DoDAF Viewpoints and Models
Operational Viewpoint
OV-6a: Operational Rules Model
An OV-6a specifies operational or business rules that are constraints on the way that business is done in the enterprise. At a top-level, rules should at least embody the concepts of operations defined in OV-1 High Level Operational Concept Graphic and provide guidelines for the development and definition of more detailed rules and behavioral definitions that should occur later in the Architectural definition process.
The intended usage of the OV-6a includes:
- Definition of doctrinally correct operational procedures.
- Definition of business rules.
- Identification of operational constraints.
Detailed Description:
The OV-6a specifies operational or business rules that are constraints on the way business is done in the enterprise. While other OV Models (e.g., OV-1 High Level Operational Concept Graphic, OV-2 Operational Resource Flow Description, and OV-5b Operational Activity Model) describe the structure and operation of a business, for the most part they do not describe the constraints and rules under which it operates.
At the mission-level, OV-6a may be based on business rules contained in doctrine, guidance, rules of engagement, etc. At lower levels, OV-6a describes the rules under which the architecture behave under specified conditions. Such rules can be expressed in a textual form, for example, If (these conditions) exist, and (this event) occurs, then (perform these actions). These rules are contrasted with the business or doctrinal standards themselves, which provide authoritative references and provenance for the rules (see StdV-1 Standards Profile). Operational Rules are statements that constrain some aspect of the mission or the architecture. Rules may be expressed in natural language (English) in one of two forms:
- Imperative - a statement of what shall be under all conditions, e.g., "Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) shall only be carried out under fair weather conditions."
- Conditional Imperative - a statement of what shall be, in the event of another condition being met. If battle damage assessment shows incomplete strike, then a re-strike shall be carried out.
As the model name implies, the rules captured in OV-6a are operational (i.e., mission-oriented) whereas resource-oriented rules are defined in the SV-10s or the SvcV-10s (OV-6 is the what to the SV-10's or SvcV-10's how). OV-6a rules can include such guidance as the conditions under which operational control passes from one entity to another or the conditions under which a human role is authorized to proceed with a specific activity.
A rule defined in textual form OV-6a may be applied to any Architectural element defined in an OV. A rule defined in a more structured way (i.e., for the purposes of sharing with other architects) should be defined in association with locations, operational activities or missions.
Rules defined in an OV-6a may optionally be presented in any other OV. For example, a rule "battle damage assessment shall be carried out under fair weather conditions" may be linked to the Conduct BDA activity in OV-5b. Any natural language rule presented (e.g., in a diagram note) should also be listed in OV-6a.
OV-6a rules may be associated with activities in OV-5a Operational Activity Decomposition Tree and OV-5b Operational Activity Model and can be useful to overlay the rules on an OV-5a Operational Activity Decomposition or OV-5b Operational Activity Model. OV-6a can also be used to extend the capture of business requirements by constraining the structure and validity of DIV-2 Logical Data Model elements.
Detailed rules can become quite complex, and the structuring of the rules themselves can often be challenging. DoDAF does not specify how OV-6a rules will be specified, other than in English.
From a modeling perspective, operational constraints may act upon Locations, Operational Activities, Missions, and Entities in Logical Data Models.
OV-1: High-Level Operational Concept Graphic
OV-2: Operational Resource Flow Description
OV-3: Operational Resource Flow Matrix
OV-4: Organizational Relationships Chart
OV-5a: Operational Activity Decomposition Tree
OV-5b: Operational Activity Model
OV-6a, 6b, 6c: Introduction
OV-6a: Operational Rules Model
OV-6b: State Transition Description
OV-6c: Event-Trace Description