Overview of the TRAK Metamodel

Master / Source

The master source definition of the TRAK Metamodel is:-

TRAK00002.TRAK. Architecture Framework. Metamodel (2024-09-23)

Download the TRAK metamodel specification

Architecture Perspectives

The elements of the TRAK metamodel and the architecture viewpoints are grouped together into 'architecture perspectives'. Each architecture perspective has a core subject area and covers similar or related concepts.

The architecture perspectives are:-

Enterprise Perspective
Concept Perspective
Procurement Perspective
Solution Perspective
Management Perspective

Enterprise Perspective

This perspective describes the enterprise in terms of its goals and the enduring capabilities that are required to support the goals. These are high level business needs that everything else contributes to and form part of the long term strategic objectives that need to be managed.

The typical stakeholders are the owner, developer, planner and maintainer of the enterprise.

Enterprise Perspective Metamodel Elements
Perspective	Elements
Enterprise	Node elements: Capability, Enterprise and Enterprise Goal Connector elements: aspires to

Concept Perspective

The Concept Perspective describes the solution-free (logical) view of what is needed in response to the capabilities required by the enterprise in the Enterprise Perspective. It describes the logical connection of nodes, for example a service control centre, to other nodes with no recognition of how this might be realised either by organisation or technology. It also implies no particular part of a life cycle – it covers everything from concept to disposal ("lust to dust"!) - time is only introduced deliberately in either the enterprise and / or procurement perspectives.

Any normative documents or standards applied to the concept and described in the Management Perspective are likely to be technology-free – they won't describe "the how".

The typical stakeholders are the user or operator of the concept. Stakeholders for the solution and for the enterprise are also likely to be involved since the concept will impact on the solution and the ability to realise the enduring capabilities.

Concept Perspective Metamodel Elements
Perspective	Elements
Concept	Node elements: Concept Activity, Item, Item Exchange, Need and Node Connector elements: carries, conducts and for

Procurement Perspective

The Procurement Perspective provides a top level view of the procurement of a solution to satisfy the enterprise capability needs outlined in the Enterprise Perspective and developed in the concept perspective. It provides a way of showing how projects deliver the solutions described in the Solution Perspective to provide capability. It provides a way of showing time dependency between projects owing to dependencies on systems being introduced or removed and is an essential for investigating capability gaps. It also provides a way of showing how responsibility boundaries change over time.

The typical stakeholders are the acquirer, developer and builder of the solution. The owner and builder of the enterprise will also have an interest in terms of the effect on enterprise capabilities.

Procurement Perspective Metamodel Elements
Perspective	Elements
Procurement	Node elements: Milestone, Project and Project Activity Connector elements: is necessary for, marked by, marks introduction of, marks removal of, owns, removes and undertakes

Solution Perspective

The Solution Perspective describes the solution – whether proposed or realised.

It covers the parts of ‘systems’ whether human or machine, their exchanges and protocols. It describes how organisations and equipments are organised and governed. The Solution Perspective describes how the logical requirements outlined in the Concept Perspective are realised and shows how the solution(s) realise the capabilities needed by the enterprise and described in the Enterprise Perspective.

The typical stakeholders are the owner, acquirer, developer, builder, maintainer and trainer of the solution.

Solution Perspective Metamodel Elements
Perspective	Elements
Solution	Node elements: Competence, Event, Function, Human Resource, Interaction Element, Job, Mitigation, Organisation, Physical, Port, Port Connection, Protocol, Resource, Resource Interaction, Risk, Role, Safety Monitored Element, Software, System, Threat, Vulnerability and Zone Connector elements: AND, NOT, OR, can lead to exposure to, caused by, contains, contributes to, exchanges, exploits, exposed to, exposes, hosted on, impacts on, implements, is attached to, is configured with, is managed by, is member of, performs, physically depends on, physically supports, plays, poses, results in, to conduct and uses

Management Perspective

The Management Perspective describes the architectural task and those relationships that are common across other perspectives. It provides ways of defining the scope and findings of the architectural task - structuring the approach and modelling.

The Management Perspective provides ways of describing the requirements and normative standards that apply.

It provides supporting information to aid the portability and understanding of the architecture description produced as a result of the task.

As the Management Perspective underpins all other perspectives all roles are beneficiaries including the lay reader (or external third party) to the architecture description.

Management Perspective Metamodel Elements
Perspective	Elements
Management	Node elements: Architecture Description, Architecture Description Element, Architecture Description Tuple, Architecture Framework, Architecture Perspective, Architecture Product, Architecture Task, Architecture View, Architecture Viewpoint, Argument, Claim, Concern, Contract, DCMI Artefact, Document, Evidence, Metamodel, Metric, Requirement and Standard Connector elements: about, addresses, allows, applies, before, delivers, depends on, derived from, disproves, enacts, equivalent to, extends to, frames, from, governs, groups related, has, has part, is a, is not suited to frame, is origin for, is quantified by, issued by, makes, opposes, precedes, presents, proves, realises, requires, requires at least, satisfies, starts with, supersedes, supplied to, supplies, supports, then, to, traces to and triggers

The TRAK metamodel is subject to the terms of open source license: GNU Free Documentation License (Version 1.3, November 2008).

TRAK Architecture Framework Metamodel