A8 — Architecture Standards

Purpose & Usage

The A8 Standard Viewpoint specifies the Profiles, Standards and Constraints (rules, policy and guidance) that are applicable to aspects of the architecture. These Standards may be traced to elements elsewhere in the architecture to indicate that those elem ents conform to the applicable NATO and/or international Standards.

• Project Strategy.
• Project Governance.
• Application of standards (informing project strategy).
• Standards compliance.
• Forecasting future changes in standards (informing project strategy).
• Specifying standards that will have an impact on the architecture and the capability it is to deliver.

Scope

• Shall contain the Standards used throughout the architecture.
• May show Standards in Standard Groups, and their groupings.
• May show Profiles which reference Standards and other Profiles.
• May show Architectural Constraints that the Profiles include.
• May show Libraries hosting Profiles and Standard Groups.

Representation

• Tabular.
• Diagram.

Cut-out (Meta-model)

flowchart LR
    Standard:::arch
    SG["Standard Group"]:::arch
    AC["Architectural Constraint"]:::arch
    Profile:::arch
    Library:::arch
    SG -->|"aggregates"| SG
    SG -->|"aggregates"| Standard
    Standard -->|"aggregates"| Standard
    Standard -->|"is a kind of"| Standard
    Profile -->|"references"| Standard
    Profile -->|"includes"| AC
    Profile -->|"references"| Profile
    Library -->|"hosts"| Profile
    Library -->|"hosts"| SG
    classDef arch fill:#FFE699,stroke:#806000,color:#000

Notes on the Cut-out

The standards here need not be purely technical; they may also relate to language, processes, business or military doctrine, best practice, or legislation. Because the period between concept and fielded capability can be lengthy, it is often necessary to reference standards that, while not yet ratified, are expected to influence future capabilities. These could include forthcoming legislative changes, environmental regulations, or safety standards. Referencing emerging standards in this way allows architects to anticipate future dependencies and reduce the risk of design obsolescence.

NAFv4 Compliant Example

flowchart LR
    SGroup["«Standard Group» FMN Spiral Group"]:::arch
    FMN6["«Standard» Federated Mission Networking - Spiral 6"]:::arch
    DevConstraint["«Architectural Constraint» Device Support for Aid Community Document Upload"]:::arch
    UnclasConstraint["«Architectural Constraint» FMN Support UNCLAS Information Services"]:::arch
    Profile["«Profile» FMN MPE FMCN Information Sharing Guidebook"]:::arch
    SGroup -->|"aggregates"| FMN6
    Profile -->|"references"| FMN6
    Profile -->|"includes"| DevConstraint
    Profile -->|"includes"| UnclasConstraint
    classDef arch fill:#FFE699,stroke:#806000,color:#000