In comparison with the ever increasing development of enterprise architectures and frameworks, reference architectures has yet to reach the same maturity level. This brings questions regarding definition, implementation and governance of reference architectures at different levels; Business, System, Technical. In this report, an in-depth analysis of the concept of reference architctures is made, focusing on the abovementioned attributes. The purpose of the report is to provide the reader with an insight on how reference architectures can be implemented in order to aid in the work of system development.

Evidence of the interest in enterprise architecture (EA) is seen in the number of enterprise architecture frameworks (EAF) in existence. An EAF is responsible for the realisation of an EA, and therefore acts as a container for the terminology of EA. The lack of acceptance of terms and definitions, coupled with the phenomenon of the large number of EAFs, indicate a silo type understanding of what EA is, which leads to a lack of clarity in the conceptual foundations of EA. By following a design science research (DSR) approach, a conceptual artefact (an enterprise architectonic (EAt)) is created to address the lack of clarity in the conceptual foundations of EA thinking and practice. The EAt serves as a conceptual device to represent the fundamental understanding of EA in terms of concepts and their relationships. The content of the EAt is derived from applying a structured interpretation method (SIM) to three prominent EAFs (The Open Group Architecture Framework, the Department of Defense Architecture Framework and the Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture). The SIM’s results are an EA understanding that consists of an EA claim: EA is similar in intent to the enterprise as a worldview is to the world. It is supported by six EA propositions:  Proposition 1: EA’s underlying theoretical knowledge is in a pre-suppositional state.  Proposition 2: EA is a description of the structure of the systems of an enterprise.  Proposition 3: EA represents the enterprise in time-oriented architectures such as an as-is, to-be and has-been architecture.  Proposition 4: EA translates the values/strategy of the enterprise into operational systems appropriate to the information society.  Proposition 5: EA provides a means to manage decisions about the IT/IS management and implementation in the enterprise.  Proposition 6: EA captures a representation of the enterprise in the form of a model or set of models. The six EA propositions are analysed through the lens of Heidegger's equipment analysis, to produce a set of architectonic elements. These elements are arranged in the EAt to create a conceptual device to support the fundamental understanding of EA. / Centre for Applied Information and Communication / Ph.D. (Information Systems)

Evidence of the interest in enterprise architecture (EA) is seen in the number of enterprise architecture frameworks (EAF) in existence. An EAF is responsible for the realisation of an EA, and therefore acts as a container for the terminology of EA. The lack of acceptance of terms and definitions, coupled with the phenomenon of the large number of EAFs, indicate a silo type understanding of what EA is, which leads to a lack of clarity in the conceptual foundations of EA. By following a design science research (DSR) approach, a conceptual artefact (an enterprise architectonic (EAt)) is created to address the lack of clarity in the conceptual foundations of EA thinking and practice. The EAt serves as a conceptual device to represent the fundamental understanding of EA in terms of concepts and their relationships. The content of the EAt is derived from applying a structured interpretation method (SIM) to three prominent EAFs (The Open Group Architecture Framework, the Department of Defense Architecture Framework and the Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture). The SIM’s results are an EA understanding that consists of an EA claim: EA is similar in intent to the enterprise as a worldview is to the world. It is supported by six EA propositions:  Proposition 1: EA’s underlying theoretical knowledge is in a pre-suppositional state.  Proposition 2: EA is a description of the structure of the systems of an enterprise.  Proposition 3: EA represents the enterprise in time-oriented architectures such as an as-is, to-be and has-been architecture.  Proposition 4: EA translates the values/strategy of the enterprise into operational systems appropriate to the information society.  Proposition 5: EA provides a means to manage decisions about the IT/IS management and implementation in the enterprise.  Proposition 6: EA captures a representation of the enterprise in the form of a model or set of models. The six EA propositions are analysed through the lens of Heidegger's equipment analysis, to produce a set of architectonic elements. These elements are arranged in the EAt to create a conceptual device to support the fundamental understanding of EA. / Centre for Applied Information and Communication / Ph. D. (Information Systems)

From the 1970s to the present time, the World Health Organization (WHO) explains the importance of health promotion in the world. The increased interest in promoting health and increasing health costs for the economies contributed to the recognition of health care as an important area of research. One of the most important aspects of these research currently is the Telehealth, using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to try to provide universal access to health. The use of Interactive Digital TV technology helps in accessing remote locations and creates the opportunity to distribute applications across their infrastructure. Dealing with the problems that arise from the convergence of these concepts is of great importance. The architectural description process helps in the development of applications and systems based on the referenced concepts. However, there are no frameworks to help the description of architectures for this particular domain. This paper proposes the ARCHealth an enterprise architecture framework created to assist the architecture development process in accordance with ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011. The ARCHealth was based on the principles of primary health care, taking into account the main concerns of stakeholders and the specific area. / Desde a década de 1970 até o presente momento, a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) expõe a importância da promoção da saúde no mundo. O aumento do interesse na promoção da saúde e os custos de saúde crescentes para as economias contribuíram para o reconhecimento dos cuidados à saúde como uma importante área de pesquisa. Uma das vertentes mais importantes dessas pesquisas atualmente, é a Telehealth, que utiliza das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) para tentar prover acesso universal à saúde. O uso da TV Digital Interativa auxilia no acesso a locais remotos e cria a oportunidade de distribuir aplicações através de sua infraestrutura. Lidar com os problemas que surgem a partir da convergência desses conceitos é de grande importância. O processo de descrição de arquitetura auxilia no desenvolvimento de aplicações e sistemas baseados nos conceitos referenciados. Porém, não existem muitos frameworks que auxiliem a descrição de arquiteturas para esse domínio específico. Este trabalho propõe o ARCHealth, um enterprise architecture framework criado para auxiliar o processo de desenvolvimento de arquitetura em conformidade com a norma ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011. O ARCHealth foi elaborado com base nos princípios de Atenção Primária à Saúde, levando em consideração as principais preocupações das partes interessadas e do domínio específico.