First part of Dragon1
Dragon1 ‘Way of Thinking’ elaborates on the first part of Dragon1. In the ‘way of thinking’, the focus is on the theoretical foundations of the method: how does Dragon1 help the architect observe enterprises and architecture differently, to display its added value.
The starting point of Dragon1 presents a way of thinking required to enable the architect to design architectures such as a reference architecture, with the ultimate goal of solving challenges within the enterprise. This enables the architect to accept an architecture design assignment to design an enterprise structure, assuring high quality and conforming to the performance requirements of the structure.
The way of thinking framework explains which types of architectures Dragon1 acknowledges within an enterprise and which specific role concepts, principles, and style elements play within visual enterprise architecture. This way of thinking focuses more on the ‘why’ of architecture, architecture design, concepts, principles, and style elements than on the ‘what’ and the’ how’. This chapter helps the architect form his own vision of visual enterprise architecture.
The following paragraphs sketch which Dragon1 ‘way of thinking’ concepts constitute an important part of understanding visual enterprise architecture. The ‘way of thinking’ concepts are presented within the’ way of thinking’ framework. It poses the question of why Dragon 1 is constructed from these ‘way of thinking’ concepts and the interrelations between these ‘way of thinking’ concepts.
Way of Thinking Framework
The Dragon1 ‘way of thinking’ can be described within one single framework. The framework consists of eight ‘way of thinking’ concepts. The ‘way of thinking’ specifically questions: why the architect uses concepts, principles, meta models, human measures, strategic starting points, mission, vision, and policy in developing architecture designs and architectures to create sustainable and future-proof structures.
The Way of Thinking Framework shows the most important concepts that are part of the way of thinking of the method.
Concepts & Principles
The concept Concepts & Principles denotes the architect’s advantages in terms of working with concepts and the reasons why. How does an architect select the appropriate types of concepts to work with? How does the concept work, and where can the concept be used? Also, how does an architect recognize and formulate principles subject to a primary concept, and use this as a quality requirement to make a concept work?
Enterprises as Structures
The concept Enterprises as Structures shows how an architect can visualize an enterprise as a structure. Visual enterprise architecture is an instrument for creating architectural designs of structures, whereby the structure’s requirements are first translated into concepts, then into logical elements, and thereafter into components, all responsible for delivering the required performance. Using this method, an ingenious structure appears, which is sustainable and future-proof, attractive and robust, whilst performing optimally and functionally.
Meta Models
The concept Meta Models elaborates on the usefulness and necessity of an architect using meta models to create architecture designs. What are the views and perspectives of a structure and what advantages are there for the architect to work with different model views and perspectives?
Integral Solutions
The concept ‘Integral Solutions’ denotes that organizational solutions increasingly form a coherent set of business processes and information systems that influence all business functions and divisions in the enterprise, such as production, purchasing, finance, HR, and IT. Consequently, solutions must be designed integrally, considering the solution's environment. This contributes to a sustainable, future-proof, and optimally functional solution.
Architectures
The concept Architectures describes an enterprise's different architectures. The architect can create and describe these architectures, or can even retrospectively create these architectures, but use the structure’s advantages to make future improvements to the structure.
Human Measures
The concept ‘Human Measures’ points to the usefulness and operability of these structures. Ultimately, it is the user who has to work with them. How can the architect take this into account in the best possible way?
Architecture Designs
The concept Architecture Designs shows why the architect creates architecture designs. What are architecture designs, and how are they put together? What types of architecture designs are recognized?
Strategic Organization of Architecture
In the concept ‘Strategic Organization of Architecture’, we learn how working with architecture can be embedded at all enterprise levels. Organizing and managing architecture appropriately enables an enterprise to avoid making the wrong decisions at the wrong time.
The Way of Thinking of Dragon1 can be summarized with a set of claims:
- Every enterprise, organization, business, or company can be viewed as a system or a structure (a system with three dimensions)
- Every structure, like an enterprise or organization, has an architecture
- Of every enterprise or organization, its architecture can be expressed by making explicit the coherent set of concepts that are applied to it.
- Every change within or around the enterprise or organization will impact concepts or encounter resistance from the concept.
- Every concept has a way of working, called the concept principle.
- Every principle of a concept that is part of the architecture of an enterprise is an architecture principle for that enterprise.
- A principle is only a principle if it is always true within a context. Therefore, it can predict behavior and a series of events and be tested.
- Every enterprise or organization requires humans to make it work. You cannot have an enterprise or organization without humans.