Richard Veryard
FRSA
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
(born 1955) is a British
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...
, author and business consultant, known for his work on
service-oriented architecture
In software engineering, service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that focuses on discrete services instead of a monolithic design. By consequence, it is also applied in the field of software design where services are provide ...
and the service-based business.
Biography
Veryard attended
Sevenoaks School
Sevenoaks School is a highly selective coeducational independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Over 1,000 day pupils ...
from 1966 to 1972, where he attended classes by
Gerd Sommerhoff. He received his MA Mathematics and Philosophy from
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
, in 1976, and his MSc Computing Science at the
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
in 1977. Later he also received his
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
in 1992.
[Richard Veryard](_blank)
Principal Consultant at CBDI. Accessed 17 December 2008.
Veryard started his career in industry working for Data Logic Limited,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
,
UK, where he first developed and taught public data analysis courses. After years of practical experience in this field, he wrote his first book about this topic in 1984. In 1987 he became an IT consultant with
James Martin Associates (JMA), specializing in the practical problems of planning and implementing information systems. After the European operation of JMA were acquired by the
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
, he became a Principal Consultant in the Software Business and a member of Group Technical Staff. At Texas Instruments he was one of the developers of IE\Q, a proprietary methodology for
software quality management
Software quality management (SQM) is a management process that aims to develop and manage the quality of software in such a way so as to best ensure that the product meets the quality standards expected by the customer while also meeting any neces ...
. Since 1997 he is freelance consultant under the flag of Veryard Projects Ltd. Since 2006 he is a principal consultant at CBDi, a research forum for service-oriented architecture and engineering.
Veryard has taught courses at
City University,
Brunel University
Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...
and the
Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...
, and is a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
in London.
Work
''Pragmatic data analysis,'' 1984
In "Pragmatic data analysis" (1984) Veryard presented
data analysis
Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, enco ...
as a branch of
systems analysis
Systems analysis is "the process of studying a procedure or business to identify its goal and purposes and create systems and procedures that will efficiently achieve them". Another view sees system analysis as a problem-solving technique that b ...
, which shared the same principles. His position on
data modelling
Data modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying certain formal techniques.
Overview
Data modeling is a process used to define and analyze data requirements needed to suppo ...
would appear to be implicit in the term data analysis. He presented two philosophical attitudes towards data modeling, which he called "semantic relativism and semantic absolutism. According to the absolutist way of thinking, there is only one correct or ideal way of modeling anything: each object in the real world must be represented by a particular construct. Semantic relativism, on the other hand, believe that most things in the real world can be modeled in many different ways, using basic constructs".
Veryard further examined the problem of the discovery of classes and objects. This may proceed from a number of different models, that capture the
requirement
In product development and process optimization, a requirement is a singular documented physical or functional need that a particular design, product or process aims to satisfy. It is commonly used in a formal sense in engineering design, includi ...
s of the problem domain. Abbott (1983) proposed that each search starts from a textual description of the problem. Ward (1989) and Seidewitz and Stark (1986) suggested starting from the products of
structured analysis
In software engineering, structured analysis (SA) and structured design (SD) are methods for analyzing business requirements and developing specifications for converting practices into computer programs, hardware configurations, and related manual ...
, namely
data flow diagram
A data-flow diagram is a way of representing a flow of data through a process or a system (usually an information system). The DFD also provides information about the outputs and inputs of each entity and the process itself. A data-flow diagram ha ...
s. Veryard examined the same problem from the perspective of
data modeling
Data modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying certain formal techniques.
Overview
Data modeling is a process used to define and analyze data requirements needed to suppo ...
.
Veryard made the point, that the modeler has some choice in whether to use an entity, relationship or attribute to represent a given
universe of discourse
In the formal sciences, the domain of discourse, also called the universe of discourse, universal set, or simply universe, is the set of entities over which certain variables of interest in some formal treatment may range.
Overview
The domain ...
(UoD) concept.
[Graeme Simsion (2007) ''Data Modeling: Theory and Practice''. p. 78.] This justifies a common position, that "data models of the same UoD may differ, but the differences are the result of shortcomings in the data modeling language. The argument is that data modeling is essentially descriptive, but that current data modeling languages allow some choice in how the description is documented."
''Economics of Information Systems and Software,'' 1991
In the 1991 book "The Economics of Information Systems and Software", edited by Veryard, experts from various areas, including
business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
,
project management
Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...
,
software engineering
Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development.
A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...
and
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
, contribute their expertise concerning the economics of systems software, including evaluation of benefits, types of information and project costs and management.
''Information Coordination,'' 1993
In the 1993 book "Information Coordination: The Management of Information Models, Systems, and Organizations" Veryard gives a snapshot of the state of the art around these subjects. "Maximizing the value of corporate data depends upon being able to manage
information model
An information model in software engineering is a representation of concepts and the relationships, constraints, rules, and operations to specify data semantics for a chosen domain of discourse. Typically it specifies relations between kinds of t ...
s both within and between businesses. A centralized information model is not appropriate for many organizations," Veryard explains.
[Richard Veryard (1993). ''Information Coordination: The Management of Information Models, Systems, and Organizations''. Prentice Hall.]
His book "takes the approach that multiple information models exist and the differences and links between them have to be managed. Coordination is currently an area of both intensive theoretical speculation and of practical research and development. Information Coordination explains practical guidelines for
information management
Information management (IM) concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposal throug ...
, both from on-going research and from recent field experience with
CASE tools and methods".
Enterprise Modelling Methodology
In the 1990s Veryard worked together in an Enterprise Computing Project and developed a version of Business Relationship Modelling specifically for
Open Distributed Processing, under the name Enterprise Modelling Methodology/Open Distributed Processing (EMM/ODP). EMM/ODP proposed some new techniques and method extensions for
enterprise modelling
Enterprise modelling is the abstract representation, description and definition of the structure, processes, information and resources of an identifiable business, government body, or other large organization.
It deals with the process of underst ...
for distributed systems.
Component-based business
In 2001 Veryard introduced the concept of "component-based business". Component-based business relates to new
business architecture
In the business sector, business architecture is a discipline that "represents holistic
Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "hol ...
s, in which "an enterprise is configured as a dynamic network of components providing business services to one another".
[Richard Veryard (2001). ''Component-based Business: Plug and Play''. Springer.] In the new millennium there has been "a phenomenal growth in this kind of new autonomous business services, fuelled largely by the internet and e-business".
The concept of "component-Based Business constitutes a radical challenge to traditional notions of strategy, planning, requirements, quality and change, and tries to help you improve how you think through the practical difficulties and opportunities of the component-based business". This applied to both hardware and software, and to business relationships.
Veryard's subsequent work on organic planning for SOA has been referenced by a number of authors.
''Six Viewpoints of Business Architecture,'' 2013
In "Six Viewpoints of Business Architecture" Veryard describes
business architecture
In the business sector, business architecture is a discipline that "represents holistic
Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "hol ...
as "a practice (or collection of practices) associated with business performance, strategy and structure."
[Veryard (2013, p. i)]
And furthermore about the main task of the business architect:
The business architect is expected to take responsibility for some set of stakeholder concerns, in collaboration with a number of related business and architectural roles, including
:• business strategy planning, business change management, business analysis, etc.
:• 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 ...
, business excellence, etc.
:• enterprise architecture, solution architecture, data/process architecture, systems architecture, etc.
Conventional accounts of business architecture are often framed within a particular agenda - especially an IT-driven agenda. Many enterprise architecture frameworks follow this agenda, and this affects how they describe business architecture and its relationship with other architectures (such as IT systems architecture). Indeed, business architecture is often seen as little more than a precursor to system architecture - an attempt to derive systems requirements.
Publications
* Richard Veryard. ''Pragmatic data analysis''. Oxford : Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1984.
* Richard Veryard (ed.). ''The Economics of information systems and software''. Oxford : Butterworth-Heinemann, 1991.
* Richard Veryard. ''Information modelling : practical guidance''. New York : Prentice Hall, 1992.
* Richard Veryard. ''Information coordination : the management of information models, systems, and organizations''. New York : Prentice Hall, 1994.
* Richard Veryard. ''Component-based business : plug and play''. London : Springer, 2001.
* Richard Veryard.
Six Viewpoints of Business Architecture'' 2013
Articles, papers, book chapters, etc., a selection:
List of publications from the DBLP Bibliography Server.
* Richard Veryard (2000)
Reasoning about systems and their properties
In: Peter Henderson (ed) ''Systems Engineering for Business Process Change,'' Springer-Verlag, 2002* Richard Veryard. "Business-Driven SOA," ''CBDI Journal,'' May–June 2004
References
External links
Home page
List of recent publications
by Richard Veryard.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veryard, Richard
1955 births
Living people
British computer scientists
Information systems researchers
Enterprise modelling experts
People educated at Sevenoaks School
Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
Alumni of the Department of Computing, Imperial College London