems PD&M Tools

Pacific Power and Light

920 SW Sixth Avenue

Portland, OR 97204

Elizabeth N. Fong

Heter. Computing Envir,

National Institute of Standards

and Technology

Technology Bldg. , A266

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Andrew Frank

Heter. Computing Envir,

University of Maine

Dept. of Surveying Engineering

120 Boardman Hall

Orono, ME 04469

Lawrence E. Frank

T & B Data Mgmt.

Boeing Computer Services

1801 Alexander Bell Drive

Reston, VA 22091

Robert E. Fulton

T & B Data Mgmt.

Georgia Institute of Technology

School of Mechanical Engineering

Atlanta, GA 30332

Alan H. Goldfine

NIST

National Institute of Standards

and Technology

Technology Bldg., A266

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Dale Goodhue

Systems PD&M Tools

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Curtis L. Carlson School of Mgmt.

Management Science Dept.

271 19th Avenue, S.

Minneapolis, MN 55455

-153-
Chapter 8—PART I CI PANTS

Kenneth Gordon

Architectures & Stnds,

Digital Equipment Co.

555 Virginia Road

UR03-2-B7

Concord, MA 01742-2727

Asaph H. Hall

Architectures & Stnds

General Dynamics Corporation

Data Systems Division

12101 Woodcrest Executive Drive

St. Louis, MO 63141

Sandra Heiler

Heter. Computing Envir,

Xerox

Advanced Information Technology

4 Cambridge Center

Cambridge, MA 02142

Merrill M. Hessel

Architectures & Stnds.

National Institute of Standards

and Technology

Administration A1126

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Ray Hollenbach

Architectures & Stnds

General Dynamics Corp.

Data Systems Division

12101 Woodcrest Executive Drive

St. Louis, MO 63141

James Hosmer

Systems PD&M Tools

Lockheed Space Operations Co.

1100 Lockheed Way - M/S LSO-151

Titusville, FL 32780

William Inmon

Systems PD&M Tools

American Management Systems

66 South Van Gordon

Lakewood, CO 80228

Larry L. Johnson

T & B Data Mgmt.

Texas Instruments

6500 Chase Oaks Blvd.

P.O. Box 868305 - M/S 8406

Piano, TX 75086

-154-
Chapter 8 —PARTICIPANTS

Randall Johnson

T & B Data Mgmt.

Boeing Computer Services

Boeing Advanced Technology Center

P.O. Box 24346, M/S 7L-64

Seattle, WA 98124-0346

Jack H. Jones

Architectures & Stnds

McDonnell Douglas Aerospace

Information Services Co.

Advanced Systems Engineering

W400-304-1E-197

325 McDonnell Blvd.

Hazelwood, MO 63042

Beverly Kahn

Systems PD&M Tools

Suffolk University

School of Management

8 Ashburton Place

Boston, MA 02181

William Kent

Hater. Computing Envir,

Hewlett Packard Labs

1501 Page Mill Road

P.O. Box 10490

Palo Alto, CA 94303-0969

Amrish Kumar

Heter. Computing Envir,

Honeywell

Computer Sciences Center MN63-C080

1000 Boone Avenue North

Golden Valley, MN 55427

Don Libes

Knowledge & Data Mgmt.

National Institute of Standards

and Technology

AMRF

Met. Building A127

Garthersburg, MD 2 0899

Mary Loomis

T & B Data Mgmt.

Hewlett Packard

19447 Pruneridge Avenue

M/S 4 4UW

Cupertino, CA 94014-9974

-155-
Chapter 8—PARTICIPANTS

Richard J. Mayer

Knowledge & Data Mgmt.

Texas A&M University

Knowledge Based Systems Lab

Industrial Engineering Dept.

College Station, TX 77843-3131

Anne Miller

Systems PD&M Tools

IDS Financial Services

IDS Tower 10, R8/527

Minneapolis, MN 55440

Linda Nadeau

Systems PD&M Tools

KnowledgeWare

2006 Hogback Road

Ann Arbor, MS 48105

Prasad Nair

Knowledge & Data Mgmt.

Project Management, Inc

6317 Foe Road

Bethesda, MD 20817

Shamkant B. Navathe

T & B Data Mgmt.

University of Florida

Database Sys. Research & Dev. Ctr,

CSE Bldg., Room 470

Gainesville, FL 32611

Gerry O'Beirne

Systems PD&M Tools

Fireman's Fund

14 Willow Avenue

Larkspur, CA 94 9 39

T. William Olle

Systems PD&M Tools

2 Ashby Park Road

Walton on Thames

Surrey KT12 lJU,

ENGLAND

Gerard Otten

Systems PD&M Tools

Marlene A. Palmer

Knowledge & Data Mgmt,

DCE Info. Mgmt Consulting

Weverstede 1

B431J5 Nieuwegein,

NETHERLANDS

Farm Credit Administration

1501 Farm Credit Drive

McLean, VA 22102-5090

-156-
Chapter 8--PARTICIPANTS

Marilyn Parker IBM/Academic Information Systems

Architectures & Stnds. Los Angeles Scientific Center

11601 Wilshire Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90025-1738

Judith Quillard Massachusetts Institute of Tech.

Systems PD&M Tools Center for Information Systems Res.

77 Massachusetts Ave., Rm. E40-191

Cambridge, MA 02139

Tim Rau NASA

Knowledge & Data Mgmt. Space Station M/C 551 Freedom Proj

.

10701 Parkridge Blvd.

Reston, VA 22091

W. Bradford Rigdon McDonnell Douglas

Architectures & Stnds. Aerospace Information Services

P.O. Box 516

St. Louis, MO 63166

Stephen Ritzman Booz, Allen Hamilton

T & B Data Mgmt. 11410 Isaac Newton Square

Reston, VA 22090

Bruce Rosen National Institute of Standards

Architectures & Stnds. and Technology

Technology Bldg. , A266

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Robert S. Rosenzweig Fireman's Fund Insurance Company

Knowledge & Data Mgmt. 1600 Los Gamos Road

San Rafael, CA 94911-5800

Gary Schuldt Syncretics, Inc.

Systems PD&M Tools 7313 1/2 Woodlawn Avenue, NE

Seattle, WA 98115-5334

Amit Sheth

Heter. Computing Envir.

Unisys Corporation

2400 Colorado Avenue

Santa Monica, CA 90406

-157-
Chapter 8—PART I C I PANTS

Charles Shoecraft

Systems PD&M Tools

2460 W. 255th Street

Lomita, CA 90717

Walter Simonson

Heter. Computing Envir.

Defense Logistics Agency

Code ZWF 3A636

Cameron Station

Alexandria, VA 22304

Robert Smith

Architectures & Stnds,

U.S. Department of Transportation

Transportation Systems Center

Cambridge, MA 02142

Richard Smith

Systems PD&M Tools

Arizona State University

Industrial Engineering

2116 E. Geneva

Tempe, AZ 85282

Douglas Snyder

Systems PD&M Tools

IBM Canada

100 Consilium PI.

Scarborough, Ontario,

MIH 3E8 CANADA

Jacob Stein

Heter. Computing Envir,

Servio Logic Corp.

1502 5 Southwest Koll Parkway

Suite lA

Beaverton, OR 97006

Stanley Y. W. Su

Knowledge & Data Mgmt.

University of Florida

Database Systems Research

& Development Center

E47 0 Computer Sciences & Eng,

Gainesville, FL 32611

Charles Tuller

Architectures & Stnds.

IBM Corporation

630/221-2

Boardman Road

Kenyon House

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

-158-
Chapter 8—PARTICIPANTS

Alvin Underbrink Texas ASM University

Knowledge & Data Mgmt. Knowledge Based Systems Laboratory

Industrial Engineering Department

College Station, TX 77843-3131

T. Travers Waltrip

Systems PD&M Tools

The Travelers Corporation

One Tower Square

Hartford, CT 06183

Miles Welter

Systems PD&M Tools

IBM Santa Teresa Lab

555 Bailey Avenue

San Jose, CA 95150

Jim Wick Lockheed Corporation

Architectures & Stnds. Information & Admin. Services

4500 Park Granada Blvd.

Calabasas, CA 91399-0350

John F. Willis Rockwell International

T & B Data Mgmt. North American Aircraft Division

201 North Douglas Street

P.O. Box 92098 - M/C GC-10

Los Angeles, CA 90009

Jerry Winkler

Architectures & Stnds.

Computer Technology Assoc.

7927 Jones Branch Drive

Suite 600W

McLean, VA 22102

John A. Zachman

Systems PD&M Tools

IBM

3 55 South Grand Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90071

-159-
NBS.114A (REV. 2-8C) U.S. DEPT. OF COMM.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET (See instructions)

1. PUBLICATION OR

REPORT NO,

NIST/SP-500/167

2. Performing Organ. Report No. 3. Publication Date

September 1989

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Information Management Directions

The Integration Challenge

5. AUTHOR(S)

Elizabeth N. Fong and Alan H. Goldfine, Editors

6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION (If joint or other than N6S. see instructions)

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

(formerly NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS)

U.S. DEPARTMEffT OF COMMERCE

GAITHERSBURG, MD 20899

7. Contract/Grant No.

8. Type of Report & Period Covered

Final

9, SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS (Street. City. State, ZIP)

Same as i±em #6

10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-600755

[]J Document describes a computer program; SF-185, FIPS Software Summary, is attached.

11. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most significant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here)

This report constitutes the results of a 3 day workshop on the integration challenge

of information management, held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on October 31 to

November 2, 1988. The workshop was sponsored by the National Computer Systems

Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) , formerly the

National Bureau of Standards (NBS), in cooperation with the Association for Computing

Machinery (ACM) , the Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers (IEEE), and the Federal Data Management Users Group.

This workshop was the fifth in the Information Management Directions series (formerly

called Data Base Directions). The purpose of these workshops is to examine, in depth,

key trends and strategies that affect the future of the information management

profession. The focus of this fifth workshop was on issues related to integration and

productivity.

The 72 workshop participants were organized into five working panels, which met to

discuss the integration of knowledge and data management; the integration of technical

and business data management; the integration of systems planning, development, and

maintenance tools and methods; the integration of distributed, heterogeneous computing

environments; and architectures and standards for information management.

12. KEY WORDS (Six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only proper names; and separate key words by semicolons)

architecture; database; database management; DBMS; distributed, information

management; integration; knowledge base; standards.

13. AVAILABILITY

Unlimited

I I For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

pxH Order From Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

20402.

Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, VA. 22161

14. NO. OF

PRINTED PAGES

174

15. Price

USCOMM-DC 6043-P80
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW PUBLICATIONS ON

COMPUTER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY

Superintendent of Documents

Government Printing Office

Washington, DC 20402

Dear Sir:

Please add my name to the announcement list of new publications to be issued in the series: National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 500-.

Name

Company

Address

City State Zip Code

(Notification key N-503)

i yM.kJ X Technical Publications

Periodical

Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology—Reports NIST research

and development in those disciplines of the physical and engineering sciences in which the Institute

is active. These include physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and computer sciences.

Papers cover a broad range of subjects, with major emphasis on measurement methodology and

the basic technology underlying standardization. Also included from time to time are survey articles on topics closely related to the Institute's technical and scientific programs. Issued six times a year.

Nonperiodicals

Monographs—Major contributions to the technical literature on various subjects related to the

Institute's scientific and technical activities. Handbooks—Recommended codes of engineering and industrial practice (including safety codes) developed in cooperation with interested industries, professional organizations, and regulatory bodies.

Special Publications—Include proceedings of conferences sponsored by NIST, NIST annual reports,

and other special publications appropriate to this grouping such as wall charts, pocket cards, and

bibliographies.

Applied Mathematics Series—Mathematical tables, manuals, and studies of special interest to physicists, engineers, chemists, biologists, mathematicians, computer programmers, and others engaged in

scientific and technical work.

National Standard Reference Data Series—Provides quantitative data on the physical and chemical

properties of materials, compiled from the world's literature and critically evaluated. Developed un- der a worldwide program coordinated by NIST under the authority of the National Standard Data

Act (Public Law 90-396). NOTE: The Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data (JPCRD)

is published quarterly for NIST by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the American Insti- tute of Physics (AIP). Subscriptions, reprints, and supplements are available from ACS, 1155 Sixteenth St., NW., Washington, DC 20056.

Building Science Series—Disseminates technical information developed at the Institute on building

materials, components, systems, and whole structures. The series presents research results, test methods, and performance criteria related to the structural and environmental functions and the

durability and safety characteristics of building elements and systems.

Technical Notes—Studies or reports which are complete in themselves but restrictive in their treat- ment of a subject. Analogous to monographs but not so comprehensive in scope or definitive: in treatment of the subject area. Often serve as a vehicle for final reports of work performed at NIST

under the sponsorship of other government agencies.

Voluntary Product Standards—Developed under procedures published by the Departi .ent of Commerce in Part 10, Title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. The standards establish nationally

recognized requirements for products, and provide all concerned interests with ? jasis for common

understanding of the characteristics of the products. NIST administers this p'^ ^gram as a supplement

to the activities of the private sector standardizing organizations.

Consumer Information Series—Practical information, based on NIST res,earch and experience, covering areas of interest to the consumer. Easily understandable langu? Siid illustrations provide useful background knowledge for shopping in today's technological r ^.ace. Order the above NIST publications from: Superintendent of Docurr ^mient Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402. \

Order the following NISTpublications—FIPS and NISTIRs- ' -h^ical Information

Service, Springfield, VA 22161.

Federal Information Processing Standards Publication" - ^r^'' lectively constitute the Federal Information Pro'^ the official source of information in the Fed'^'' pursuant to the Federal Property and Adr

89-306 (79 Stat. 1127), and as implemer

1973) and Part 6 of Title 15 CFR (CNIST Interagency Reports (NISTJ^

by NIST for outside sponsors 0" tion is handled by the sponso

Springfield, VA 22161, in p;
U.S. Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards and Technology

(formerly National Bureau of Standards)

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300