<s>
A	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
(	O
FSA	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
architectural	O
model	O
that	O
identifies	O
enterprise	O
functions	O
,	O
interactions	O
and	O
corresponding	O
IT	B-General_Concept
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
functions	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
reference	O
by	O
different	O
domain	O
experts	O
to	O
develop	O
IT-systems	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
co-operative	O
information-driven	O
enterprise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
both	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineers	I-General_Concept
and	O
enterprise	O
architects	O
can	O
create	O
an	O
information-driven	O
,	O
integrated	O
organizational	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-General_Concept
engineers	I-General_Concept
come	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
this	O
information	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
describes	O
the	O
components	O
and	O
structural	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
by	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
certain	O
architecture	B-Architecture
description	I-Architecture
language	I-Architecture
(	O
ADL	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
described	O
work	O
division	O
is	O
in	O
reality	O
much	O
more	O
complex	O
and	O
also	O
involves	O
more	O
actors	O
but	O
it	B-General_Concept
outlines	O
the	O
involvement	O
of	O
people	O
with	O
different	O
backgrounds	O
in	O
creating	O
a	O
software	O
system	O
that	O
enables	O
the	O
organization	O
to	O
reach	O
business	O
objectives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Especially	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineering	I-General_Concept
many	O
tools	O
(	O
A4	O
Tool	O
,	O
CAME	O
,	O
ARIS	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
languages	B-Language
(	O
ACME	O
,	O
Rapide	O
,	O
UML	B-Language
)	O
and	O
methods	O
(	O
DSDM	O
,	O
RUP	B-Application
,	O
ISPL	O
)	O
are	O
developed	O
and	O
extensively	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
the	O
transition	O
between	O
the	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineers	I-General_Concept
(	O
step	O
3	O
)	O
and	O
computer	O
programmers	O
(	O
step	O
4	O
)	O
is	O
already	O
highly	O
formalized	O
by	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
object-oriented	B-Language
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
defined	O
,	O
maintained	O
,	O
and	O
implemented	O
effectively	O
,	O
these	O
institutional	O
blueprints	O
assist	O
in	O
optimizing	O
the	O
interdependencies	O
and	O
interrelationships	O
among	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
business	O
operations	O
and	O
the	O
underlying	O
IT	B-General_Concept
that	O
support	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
read	O
the	O
definition	O
of	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
this	O
entry	O
we	O
can	O
see	O
a	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
as	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
enterprise	O
architecture	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
rich	O
reference	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
an	O
integrated	O
information	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Naming	O
it	B-General_Concept
a	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
encourages	O
practitioners	O
to	O
use	O
it	B-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
strategic	O
input	O
for	O
a	O
technical	B-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
formal	O
mapping	O
between	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
and	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
ADL	B-Architecture
is	O
therefore	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
boundary	O
of	O
an	O
enterprise	O
is	O
extended	O
,	O
it	B-General_Concept
becomes	O
increasingly	O
important	O
that	O
a	O
common	O
"	O
big	O
picture	O
"	O
of	O
needed	O
business	O
,	O
people	O
and	O
IT	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
activities	O
is	O
developed	O
and	O
shared	O
by	O
all	O
the	O
parties	O
involved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
does	O
this	O
by	O
breaking	O
down	O
the	O
organization	O
in	O
business	O
functions	O
and	O
corresponding	O
IT	B-General_Concept
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
the	O
enterprise	O
engineer	O
provides	O
a	O
rich	O
schematic	O
reference	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineer	I-General_Concept
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
these	O
IT-systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
a	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
can	O
be	O
done	O
by	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
(	O
combined	O
)	O
methods	O
and	O
techniques	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Filling	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
gap	O
"	O
between	O
the	O
enterprise	O
engineers	O
and	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineers	I-General_Concept
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
different	O
combinations	O
of	O
methods	O
and	O
techniques	O
will	O
be	O
the	O
main	O
objective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
this	O
objective	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
reached	O
when	O
combined	O
methods	O
result	O
in	O
clear	O
and	O
rich	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architectures	I-Architecture
that	O
are	O
developed	O
and	O
used	O
by	O
both	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
is	O
concerned	O
with	O
the	O
redesign	O
of	O
strategic	O
,	O
value-adding	O
processes	O
,	O
systems	O
,	O
policies	O
and	O
organizational	O
structures	O
to	O
optimize	O
the	O
processes	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
enterprise	B-Architecture
engineering	I-Architecture
formal	O
methodologies	O
,	O
methods	O
and	O
techniques	O
are	O
designed	O
,	O
tested	O
and	O
extensively	O
used	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
offer	O
organizations	O
reusable	O
business	O
process	O
solutions	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
,	O
which	O
of	O
them	O
are	O
suited	O
for	O
the	O
further	O
development	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
that	O
are	O
needed	O
for	O
effective	O
and	O
efficient	O
(	O
re	O
)	O
designed	O
processes	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
important	O
,	O
why	O
using	O
a	O
time-consuming	O
enterprise	O
methodology	O
when	O
information	O
and	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineers	I-General_Concept
ca	O
n’t	O
or	O
wo	O
n’t	O
use	O
the	O
unclear	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
efficiency	O
enabling	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
?	O
</s>
<s>
CIMOSA	B-Library
provides	O
templates	O
and	O
interconnected	O
modeling	O
constructs	O
to	O
encode	O
business	O
,	O
people	O
and	O
IT	B-General_Concept
aspects	O
of	O
enterprise	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
constructs	O
can	O
further	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
structure	O
and	O
facilitate	O
the	O
design	O
and	O
implementation	O
of	O
detailed	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
division	O
in	O
different	O
views	O
makes	O
it	B-General_Concept
a	O
clarifying	O
reference	O
for	O
enterprise	O
and	O
software	B-General_Concept
engineers	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
shows	O
information	O
needs	O
for	O
different	O
enterprise	O
functionalities	O
(	O
activities	O
,	O
processes	O
,	O
operations	O
)	O
and	O
corresponding	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
it	B-General_Concept
can	O
easily	O
be	O
determined	O
which	O
IT-system	O
will	O
fulfill	O
the	O
information	O
needs	O
in	O
a	O
certain	O
activity	O
and	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
was	O
already	O
being	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Airforce	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
it	B-General_Concept
had	O
4	O
different	O
notations	O
to	O
model	O
an	O
enterprise	O
from	O
a	O
certain	O
viewpoint	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
were	O
IDEF0	O
,	O
IDEF1	B-Application
,	O
IDEF2	O
and	O
IDEF3	O
for	O
functional	O
,	O
data	O
,	O
dynamic	O
and	O
process	O
analysis	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
CIMOSA	B-Library
,	O
it	B-General_Concept
also	O
uses	O
different	O
enterprise	O
views	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
IDEF	O
can	O
be	O
easily	O
transformed	O
into	O
UML-diagrams	O
for	O
the	O
further	O
development	O
of	O
its	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
these	O
positive	O
characteristics	O
make	O
it	B-General_Concept
a	O
powerful	O
method	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
functional	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
architectures	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petri	B-Operating_System
nets	I-Operating_System
are	O
known	O
tools	O
to	O
model	O
manufacturing	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
highly	O
expressive	O
and	O
provide	O
good	O
formalisms	O
for	O
the	O
modeling	O
of	O
concurrent	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
advantageous	O
properties	O
are	O
that	O
of	O
simple	O
representation	O
of	O
states	O
,	O
concurrent	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
transitions	O
,	O
and	O
capabilities	O
to	O
model	O
the	O
duration	O
of	O
transitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Petri	B-Operating_System
nets	I-Operating_System
,	O
therefore	O
,	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
model	O
certain	O
business	O
processes	O
with	O
corresponding	O
state	O
and	O
transitions	O
or	O
activities	O
within	O
and	O
outputs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
Petri	B-Operating_System
Nets	I-Operating_System
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
model	O
different	O
software	O
systems	O
and	O
transitions	O
between	O
these	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
programmers	O
use	O
it	B-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
schematic	O
coding	O
reference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
recent	O
years	O
several	O
attempts	O
have	O
shown	O
that	O
Petri	B-Operating_System
nets	I-Operating_System
can	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
business	O
process	O
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mapping	O
between	O
their	O
Model	O
Blue	O
business	O
view	O
and	O
an	O
equivalent	O
Petri	B-Operating_System
Net	I-Operating_System
is	O
also	O
shown	O
,	O
which	O
indicates	O
that	O
their	O
research	O
closes	O
the	O
gap	O
between	O
business	O
and	O
IT	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
Petri	B-Operating_System
Nets	I-Operating_System
they	O
rather	O
use	O
their	O
own	O
Model	O
Blue	O
IT	B-General_Concept
view	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
derived	O
from	O
their	O
business	O
view	O
through	O
a	O
transformation	O
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UML	B-Language
is	O
a	O
broadly	O
accepted	O
modeling	O
language	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
software	O
systems	O
and	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
object-oriented	B-Language
community	O
also	O
tries	O
to	O
use	O
UML	B-Language
for	O
enterprise	O
modeling	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Where	O
Petri	B-Operating_System
Nets	I-Operating_System
focus	O
on	O
the	O
interaction	O
and	O
states	O
of	O
objects	O
,	O
UML	B-Language
focuses	O
more	O
on	O
the	O
business	O
objects	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
UML	B-Language
in	O
this	O
way	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
model	O
an	O
integrated	O
software	O
system	O
it	B-General_Concept
has	O
been	O
argued	O
that	O
the	O
reality	O
of	O
business	O
can	O
be	O
modeled	O
with	O
a	O
software	O
modeling	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
reaction	O
,	O
the	O
object-oriented	B-Language
community	O
makes	O
business	O
extensions	O
for	O
UML	B-Language
and	O
adapts	O
the	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UEML	O
is	O
derived	O
from	O
UML	B-Language
and	O
is	O
proposed	O
as	O
a	O
business	O
modeling	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
was	O
earlier	O
said	O
that	O
UML	B-Language
in	O
combination	O
with	O
other	O
"	O
pure’	O
business	O
methods	O
can	O
be	O
a	O
better	O
alternative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EFD	O
possibly	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
business	O
front-end	O
to	O
a	O
software	O
modeling	O
language	O
like	O
UML	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
major	O
resemblance	O
with	O
IDEF	O
as	O
a	O
modeling	O
tool	O
indicates	O
that	O
it	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
done	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
more	O
research	O
is	O
needed	O
to	O
improve	O
the	O
EFD	O
technique	O
in	O
such	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
formal	O
mappings	O
to	O
UML	B-Language
can	O
be	O
made	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
about	O
the	O
complementary	O
use	O
of	O
IDEF	O
and	O
UML	B-Language
has	O
contributed	O
to	O
the	O
acceptance	O
of	O
IDEF	O
as	O
business-front	O
end	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
similar	O
study	O
should	O
be	O
done	O
with	O
EFD	O
and	O
UML	B-Language
.	O
</s>
