Defining a Technology Component

3 min

Technology Components are used to represent types, or classes, of technology that exists in the enterprise and in the technology marketplace in general. This short tutorial introduces Technology Components and describes how they are captured in Essential Architecture Manager.

Purpose

Technology Components exist in the Logical View of the Technology Layer of the Essential Meta Model. They are used to define classes or types of technology that one could procure today (or in the near future) via a Technology Provider either by buying a product (Technology Product) or building a solution comprising multiple products (Technology Product Build). Examples include:

  • Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)

  • Java Application Server

  • Desktop Operating System

  • Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

Technology Components realise Technology Capabilities (from the Conceptual View) and it is entirely possible for them to realise more than one.

Note that we are not defining any products that can deliver the components.

If we need to capture in more detail how a component works, we can define the set of functions that it offers, e.g. an RDBMS might provide functions:

  • create

  • read

  • update

  • delete

Functions are used in dynamic technology models to understand what happens when a function is invoked.

TIP: As mentioned previously, we don't often need to define the functions but the capability is there if you need it.

Tasks

To define a new Technology Component, create a new instance of the Technology Component class, as follows:

  • Give the component a name and description

  • Define the set of Technology Capabilities that the component realises

  • If appropriate, define the set of functions offered

Updated 31 October 2023

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