Internet of Things – Architecture © - 42 -
2.1 Usage of the IoT Architectural Reference Model
This section provides a non-exclusive list of the beneficial uses of the IoT ARM.
The order in which these usage types are discussed in does not imply any
ranking. Rather, we list these usage types according to their degree of
abstraction; i.e. the first usage type is more about generic enabling, while the
last usage type is about how the IoT ARM can be used for procuring system
solutions (concrete, close to business). Which usage type is more important to
the use of the IoT ARM is contingent on the perspective of the involved actors.
A manager of an IoT development process, for instance, is more likely to favour
the enabling aspects of the IoT ARM, while a procurement department is more
likely to favour concrete advantages that are closer to the business process
itself.
2.1.1 Cognitive aid
When it comes to product development and other activities, an architectural
reference model is of fourfold use.
First, it aids in guiding discussions, since it provides a language everyone
involved can use, and which is intimately linked to the architecture, the system,
the usage domain, etc.
Second, the high-level view provided in such a model is of high educational
value, since it provides an abstract but also rich view of the domain. Such a
view can help people new to the field with ―finding their way‖ and with
understanding the particularities and intricacies of IoT.
Third, the ARM can assist IoT project leaders in planning the work at hand and
the teams needed. For instance, the Functionality Groups identified in the
Functional View of the IoT system (see Section 4.2.2) can also be understood
as a list of independent teams working on an IoT system implementation. The
―Guidance‖ Chapter (in particular the ―Process‖ Section 5.2) provides more
insight on how the IoT ARM can support the architecture-generation process
and also about how to slice it into different activity ―islands‖. Such an approach
is especially of interest for enterprise-architecture frameworks that incorporate
system-architecting processes. Typically these enterprise frameworks provide
institutional rules and prescriptions for how the system-architecting process is to
be conducted. The IoT ARM can inform such institutional rules and
prescriptions. An example for the latter is the Zachman framework
[Wikipedia 2013c].
Fourth, the ARM aids in identifying independent building blocks for IoT systems.
This constitutes very valuable information when dealing with questions like
system modularity, processor architectures, third-vendor options, re-use of
already developed components, etc.