General Architecture Framework and General Modelling Framework: Interoperability of Enterprise Architecture

Abstract

With the gradual unification of theories, methods and tools of software engineering, systems engineering and enterprise engineering, as an engineering tool for understanding, designing, developing, implementing and integrating complex software systems, enterprise systems and system of systems, architecture, methodology and system modeling techniques have been widely studied and applied in engineering, as well as forming a series of generalized architecture frameworks, such as Zachman framework, CIM-OSA, GIM/IMPACS, PERA, GERAM, FEAF, DoDAF, TOGAF, UAF, etc. These frameworks support the cognition, description, analysis and design activities of complex systems. On the basis of these generalized architecture frameworks, the architecture of industrial systems such as Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI4.0), the Industrial Internet of Things Reference Architecture, and Smart Manufacturing Ecosystem has also been established and applied. On the other hand, along with the in-depth research and extensive application of model-based system engineering (MBSE), the framework methodology and design tools such as Harmony, Magic Grid are also changing the traditional pattern of industrial design. In order to solve the problem of adaptation, integration and interoperability of different architecture frameworks as well as their methods and tools in engineering applications, it is necessary to develop a general architecture and modeling framework to support systems, software and enterprises engineering based on different architectures, methods and tools to achieve internal and external integration and interoperability. In this paper, we first propose a general architecture framework (GAF) and its related general modeling framework (GMF). GAF provides MBSE tools and methods for system analysis, design and development. GMF provides a set of models and methods to describe different views of systems. In order to illustrate the common characteristics of GAF and GMF, this paper also discusses the interoperability between GAF, GMF and mainstream architectures and modeling frameworks in detail.