1 Architectural Ecosystem – Model Driven Solutions What is the future of modeling and architecture? Response to the Future Development of UML RFI Cory

1 Architectural Ecosystem – Model Driven Solutions

What is the future of modeling and architecture?

Response to theFuture Development of UML RFI

Cory Casanave (cory-c at modeldriven.com)Sept. 13th 2009

http://lib.modeldriven.org/MDLibrary/trunk/Pub/Presentations/UmlFutures.ppt


Who We Are• Model Driven Solutions

– Architectural services for major organizations – currently focused primarily on U.S. government clients

– All types of architecture – Enterprise, Systems, Business, Service Oriented, Process, Information, etc.

– Extensive use of “MDA” as a way to derive value form models. We use MDA at a high level and for more than generating systems

• ModelDriven.org– Open community for models, modeling and tooling– ModelPro – MDA Provisioning, supporting SoaML– fUML – Foundational Executable UML– GAIN – Community for open architectures and open government– EKB – Enterprise Knowledge Base – Architecture Integration using the semantic

web (new)• A deep & long history of working with models, tooling, architecture and

standards• We would like to use the proposed architectural ecosystem and participate

with others in its development


Framing the Question

• What is the future of modeling and architecture?

• What role should UML and OMG Standards play in that future?

• We suggest that a foundation of that future should be an Architectural Ecosystem that is inclusive of but not exclusive to UML as we know it today

• We also suggest UML-2 refinement should proceed in parallel with developing this ecosystem


Overview of the Architectural Ecosystem Idea

• What is the opportunity?– There is an opportunity for an architectural ecosystem that will solve major government and

industry problems, UML and other OMG and non-OMG standards can be a springboard for and part of this ecosystem

• What do users want?– Users want a better ways to plan, design and realize their business and technology

objectives and have open technologies that facilitate these objectives without artificial boundaries or complexities

• What is the core idea/argument?– By integrating the full life-cycle of modeling using an open world, open market architectural

ecosystem we can address crucial enterprise needs with a profitable business model– This ecosystem provides for federated semantic models with multiple views and viewpoints

• What about UML as it is now?– UML is not designed for or sufficient as the foundation for the architectural ecosystem.

However, it can be a major part of that ecosystem. UML notations can be views in the ecosystem. UML is both to large and to small. Extensibility will enable simplicity.

• Conclusion– OMG & UML can be part of an architectural ecosystem that captures, communicates and

leverages knowledge for and about the enterprise and enterprise systems at many levels and from many viewpoints. We can choose to be a leader in forming that ecosystem or let it pass us by. Creating standards for this architectural ecosystem is a judicial investment for the OMG and OMG members as it will create new business opportunities and address crucial user requirements


OMG Decisions

UMF

How to address the future of modeling?

Strategic

Incremental Changes

UML 2 Centric

UML3

ArchitecturalEcosystem

UML+ is theCenter

Strategic Roadmap

Whatever we decide – lets be clear and realistic about where we are going and why


The User Problems• Organizations are very frustrated

– They can’t easily share data, services or processes– Their systems are not business driven– Their business processes are not even business driven– They find it hard to collaborate, to integrate– The are not agile, their technology holds them back– They have rampant redundancy in capabilities– They can’t plan a transition and make it happen– Complexity at all levels (business and technology)– Costs are out of control

• They will and are paying billions to try and solve these problems – and failing

• This community currently claims modeling will solve these problems!– Just look at what your web page says your tools will help with now!

• Yet the problems continue, and continue to get worse


Architecture Models Are Trapped in Stovepipes

Information is unconnected, redundant and not easily usable outside its source

But, model “files” are not web assets and hard to connectStandards & vocabularies overlap and are inconsistent

Architecture Models hold our Enterprise Architectures, business processes and services, technology models,

SOA architectures, data schema and more


Architectures Published into the Data Cloud

Visible and connected architectures have more value!


Goal: Linked Open Architectures

Federated Architectures Promotes Collaboration and Shared ResourcesModels are part of an ecosystem, not islands

ServicesProcesses Data Policies


Architectural Ecosystem Context

Community of Stakeholders and Architects

Viewpoints

FederatedArchitectural

KnowledgeBase


The OMG Meta-Muddle• The OMG has created stovepipes, hard to integrate and understand• Since each stovepipe has to solve world hunger, each becomes big

and complex or dies• Consider using these together today:

– UML-2, BPMN-2, IMM, ODM, SBVR, SoaML, SysML– Mapping the stovepipes does not make an effective integrated

environment!• This meta-muddle is compromising the value of each standard and

making OMG & modeling less relevant• Move to leading the solution rather than causing the problem• The leaders in architecture have a lousy architecture – how

embarrassing!

• What the market doesn’t need: Another Stovepipe!


The Opportunity• Modeling and architecture are key enablers to solving the user problems• Providing a path to this enabler is a major opportunity, much larger than the “UML

Market” (as currently perceived)• Deliver on today's promises of modeling and architecture while embracing the future

of modeling• Such an opportunity justifies that OMG rethink its place in modeling and architecture • What we think of as UML today is not sufficient – it is pigeonholed as a tool for OO

program design and suffers from that heritage• Thinking about the future of UML should be in context of this larger picture• UML (today) probably does not justify a new substantial investment, the broader

market does• An architectural ecosystem embracing multiple viewpoints and languages but

federated with a common model will enable this opportunity• AKA – “Family of Languages” built on a federated foundation

– Or, linked DSLs– Or, the business modeling framework– Or, what the UML infrastructure should have been– Or, the Architectural Ecosystem


The Architectural EcosystemOpen Markets, Open World

• The technologies and standards that have been successful are those that provide a foundation for the marketplace to build on– Visual Basic, Java, Eclipse, TCP/IP, Etc

• Why are people still building their modeling foundations on PowerPoint, Visio and Excel?– Because the foundation we have provided is not open – it is a

“closed world” except for the restrictive capabilities of UML profiles.

• An Open Market / Open World approach to modeling has an inherently unlimited market and the potential to excite and embrace new users and new markets


Proposed RFP: Unified Modeling Foundation (UMF)

• The Unified Modeling Foundation is an RFP supporting the architectural ecosystem

• It is not a modeling language – it is the integration framework for languages and a construction kit for new, federated, DSLs– Existing languages represent viewpoints of an underlying model

– The UMF provides the underlying model and a way to make projections to these language viewpoints (including diagram interchange)

– Semantic concepts are open, extensible and shared between language structures

• Open Scope– Business, Enterprise, Systems, Implementation, Metrics, Security…

– As an open set of concepts that can be shared among languages, the ultimate scope is open. Extension is not just for OMG, it is open to users.


UMF Conceptual Model

Unified Modeling Framework

Library ofConcepts

UMFCore

Concepts

UML-2

Class

Activity

State

Sequence

Use case

Composite Structure

BPMN

Java

C#

XSD

SBVR

Projection& Mapping

More…


This is being done now

• Current Integrated Modeling Efforts– DoDAF DM2– FEA/FSAM– Proprietary tool models– BPDM & IMM– Nasa NExIOM– (Proposed) Business Modeling Framework– Unified Process Model (NIST)– Model Driven Solutions “EKB”

A major problem and multiple non integrated solutions – sounds like standards time!


Desired Features of UMF• Provides the basis for the Architectural Ecosystem

– Semantically grounded tight core– Projection & mapping– Library of concepts– Extensible– Federated– All meta levels in one repository– Separation of concerns– Modular & loosely coupled – not monolithic– Provides for capabilities of “profiles” and meta models– Actionable & Executable (where applicable)


The UMF RFP • Communicates the Architectural Ecosystem Vision• Provides a semantic integration model based on a number of “input” languages

– UML, BPMN, SQL, SBVR, ODM, OWL, Java, C#, BMM, Etc• Would normalize, where possible, the concepts in these languages and provide

projections to concrete meta models for them• Set of concepts is layered, extensible and makes no unnecessary semantic

commitments• Core concepts should be “semantically grounded” in a formal language – optional for

other concepts• Mappings provided to input languages• UMF may propose new or altered metadata infrastructure that has the required

capabilities – perhaps based on semantic web

• Must not make the UML-2 mistakes – political or technical– Don't try and change the surface language at the same time!– Don’t have a closed process!– Don’t make any UML surface language the core.– Do use other languages and frameworks as input to the abstractions– Do have an open reference implementation!– Do make sure the meta-infrastructure is up to the task!


UMF and UML• The key to the future of UML is not “UML” it is the architectural ecosystem• UML needs to be a part of UMF and to play a role in this ecosystem• UML should not stop while UML is in progress, continue to incrementally

evolve UML• The expertise and market position of UML and other tool vendors should be

part of the solution. OMG seems like the right place to do this• UML offers a rich set of modeling concepts to integrate, but the answer can’t

be “UML Centric” or “OO Centric” or “I.T. Centric” – languages defined in UMF can be “Centric” but the UMF should not have a dominant decomposition.

• Initially UML would live in parallel to UMF as a mapping, later UML may be natively based on UMF – this minimizes market impact on UML-2

• As UMF would not be defining a “new language”, it would not address some UML superstructure issues – this should come after UMF or, if small, be done incrementally, extending UML-2


Advantages of this approach• Expands marketplace, potentially integrating:

– Business modeling– Process Modeling, Information Modeling, Service Modeling– Enterprise Architecture– Metrics– Motivation & requirements– Systems modeling– OO modeling– Ontologies– MDA– Others we have not thought of

• Provides a foundation for a rich set of federated languages, tools and supporting capabilities

• Should not destabilize current UML market “waiting for UML 3”• Inclusive of vendors outside of UML


Disadvantages

• Substantial effort, probably 2 years• Risk of failure

– Technical (not able to make it work)– Business (either not implemented or not embraced)

• Requires communicating a new vision


Using Linked Open DataUsing Linked Open Data

LOD as the architectural LOD as the architectural integration platformintegration platform

(Just One Option)(Just One Option)


Linked Open Data

• AKA – “Semantic Web”• Based on RDF (Resource Description Framework)• Provides an internet data model – federates data

globally• Link, query, infer and repurpose information without

controlling it• Getting support as the backbone for open government• Inherently “Open World” and Federated• May be better than XMI as an exchange format and

infrastructure• As a basis for the Architectural Ecosystem we would be

leveraging a growing community


OM

G S

tand

ard

XM

I R

epre

sent

atio

n

Mapping Meta Levels & Ontologies

UML Models(I.E. CRR)

The World (Business & Technical Systems)

UML “Meta Model”

MOF “Meta Meta Model”

Uses Vocabulary

Uses Vocabulary

Models

Link

ed O

pen

RD

F R

epre

sent

atio

n

UML RDF Models(I.E. CRR)

UML “RDF Schema”

MOF “Meta RDF Schema”

Uses Vocabulary

Uses Vocabulary

Models


Federating Models & Data with Hub Ontologies & Mapping (Bridge Ontologies)

The World (Business & Technical Systems)

BPMN RDF Models

BPMN “RDF Schema”


Uses Vocabulary

Uses Vocabulary

Models

UMLRDF Models

UML “RDF Schema”


Uses Vocabulary

Uses Vocabulary

Models

Federated ModelsFederated Data

Shared ConceptHub Ontology

Shared ConceptMeta Ontology

Uses Vocabulary

Models

Uses Vocabulary


Enterprise Knowledge Base

Configuration MgmtEclipseTortoise

Web-UIUser Views

FormsBrowseQuery

File Get/Put

Eclipse IDE

Sub

vers

ion

Inte

rfac

e Artifact Repository

Orbeon XForms Server

Transformation Example (BPMN/UML)

Artifact / KB Integration

XM

L “R

est”

In

terf

ace

Knowledge Base

Sesame RDF KB

Inference & Rules

Transformation

Eclipse EMF Interface* Semantic Web Interface

BPMN

ProcessModel

BPMNModel

UMLModel

UML

Shared Concepts

Subversion


Open Modeling Community•EKB•ModelPro•GAIN Initiative•fUML

Architecture Services•Service Oriented Architecture•Business Process Modeling•Semantic Web•Enterprise Architecture•Business Architecture•Systems Architecture•Model Driven Architecture

Thank You!

http://www.modeldriven.com

This Document: http://lib.modeldriven.org/MDLibrary/trunk/Pub/Presentations/UmlFutures.ppt

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1 Architectural Ecosystem – Model Driven Solutions What is the future of modeling and architecture? Response to the Future Development of UML RFI Cory