Data-centric development of architecture models with the DM2 and MS-SDF

The Department of Defense Architecture Framework's (DoDAF) [1]data-centric development paradigm offers the potential for depth in architecture data and flexibility in presentation styles aimed at decision support. However the architecture development methodology advocated in versions 2.0 and upwards is a significant shift in approach, compared to prior versions. The framework specification, supporting literature and exemplar implementations fail to offer enough detail on a number of pertinent issues, among them executable modeling and architecture analysis, and the technology or tooling requirements which will facilitate their implementation. As part of ongoing research efforts aimed at addressing this gap this paper offers an overview of the literature on architecture modeling methodologies specifically tailored to the DoDAF, and propose the Modeling and Simulation Systems Development Framework (MS-SDF) [2] as a coherent and comprehensive approach for modeling within the DoDAF.