Zachman Framework Explained: The 6x6 Classification Schema
John Zachman published his framework in 1987 in the IBM Systems Journal. Its grid classifies the descriptions of an enterprise; it does not say how to produce them.
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A classification grid
The Zachman Framework classifies the descriptions of an enterprise. John Zachman published the first version in 1987 in the IBM Systems Journal, under the title “A Framework for Information Systems Architecture”. Zachman International publishes its definitions today.
Its author defines it as an ontology: a structure of the essential components of an object. A methodology is a process; the framework is a structure. It says neither where to start nor in which order to produce the models.
Six questions as columns
The columns follow six questions: what, how, where, who, when and why. Each calls for a distinct type of description.
The columns remain independent. The objects in the what column are not confused with the goals in the why column; keeping them apart prevents a model from mixing two questions.
- What: the things the enterprise inventories, such as its customers, products or contracts.
- How: the processes that transform these things.
- Where: the distribution of sites and networks.
- Who: the responsibilities assigned.
- When: cycles and events.
- Why: goals and intentions.
Six rows, from identification to instantiation
The rows describe six transformations: identification, definition, representation, specification, configuration and instantiation. Each corresponds to the perspective of an audience describing the enterprise at its own level of detail.
A cell is the intersection of one question and one transformation. It holds a primitive model dealing with a single variable. The grid has thirty-six cells; a model that crosses several questions combines several cells.
Zachman, TOGAF and ArchiMate
The Zachman Framework classifies and prescribes no approach. TOGAF describes a method, the ADM. ArchiMate provides the notation for architecture models, and BPMN the notation for processes.
A team can run its assessment with the ADM, describe the current state and target in ArchiMate, then use the grid to check which questions and perspectives its dossier covers.
The grid as a checklist
Teams rarely fill all thirty-six cells. The grid is most useful in review: for a given dossier, the architect selects the relevant cells and spots unanswered questions, such as missing goals or an unknown geographical distribution.
In ArchiLU, the model is organised by ArchiMate 4 domain and each object can have its owner. An object without an owner remains visible, and a capability’s detail panel states what it is missing. The grid helps sort these gaps by question before the review.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Zachman Framework?
- A grid for classifying the descriptions of an enterprise, published by John Zachman in 1987. Six columns ask what, how, where, who, when and why; six rows describe the transformations, from identification to instantiation.
- Is the Zachman Framework a methodology like TOGAF?
- No. Its author defines it as an ontology, a structure. It prescribes neither order nor approach, whereas TOGAF describes a process, the ADM. The two can be combined.
- What is the difference between TOGAF, ArchiMate and Zachman?
- TOGAF is a method, ArchiMate an architecture notation and Zachman a classification grid; BPMN is a process notation. In ArchiLU, landscapes are displayed in ArchiMate and processes are drawn in BPMN; the architecture dossier follows the TOGAF approach.
- When is the Zachman grid useful?
- When reviewing a dossier or a repository. It shows the questions and perspectives left aside, for example motivation that is not documented in the why column.