The Activity Based approach to architecture development provides several benefits, such as the ability to generate Operational and System Views from model data, greater data consistency, and higher architecture and analysis product quality. The ABM was introduced for DoDAF 1.5.
For detailed guidance about ABM and its implementation, see “An Activity-Based Methodology for Development and Analysis of Integrated DoD Architectures” on the MITRE website:
The Activity Based approach to architecture development enables the following benefits:
•Core architecture data can be formed into Information Exchanges and System Data Exchanges.
•Information Exchanges and System Data Exchanges are used to generate Operational and Systems Views.
•Ensures data consistency in resultant Operational and Systems Products.
•Results in quality architecture and analysis products (by eliminating user inputs) and speeds up the entire architecture development process.
To successfully develop integrated DoD architectures with System Architect and the Activity Based Methodology, certain design and syntax rules need to be followed. Some of these are enforced by current functionality in ABM modeling feature. The rest are beyond the scope of the feature to enforce and, therefore, it is up to architects themselves to use these rules to guide their architecture projects.
Design syntax rules have been developed to enable automation of various DoD Framework architecture entities and Framework products. While the rules restrict some of the features of System Architect, the larger goal of having consistent integrated architectures coming from different ABM modeling users and being able to combine and analyze these architectures within and across DoD agencies and services takes preference.
DoDAF ABM feature information
There are two versions of System Architect to build DoDAF architectures:
•System Architect for DoDAF (formerly called System Architect C4ISR), provides an open architecture to build DoDAF workproducts based around structured (IDEF) techniques.
•System Architect for DoDAF with ABM, provides specific support for the Activity Based Methodology developed by MITRE.
The two versions use two distinct metamodels for DoDAF. As a best practice, before creating model artifacts, choose the version you prefer. After you create model artifacts with one version of the product, you cannot easily convert that information to be used with the other version of the product.
Note Activity Based Methodology (ABM) is trademarked by MITRE.