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FAQs

The following FAQs relate to a technical and detailed understanding of the FRAME Architecture. If you have questions that are not of a such a technical nature then please look at "First View". If neither of these are helpful please contact us at info(at)frame-online.net.

What is a Functional Viewpoint?

A Functional Viewpoint (sometimes called a Logical Viewpoint, or even a Logical Architecture by others) shows the functionality that will be required to fulfil the User Needs, and hence the Stakeholder Aspirations. When using the FRAME Architecture the Functional Viewpoint...

What is a Physical Viewpoint?

Once the Functional Viewpoint is complete, the architecture team allocates each function and data store to be located, either within a sub-system (see figure below), or within a module that is part of a sub-system. Once this has been completed the component (sub-system or module)...

What is a Communications Viewpoint?

A Communications Viewpoint contains descriptions of the Physical Data Flows that pass between Sub-systems (and Modules) in the Physical Viewpoint. See also "What is a Physical...

What is a Stakeholder Aspiration?

Stakeholder Aspirations are statements that express the expectations and desires of the various stakeholders for the services that the final ITS implementation will provide. Although they should be written by the stakeholders, experience has shown that they often need help from the...

What is a User Need?

User Needs provide a formalised description of the Services that will be provided through the deployment of the results from the creation of an ITS Architecture. What the Stakeholders themselves want should be expressed in their own words in their Stakeholders' Aspirations. These Aspirations...

What is a Data Flow Diagram (DFD)?

Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) illustrate the way that the functionality within each Functional Area is organised into a hierarchy of High-level and Low-level Functions. They also show how the Functions are linked to each other, and to the Terminators and Data Stores through Data Flows. There is one...

What is a Context Diagram?

Another important part of the Functional Viewpoint is the Context Diagram. This shows the ITS as a single item and the links needed by the functionality within it to communicate with the entities outside it (i.e. Terminators). It is useful for two reasons. Firstly it enables the system...

What is a Functional Area?

At its highest level, the Functional Viewpoint consists of a number of Functional Areas, each of which contains the functionality that is responsible for a specific area of operations. This functionality is provided by a set of Functions and their related Data Stores. Each Functional Area has...

What is a Function?

The functionality in each Functional Area is decomposed into several Functions that form a hierarchical set of High-level and Low-level Functions.

Low-level Functions contain simple (un-complex) functionality which is easy to describe, and thus contain the lowest level of...

What is a Terminator?

A Terminator is an entity that represents a part of the outside world with which the Framework Architecture interacts through an interface. It may be a person, or a system with which data can be exchanged, or a physical entity from which data can be obtained, such as the atmosphere, or road...

What is an Actor?

An Actor is a specifc sub-set of a Terminator - see "What is a Terminator?"

What is a Data Flow?

The Data Flows link the Functions to each other, to Terminators and Data Stores. They enable data to be moved around within the Architecture and are of the following three types:

What is a Data Store?

The Data Stores are used to hold data that is used by two or more Functions within a Functional Area. Each has its own unique number and name. The first digit of the number is the Functional Area in which the Data Store resides. The name indicates the type of data that the Store contains....