View NAF:NAV-3 Metadata Subview
Overview
The NAV-3 Integrated Metadata subview is part of the NATO All View and one of the 47 NATO Architecture Framework subviews.
Version & Date
Version 3.0
See NAF Release History.
Purpose
From the NATO Architecture Framework v3, CHAPTER 4, Section 4.3.3
The purpose of the NAV-3a subview is to certify (officially state) that an architecture satisfies all applicable (externally) imposed criteria to a required degree. The criteria in question are documented in the NAF.
The objective is also to communicate to the stakeholders of the architecture effort, and to other architects, that an architecture meets the requirements of the NAF.
Covered by NATO release conditions.
Definition
From the NATO Architecture Framework v3, CHAPTER 4, Section 4.3.3
The NAF is a guidance document. It does not direct which subviews are mandatory for which types of NATO architectures. The NAF is also flexible in that it allows user defined subviews and deviation from existing subviews, if so required to achieve the objectives of the architecture effort. Consequently, an architecture compliance statement only makes a statement on:
- whether an architecture’s subviews deviate from the subview descriptions in chapter 4 (and to what degree)
- whether an an architecture’s subviews deviate from the NMM (and to what degree)
- whether an architecture’s subviews use terminology that is inconsistent with the definitions of terms described in NAF chapter 7.
By implication, this means that a fully NAF-compliant architecture must also be fully NMM-compliant. Deviations from the NMM must be described in detail in NAV-3b Metadata Extensions. If deviations exist, and if these deviations are described correctly, and in detail, in NAV-3b, then the architecture is NAF-compliant to a degree, with the exceptions made in NAV-3b.
Although the NAF allows for deviation from this chapter’s guidelines on subviews, it is strongly recommended not to deviate from the subview guidelines, and especially not to deviate from the NMM. If no deviations are made, the resulting architecture is much more likely to reap the full benefits of the NAF. I.e. the resulting architecture is:
- more easily communicated to stakeholders
- more easily understood by other architects
- more easily incorporated in or merged with other architectures
- more easily compared to other architectures
- more easily interchanged with other architecture tools that support the NMM
- more easily integrated into other architecture core data repositories that conform to the NMM
The compliance statement itself can be a simple document, stating that the architecture meets the requirements of the NAF and the NMM. The statement should explain to what degree compliance has been met, as it is allowed to deviate from the standard subview templates of the NAF. Alternatively, the compliance statement can be the set of comments to each or any of the elements of the core architecture data repository that stores the architecture.
Covered by NATO release conditions.
From the NATO Architecture Framework v3, CHAPTER 5, Section 5.2.2.3
The Metadata view consists of two subviews:
- NAV-3a Architecture compliance statement
- NAV-3b Metadata extensions
Both of these subviews are at present intended as reports of (a) compliance statements that have been inserted within the architecture model as stereotyped comments and (b) as statements concerning additions made to the basic NMM metamodel. In case the latter is attempted it should be noted that the comments should be attached to the stereotypes that have been added rather than the use of the stereotypes themselves within the architecture model.
Covered by NATO release conditions.
Comments
It would be clearer if the purpose of the view - compliance - was captured in the subview title.
Given that this view is partly concerned with compliance with the definitions against the NMM definitions it is ironic that the description mistakenly uses ‘architecture’ when it should be using ‘architecture description’.
Other Frameworks
See also:
- TRAK is prescriptive in the definition of each view through the use of Architecture Viewpoints to specify the mandatory and allowed architecture description tuples for each view. Any non-conforming diagrams that needed to be included, for example from other frameworks or sources, would be referenced as such and declared in the TRAK MVp-02 Architecture Description Design Record Viewpoint
References
- Section 4.3.3 (page 185 of pdf) of APPENDIX 1 TO ANNEX 1 TO AC/322-D(2007)0048. NATO Architecture Framework Version 3.
- Section 5.2.2.3 (page 357 of pdf) of APPENDIX 1 TO ANNEX 1 TO AC/322-D(2007)0048. NATO Architecture Framework Version 3.
Category:Framework -> View
Category:NAF -> Subview
Category:Technical