Business reference model (BRM) is a reference model, concentrating on the functional and organizational aspects of the

core business The core business of an organization is an idealized construct intended to express that organization's "main" or "essential" activity. Core business process means that a business's success depends not only on how well each department performs its ...

of an

enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

service organization A service club or service organization is a voluntary nonprofit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined firstl ...

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

. In

enterprise engineering Enterprise engineering is the body of knowledge, principles, and practices used to design all or part of an enterprise. R.E. Giachetti (2010). ''Design of Enterprise Systems: Theory, Methods, and Architecture''. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. An enterpr ...

a business reference model is part of an

Enterprise Architecture Framework An enterprise architecture framework (EA framework) defines how to create and use an enterprise architecture. An architecture framework provides principles and practices for creating and using the architecture description of a system. It struct ...

or ''Architecture Framework''. An Enterprise Architecture Framework defines in a series of reference models, how to organize the structure and

views A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...

associated with an Enterprise Architecture.

Overview

A reference model in general is a model of something that embodies the basic goal or idea of something and can then be looked at as a reference for various purposes. A business reference model is a means to describe the

business operations Business operations is the ''harvesting'' of value from assets owned by a business. Assets can be either ''physical'' or '' intangible''. An example of value derived from a physical asset, like a building, is rent. An example of value derived fro ...

of an organization, independent of the

organizational structure An organizational structure defines how activities such as task allocation, coordination, and supervision are directed toward the achievement of organizational aims. Organizational structure affects organizational action and provides the foundat ...

that perform them. Other types of business reference model can also depict the relationship between the

business process A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (serves a particular business goal) for a parti ...

es, business functions, and the

business area A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

’s business reference model. These reference model can be constructed in layers, and offer a foundation for the analysis of service components, technology, data, and performance. The most familiar business reference model is the "Business Reference Model", one of five reference models of the Federal Enterprise Architecture of the US Federal Government. That model is a function-driven framework for describing the business operations of the Federal Government independent of the agencies that perform them. The Business Reference Model provides an organized, hierarchical construct for describing the day-to-day business operations of the Federal government. While many models exist for describing organizations -

organizational chart An organizational chart, also called organigram, organogram, or organizational breakdown structure (OBS) is a diagram that shows the structure of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positions/jobs. The term ...

s, location maps, etc. - this model presents the business using a functionally driven approach.FEA Consolidated Reference Model Document
. May 2005.

History

One of the first business reference models ever defined was the "IMPPACT Business Reference Model" around 1990, which was the result of a research project in the

Computer Integrated Manufacturing Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the manufacturing approach of using computers to control the entire production process. This integration allows individual processes to exchange information with each part. Manufacturing can be faster a ...

(CIM) field of the ESPRIT1 programme. Gielingh et al. (1933) described:

The IMPPACT Business Reference Model is expressed in the generic language constructs provided by
IDEF0 IDEF0, a compound acronym ("Icam DEFinition for Function Modeling", where ICAM is an acronym for "Integrated Computer Aided Manufacturing"), is a function modeling methodology for describing manufacturing functions, which offers a functional model ...
... It describes the requirements for CIM seen from a business point of view. Views modelled are manufacturing activities, real and information flow objects resource objects (information and material processing components) and organisational aspects (departments and their relations to activities and resources). The complete manufacturing system (including the production system and its management) is modelled by the IMPPACT Business Reference Model. Management covers both the planning of the production and the planning and control of this production.

The term IMPPACT stood for Integrated Manufacturing of Products and Processes using Advanced Computer Technologies Furthermore, in its framework were incorporated

CIMOSA CIMOSA, standing for "Computer Integrated Manufacturing Open System Architecture", is an enterprise modeling framework, which aims to support the enterprise integration of machines, computers and people. The framework is based on the system life c ...

as reference model,

NIAM Object-role modeling (ORM) is used to model the semantics of a universe of discourse. ORM is often used for data modeling and software engineering. An object-role model uses graphical symbols that are based on first order predicate logic and s ...

for information modelling, and the data modeling language

EXPRESS Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

for information structure implementation. In the 1990s, business reference models were hardly an item. An exception was a 1991 book about

IT management Information technology management or IT management is the discipline whereby all of the information technology resources of a firm are managed in accordance with its needs and priorities. Managing the responsibility within a company entails many o ...

, which mentioned that the

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

management had developed a business reference model 10 years earlier. A 1996 manual of the

SAP R/3 SAP R/3 is the former name of the enterprise resource planning software produced by the German corporation SAP AG (now SAP SE). It is an enterprise-wide information system designed to coordinate all the resources, information, and activities needed ...

enterprise resource planning software stipulated the existence on the business reference model of the R/3 System. However, in the 1990s there was a significant development of reference models in related fields, which, resulted in the developments of

Integrated business planning Integrated business planning (IBP) is a process for translating desired business outcomes into financial and operational resource requirements, with the overarching objective of maximizing profit and / or cash flow, while minimizing risk. The bus ...

, the

Open System Environment Reference Model Open-system environment (OSE) reference model (RM) or ''OSE reference model'' (OSE/RM) is a 1990 reference model for enterprise architecture. It provides a framework for describing open system concepts and defining a lexicon of terms, that can ...

, the

Workflow Reference Model Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) was a consortium formed to define standards for the interoperability of workflow management systems. The coalition was disbanded in 2019 and no longer exists. History The Coalition was founded in May 1993 wi ...

TOGAF The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) is the most used framework for enterprise architecture as of 2020 that provides an approach for designing, planning, implementing, and governing an enterprise information technology architecture. TOG ...

and the

Zachman Framework The Zachman Framework is an enterprise ontology and is a fundamental structure for enterprise architecture which provides a formal and structured way of viewing and defining an enterprise. The ontology is a two dimensional classification sche ...

. In the new millennium business reference models started emerging in several fields from

network management system Network monitoring is the use of a system that constantly monitors a computer network for slow or failing components and that notifies the network administrator (via email, SMS or other alarms) in case of outages or other trouble. Network monitori ...

s, and

E-business Electronic business (or "Online Business" or "e-business") is any kind of business or commercial transaction that includes sharing information across the internet. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between businesses, grou ...

,Daniel A. Menascé, Virgilio A. F. Almeida (2000). ''Scaling for E-business: Technologies, Models, Performance, and Capacity Planning.'' Prentice Hall. to the US Federal government. The US Federal government published its "Business Reference Model", Version 1.0 in February 2002.Federal Enterprise Architecture Program Management Office (2002). ''The Business Reference Model, Version 1.0''. Related developments in this decade were the development of the

Treasury Enterprise Architecture Framework Treasury Enterprise Architecture Framework (TEAF) was an enterprise architecture framework for treasury, based on the Zachman Framework. It was developed by the US Department of the Treasury and published in July 2000.US Department of the Treasur ...

, and the OASIS SOA Reference Model.

Specific models

The US Federal Government has defined a Federal Enterprise Architecture structures of the five FEA reference models: * Performance Reference Model (PRM) * ''Business Reference Model'' (BRM) * Service Component Reference Model (SRM) * Technical Reference Model (TRM) * Data Reference Model (DRM) The Federal Government Business Reference Model (FA BRM) provides an organized, hierarchical construct for describing the day-to-day business operations of the Federal government. While many models exist for describing organizations - org charts, location maps, etc. - this model presents the business using a functionally driven approach. The Lines of Business and Sub-functions that comprise the BRM represent a departure from previous models of the Federal government that use antiquated, stovepiped, agency-oriented frameworks. The BRM is the first layer of the Federal Enterprise Architecture and it is the main viewpoint for the analysis of data, service components and technology.

Overview

History

Specific models

See also

References

Further reading