MOD Architectural Framework Integrated Project Team (IPT) Community of Interest Deskbook

1.1 Enterprise Architectures and Frameworks

5. MOD’s adoption of Network Enabled Capability (NEC) 1 as a means of integrating existing capabilities into a coherent system of systems is an ambitious exercise in managing both complexity and change throughout the enterprise. Modern warfare is fast changing and the systems that technology is now making available are in themselves faster, more complex and more adaptable than ever before. The combination and orchestration of these systems in concert with operational planning introduces a level of complexity never before experienced in the Ministry of Defence.

6. To assist decision-makers, MOD has decided to adopt the MOD Architecture Framework (MODAF) as a means of abstracting essential information from the underlying complexity and presenting it in a way that maintains coherence and
consistency. One of the principle objectives is to present this information in a way that is understandable to the many stakeholder communities involved in developing, delivering and sustaining capability through life.

7. MODAF is an Architectural Framework which has been designed to meet the specific business and operational needs of the MOD. It defines a way of representing an Enterprise Architecture which enables stakeholders to focus in on specific areas of interests in the enterprise, whilst retaining sight of the “big picture”. In essence it enables decision-makers to manage complexity by splitting the problem space into manageable pieces – defined in the framework as “Views”. The views are categorised under Viewpoints by their perspective (e.g. operational, technical, etc.).

Each View has a particular purpose, and usually presents:

a. Broad summary information about the whole enterprise (e.g. high level operational concepts);
b. Narrowly focussed information for a specialist purpose (e.g. system interface definitions);
c. Or, information about how aspects of the enterprise are connected (e.g. how business processes or operational activities are supported by a system, or how programme management brings together the different aspects of network enabled capability).