Zachman Framework

What Does Zachman Framework Mean?

The Zachman Framework is a visual aid for organizing ideas about enterprise technology. It is attributed to IBM professional John Zachman, as presented in the article "A Framework for Information Systems Architecture" published in the IBM Systems Journal in 1987.

Techopedia Explains Zachman Framework

IT Experts describe the Zachman Framework as an "ontology" composed of a matrix that orders the aspects of enterprise resources and stakeholders. One axis of the matrix is composed of the traditional "5 Ws + H" model used in traditional print journalism, i.e., who, what, where, when, why and how. The other includes labels such as "scope" and "model" that further define projects.

The name Zachman Framework was trademarked by its original author.

Related Reading

Margaret Rouse

Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

All Articles by Margaret Rouse