Capture standard platform data

The license package Enterprise Architecture Management is required to work with standard platforms. The use case Architecture Governance must be activated.

MM_StandPlat 

Standard platforms serve as a kind of blueprint architecture or architecture pattern and can be used as building blocks to create and structure other more complex standard platforms that can be used when specifying application platforms. A standard platform is a platform defined outside of the scope of a concrete application. The standard platform is based on a platform template that has platform tiers and platform layers that visualizes a matrix to define the platform architecture. The standard platform architecture bundles standard technology components. The standard platform including its components can be embedded in application platforms to improve interoperability, performance, scalability, and reliability. Standard platforms can be used to represent technical platforms (for example, Windows Client Platform) as well as business platforms (for example, Digital Business Platform). By means of standard platforms, you can assess the overlap and degree of standard compliance of application platforms with the company's guidelines.

Standard platforms have versions and lifecycles and can even consist of other standard platforms. Standard components can be developed and managed independently of the standard platforms and applications that use them, and the lifecycle of a standard component can be different from its lifecycle in the context of a standard platform or application platform.

In the navigation panel, click Technology Architecture > Standard Platforms.​ Per default, the data workbench displays only a set of basic attributes. You can add more columns to capture other attributes directly in the data workbench or you can navigate to a standard platform's content area and define it in more detail there. Click to learn about how to use data workbenches.

Create a new standard platform from scratch. Click New > Standard Platform. Specify the standard platform's attributes as well as the relationships that the standard platform has to other assets in the repository. All mandatory fields must be defined to create the standard platform and save it.

Edit the attributes and relationships for a standard platform. Click the Navigate  Navigate button next to a standard platform to open its content area . Specify the standard platform's attributes as well as the relationships that the standard platform has to other assets in the repository.

Try to capture as much information as possible about the standard platform because complete data considerably improves the results of business questions and other analytics.

Once a standard platform is in the repository, you can define more details about it in the Standard Platforms data workbench . Or specify and analyze the standard platform in detail in its content area.

Per default, the data workbench displays a limited set of basic attributes. You can add more columns via the Structure column to capture other attributes directly in the data workbench.

Standard platforms serve as a kind of blueprint architecture or architecture pattern and can be used as building blocks to create and structure application platforms. A standard platform bundles approved standard technology components. Each component embedded in the standard platform is considered a standard platform element with its own lifecycle that can be different than the component it is based on. Standard platforms can also consist of other standard platforms in order to build more complex standard platforms.

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The standard platform can be embedded in an application platform as shown above. The architect of the application platform architect can then remove embedded standard components as well as add other local components when documenting their application platform.

There are two methods to assemble a complex standard platform:

  • Structure the standard platform component by component. Add individual standard components or add the standard components assigned to another standard platform.
  • Structure the standard platform by adding existing standard platforms. Add an existing standard platform as an entire package including all of its standard platform elements that are derived from components. This method should be used if all relevant communication between the components takes place within the standard platform.

The platform architecture is structured by the preconfigured platform layers and platform tiers. Add individual standard components to a specific platform layer/platform tier combination and embed other standard platforms that have already been defined to build the standard platform. In this case, you can detach unwanted components and add other components to create standard platforms that users can later use to specify application platforms. The components in the standard platform architecture can be added to the relevant platform tier/platform layer of an application platform or another standard platform.

Go to the standard platform's content area > Overview > Standard Platform Architecture.

Add components to the standard platform. Click the matrix cell where you want to add a component and click the  Component button. Select the component in the selector to add to the standard platform architecture.

Add components from an existing standard platform. Click the  New plus sign button > Copy Elements from Other Standard Platform and select the standard platform whose components you want to add. The individual components are added to the standard platform and are shaded orange. You can remove any components via  ThreeDots_Black 3-dots button > Delete. To delete all components added via the standard platform, select a component in the matrix > Delete All Platform Elements Derived from the Standard Platform.

Embed all components from an existing standard platform. Click the  New plus sign button > Add Existing Standard Platform and select the standard platform whose components you want to add. The embedded standard platform itself is not an element in the selected standard platform - only its platform elements are assigned to the selected standard platform. Embedded components are shaded grey and cannot be deleted from the standard platform. To remove all components from the embedded standard platform, select an embedded component >  New plus sign button > Detach Associated Standard Platform.

Delete a component from the standard platform.You can delete a component from the standard platform if it has been added as an individual standard component or via Copy Elements from Other Standard Platform. When you delete it, you are deleting the platform element from the standard platform. The standard component will not be deleted from the repository. Select an orange platform element and click  ThreeDots_Black 3-dots button > Delete.

Hide a platform layer or platform tier. To remove a platform tier or layer that is not relevant for the architecture of the standard platform, select the platform layer or platform tier in the matrix axis and click the  New plus sign button > Hide Selected Platform Tier/Platform Layer. Or click  New plus sign button > Axes Quick Editor and select/deselect the platform tier and platform layers in the editor to specify the matrix.

When component versions change across many application platforms or standard platforms, you may need to update the component versions in bulk. A common example is upgrading a standard database version, such as MS SQL Server. This view allows you to replace the current standard platform with a new one across the application platforms and standard platforms where it is embedded.

The dataset shows two table sections:

  • Applications: Displays the applications that have a local component used in the selected standard platform.
  • Standard Platforms: Displays the standard platforms embedded in the selected standard platform.

Substitute the current standard platform with another standard platform.If the Substitution Possible displays Yes for an application or standard platform, you can substitute the current standard platform that is embedded in the respective application platform or standard platform by a different standard platform. Select the application or standard platform and click Action > Substitute with Another Standard Platform to substitute the standard platform that you are working with. The standard platform will be substituted by the standard platform you specify in the selector. Once the standard platform is substituted by another standard platform, it will be removed from the Standard Platform Usage page view of the selected standard platform and will be displayed in the Standard Platform Usage view available for the substituted standard platform.

Remove the current standard platform for an application platform or standard platform where it is embedded. Select the application or standard platform and click the Detach button.

Go to the standard platform's content area > Overview > Lifecycle Dataand specify the following:

  • Start Date and End Date: The start and end date captures the period when the standard platform is actively running and can be used in the company. This is also when the Object State attribute should be specified as Active. Click the calendar icon to select the date or enter the date in the date format Month/Day/Year. For example: 4/30/2023
  • Object State: The object state describes the use of the standard platform in the real word. This can be understood as the operational status of the standard platform. The object state should be changed from Plan to Active once the standard platform's start date is reached. It should be changed to Retire when the standard platform's end data is reached. Possible values are:
    • Plan: The standard platform is proposed to be used and still in the stages of planning and building.
    • Active: The standard platform is currently and used now. The active period begins with the standard platform's start date and ends with the end date.
    • Retired: The standard platform is no longer used.

The lifecycles of the components assigned to the standard platform are visualized in the Component Lifecycle view. The Gantt view shows the start and end dates of the standard platform as well as the active period of the components assigned to the standard platform.

A role represents a functional responsibility that a user or organization has for the standard platform. Assigning users and organizations to roles is critical to understanding responsibility for assets in the IT and is required to answer the business question Who is responsible for our assets?.

Responsibilities are based on preconfigured role types. Your company may also configure custom role types via the Portfolio Admin user profile. Depending on the role type, a specified user and/or a specified organization may fulfill the responsibility for the standard platform. A user assigned responsibility via a role has read-only permissions to the standard platform. To change data about the standard platform, they must also be specified as an authorized user or member of an authorized user group.

Roles can be assigned to a standard platform in the Standard Platforms data workbench or the standard platform content area via Overview > Responsibilities. A person or organization can have one of the following roles or a custom role added by your company:

To specify responsibilities for the standard platform:

  1. Click in the relevant role field to open the selector.
  2. Expand the ORGANIZATION or USER sections in the selector and select the person or organization fulfilling the role.
  3. Click OK to save the role definition and close the selector.