Business reference model

Example of the US FEA Business Reference Model.[1]

Business reference model (BRM) is a reference model, concentrating on the functional and organizational aspects of the core business of an enterprise, service organization or government agency.

In enterprise engineering a business reference model is part of an Enterprise Architecture Framework or Architecture Framework. An Enterprise Architecture Framework defines in a series of reference models, how to organize the structure and views associated with an Enterprise Architecture.

Overview

A reference model in general is a model of something that embodies the basic goal or idea of something and can then be looked at as a reference for various purposes. A business reference model is a means to describe the business operations of an organization, independent of the organizational structure that perform them. Other types of business reference model can also depict the relationship between the business processes, business functions, and the business area’s business reference model. These reference model can be constructed in layers, and offer a foundation for the analysis of service components, technology, data, and performance.

The most familiar business reference model is the "Business Reference Model", one of five reference models of the Federal Enterprise Architecture of the US Federal Government. That model is a function-driven framework for describing the business operations of the Federal Government independent of the agencies that perform them. The Business Reference Model provides an organized, hierarchical construct for describing the day-to-day business operations of the Federal government. While many models exist for describing organizations - organizational charts, location maps, etc. - this model presents the business using a functionally driven approach.[2]

Federal government

Other view on the FEA Business reference model.[3]

The US Federal Government has defined a Federal Enterprise Architecture structures of the five FEA reference models:[2]

The Federal Government Business Reference Model (FA BRM) provides an organized, hierarchical construct for describing the day-to-day business operations of the Federal government. While many models exist for describing organizations - org charts, location maps, etc. - this model presents the business using a functionally driven approach. The Lines of Business and Sub-functions that comprise the BRM represent a departure from previous models of the Federal government that use antiquated, stovepiped, agency-oriented frameworks. The BRM is the first layer of the Federal Enterprise Architecture and it is the main viewpoint for the analysis of data, service components and technology.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ FEA (2005) FEA Records Management Profile, Version 1.0. December 15, 2005.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 FEA Consolidated Reference Model Document. May 2005.
  3. ↑ US DOI (2007) Analyze the Business and Define the Target Business Environment. Sept 2007.

Further reading

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