1. Running Head: Data Architecture and Zachman Framework
Data Architecture as Related to the Zachman Framework
Rachel Ulmer
Spring 2009
CIS538

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Data Architecture and Zachman Framework
Data architecture is one part of the enterprise architecture design of a company. It is the
design of data for use in defining the target state and the following planning needed to support the
target state. It describes how data is processed, stored and utilized in a particular system (Data
architecture, n.d.) The objective of data architecture is to define the major types and sources of
data necessary to support the business in a way that is logical to stakeholders, complete, reliable
and stable. As part of the approach that is needed to build the data architecture, an enterprise
continuum must be developed. It is in this phase that generic data models significant to a
company’s industry are identified. Another approach that is necessary in the development of data
architecture is for a gap analysis to be defined that reveals what may have been forgotten initially.
The concerns of stakeholders that have not been addressed in architectural work are the most
critical source of gaps. A gap analysis matrix can be created that illustrates all the Data
Architecture Building Blocks of the Baseline Architecture on the vertical axis and all the Data
Architecture Building Blocks of the Target Data Architecture on the horizontal axis (Information
systems architecture, 2008). Closely related to this matrix design is that of the Zachman
Framework.
The Zachman framework is a classification structure often used in Information Technology
departments by the teams responsible for developing and documenting an Enterprise Architecture.
It uses a five-by-six matrix model based around 6 basic questions: what (as related to data), how
(as related to function), where (as related to network), who (as related to people), when (as related
to time) and why (as related to motivation). These questions appear in the columns of the two-
dimensional matrix. These questions pertain to five nominated stakeholder groups that consist of
the planner, the owner, the designer, the builder, and the subcontractor. The needs of the
stakeholders and their concerns are represented in the rows of the matrix. The rows indicate the

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Data Architecture and Zachman Framework
architecture’s scope, enterprise, system model, technology model and detailed representations
(Zachman framework, n.d.).
Data architecture should be designed in the planning phase of enterprise architecture. All
of the relevant data entities should be defined in this stage. The data architecture stage correlates
to the “what” column of the Zachman framework. Each of the rows in this column addresses the
understanding of and dealing with any enterprise's data. This begins in the business/scope row with
a list of the things that concern any company in this industry, affecting its direction and purpose.
The second row, the enterprise model of the business, contains a description of the business
entities and their relationships. It is the strategy that links one entity to another (Iver & Gottlieb,
2008). The third row, the model of the information system, is a disciplined translation of this.
Specific design approach is specified in row four which is the technology model. Various
constraints that are to be applied are specified. The detailed representation of the data on the
computer is represented in row five and row six, which is represented only in the working system,
is the working database (Hay, 1997). Upon analyzing the data column/rows of the Zachman
framework, it is possible to design data flows and control the flow of data in a system.

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Data Architecture and Zachman Framework
References
Data architecture. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_architecture.
Hay, D. (1997). The Zachman Framework: An Introduction. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from
http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/4140/.
Information Systems Architecture – Data Architecture. (2008). Retrieved February 28, 2009 from
http://www.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap08.html.
Iver, B. & Gottlieb, R. (2008). The Four-Domain Architecture: An approach to support enterprise
architecture design. Retrieved February 28, 2009 from
http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/sj/433/iyer.html.
Zachman framework. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachman_framework.