Help understanding application_provider

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jharrys
Posts: 1
Joined: 01 Jul 2014, 23:04

I'm just starting to learn essentials and trying to understand the meta-model in a practical, applied way.

I have a difficult time separating an application_provider from the packaged software - although definitions help learn the theory I have a hard time putting them in practice.

For a simple example if we take the supplier, Microsoft, and their packaged software Word. What is the application_provider that I should create based on the definition in the tutorial?
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neil.walsh
Posts: 444
Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 13:45
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Hi,

Let’s do a common example for this

Application Provider: Resource Tracking Spreadsheet
Technology Product: Excel 2010
Product Supplier: Microsoft

In this example, the Resource Tracking Spreadsheet is the application used to track resources. The technology for the application is Microsoft Excel 2010.

In your example, Word 2010 is a Technology Product.

In more sophisticated examples such as ERP systems, Application Providers may have many Technology Products which make up their architecture such as a range of COTS packages and maybe custom software. We use Technology Provider Roles to define the role of a piece of technology in the context of the Application e.g. Oracle 11g as an RDBMS.

Application Provider Documentation:
An Application Provider provides one or more Application Services. To provide a service, the Application Provider should provide - through its Application Function Implementations - all of the Application Functions of the Application Service that this Application Provider provides. e.g. a specific implementation of SAP R/3 - the ERP System, the Finance System, Cast Iron Expenses project.

Technology Product Documentation:
A commercially available Technology product that an organisation can buy in order to provide Technology Components.

Hope this makes sense to you

Cheers

Neil
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