Agile digital transformation of System-of-Systems architecture models using Zachman framework

Emergent behavior is behavior of a system that does not depend on its individual parts, but on their relationships to one another. Such behavior exists in biological systems, physical systems as well as in the human performance. It is an inherited nature of a System-of-Systems (SoS). A suitable framework is needed to guide the development of SoS architecture, which includes emergent behavior. Enterprise architecture (EA) is a discipline driving change within organizations. Aligning and integrating business and IT thereby belongs to strategic management. The management of EA change is a challenging task for enterprise architects, due to complex dependencies amongst EA models, when evolving towards different alternatives. In this paper, various architecture frameworks are explored for an application on SoS architecture: the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) and Ministry of Defense Architecture Framework (MODAF) are declared inappropriate. The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) and the Zachman Framework on the other hand are suitable. The use of Zachman Framework to guide the architecture development is described in step-by-step details in this paper. The agent-based simulation is recommended to develop the SoS architectural models following the Zachman Framework guidance. Ultimately, SysML and UML should be integrated with the agent-based model. An example with the collaborative engineering services for the global automotive supply chain is hereby described.