engineering

Operational View

Operational View is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Operational View rather than just read about it. In short: Operational View (OV) is one of the basic views defined in the enterprise architecture (EA) of the Department of Defense Architecture Framework V1.5 (DoDAF) and is related with concept of operations. Under DODAF 2, which became operational in 2009, the collections of views are now termed 'viewpoints' and no longer views.

Key takeaways

Operational View belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Operational View to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Operational View from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Operational View (OV) is one of the basic views defined in the enterprise architecture (EA) of the Department of Defense Architecture Framework V1.5 (DoDAF) and is related with concept of operations. Under DODAF 2, which became operational in 2009, the collections of views are now termed 'viewpoints' and no longer views. Other enterprise architecture frameworks may or do have operational views. For example, the MODAF has an Operational Viewpoint and the NATO Architecture Framework has an Operational View (collection of subviews). This article will further explain the construction of the Operational View of the DoDAF V1.5.

Overview The "Operational View" (OV) in the DoDAF Enterprise architecture framework (version 1/1.5) ('Operational Viewpoint' in DODAF 2) describes the tasks and activities, operational elements, and information exchanges required to conduct operations. A pure Operational View is material independent. However, operations and their relationships may be influenced by new technologies such as collaboration technology, where process improvements are in practice before policy can reflect the new procedures. The operational viewpoint provides a means to describe what is needed in a solution-free or implementation-free way. There may be some cases, however, in which it is necessary to document the way processes are performed given the restrictions of current systems, in order to examine ways in which new systems could facilitate streamlining the processes. In such cases, an Operational View may have material constraints and requirements that must be addressed. For this reason, it may be necessary to include some high-level Systems View (SV) architecture data as overlays or augmenting information onto the Operational View products.

Operational View topics

DoDAF The Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) defines a standard way to organize a systems architecture into complementary and consistent views. It is especially suited to large systems with complex integration and interoperability challenges, and is apparently unique in its use of "operational views" detailing the external customer's operating domain in which the developing system will operate.

The DoDAF defines a set of products that act as mechanisms for visualizing, understanding, and assimilating the broad scope and complexities of an architecture description through graphic, tabular, or textual means. These products are organized under four views:

Overarching All View (AV), Operational View (OV), Systems View (SV), and the Technical Standards View (TV). Each view depicts certain perspectives of an architecture as described below. Only a subset of the full DoDAF viewset is usually created for each system development. The figure represents the information that links the operational view, systems and services view, and technical standards view. The three views and their interrelationships driven – by common architecture data elements – provide the basis for deriving measures such as interoperability or performance, and for measuring the impact of the values of these metrics on operational mission and task effectiveness.

OV products The Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) has defined a series of seven different types of Operational View products. There are seven OV products described in this section:

High-Level Operational Concept Graphic (OV-1) Operational Node Connectivity (Resource Flow) Description (OV-2) Operational Information Exchange (Resource Flow) Matrix (OV-3) Organizational Relationships Chart (OV-4) Operational Activity Model (OV-5) Operational Rules Model, State Transition Description, and Event-Trace Description (OV-6a, 6b, and 6c) Logical Data Model (OV-7)

High-Level Operational Concept Graphic

High-Level Operational Concept Graphic (OV-1) : High level graphical and textual description of operational concept (high level organizations, missions, geographic configuration, connectivity, etc.).

Operational Node Connectivity Description

Operational Node Connectivity Description (OV-2) : Operational nodes, activities performed at each node, and connectivites and information flow between nodes.

Operational Information Exchange Matrix

Operational Information Exchange Matrix (OV-3) : Information exchanged between nodes and the relevant attributes of that exchange such as media, quality, quantity, and the level of interoperability required.

Organizational Relationships Chart

Organizational Relationships Chart (OV-4) : Command, control, coordination, and other relationships among organizations.

Operational Activity Model

Operational Activity Model (OV-5) : Activities, relationships among activities, inputs and outputs. In addition, overlays can show cost, performing nodes, or other pertinent information.

Other OV products Operational Rules Model, State Transition Description, and Event-Trace Description (OV-6a, 6b, and 6c) Operational Rules Model (OV-6a) : One of the three products used to describe operational activity sequence and timing that identifies the business rules that constrain the operation. Operational State Transition Description (OV-6b) : One of the three products used to describe operational activity sequence and timing that identifies responses of a business process to events. Operational Event-Trace Description (OV-6c) : One of the three products used to describe operational activity sequence and timing that traces the actions in a scenario or critical sequence of events. Logical Data Model (OV-7) : Documentation of the data requirements and structural business process rules of the Operational View.

Executable Operational Architecture

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Operational View

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Operational View claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Operational View before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Operational View ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Operational View

In research: Operational View appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Operational View in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Operational View is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Enterprise architecture, Military acquisition, Military simulation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Operational View outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Operational View in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Operational View means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Operational View out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Operational View in simple terms?

Why does Operational View matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Operational View?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Operational View.