Zachman Analysis

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Analyze architecture from a specific stakeholder perspective
• Ensure complete coverage across different viewpoints
• Check which architectural aspects are documented
• Understand what questions each perspective asks

Keywords: zachman, viewpoint, perspective, interrogative, what, how, where, who, when, why, planner, owner, designer, builder

Zachman Framework 3.0 Overview

The Zachman Framework is a 6x6 ontology for classifying enterprise architecture artifacts. It's a classification schema (taxonomy), not a methodology.

Key insight: TOGAF tells you how to create architecture. Zachman tells you how to organize what you create.

The Matrix

Columns (Interrogatives)

Each column answers a fundamental question:

Column	Interrogative	Focus	Artifacts
1	What (Data)	Things of interest	Data models, entity lists
2	How (Function)	Processes and transformations	Process flows, use cases
3	Where (Network)	Locations and distribution	Network diagrams, site maps
4	Who (People)	Roles and responsibilities	Org charts, RACI matrices
5	When (Time)	Events and schedules	Timelines, event models
6	Why (Motivation)	Goals and constraints	Business drivers, rules

Rows (Perspectives)

Each row represents a stakeholder level with increasing detail:

Row	Perspective	Audience	Level
1	Planner/Executive	Board, C-suite	Scope/Context
2	Owner/Business	Business managers	Business model
3	Designer/Architect	Solution architects	Logical design
4	Builder/Engineer	Developers, engineers	Physical design
5	Subcontractor/Technician	Implementers	Detailed specs
6	User/Operations	End users, operators	Running system

Critical Limitation: Code Extraction Capabilities

IMPORTANT: Not all Zachman perspectives can be extracted from code analysis.

Row	Perspective	Code Extraction	Notes
1	Planner	Cannot extract	Requires strategic context, executive input
2	Owner	Cannot extract	Requires business documentation, stakeholder interviews
3	Designer	Partial	Can infer structure; design rationale missing
4	Builder	Strong	Technologies, specs visible in code
5	Subcontractor	Strong	Configurations, implementations in code
6	User	Limited	Requires runtime data, deployment configs

What This Means

• Rows 4-5: This plugin can analyze code and extract useful information
• Rows 1-3: This plugin can guide structured interviews and documentation review, but cannot generate content from code alone
• Row 6: Requires access to running systems and operational data

Using the Matrix

For Coverage Checking

Use the matrix as a checklist to ensure documentation completeness:

         What  How   Where  Who   When  Why
Planner   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Owner     [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Designer  [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Builder   [x]   [x]   [x]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Subcontr  [x]   [x]   [x]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
User      [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]

For Specific Analysis

To analyze a specific cell:

1. Identify the row (stakeholder perspective)
2. Identify the column (interrogative)
3. Determine if code extraction is possible
4. If rows 1-3: Guide human input gathering
5. If rows 4-6: Analyze codebase for relevant information

Cell Examples

Row 4 (Builder) Examples

Column	Question	Code Analysis Can Find
What	What data structures?	Models, schemas, types
How	How is it built?	Algorithms, patterns
Where	Where does it run?	Deployment configs
Who	Who maintains it?	Git history, CODEOWNERS
When	When does it execute?	Schedulers, triggers
Why	Why this approach?	ADRs, comments

Row 1 (Planner) Examples - Require Human Input

Column	Question	Requires
What	What are business entities?	Business glossary
How	What are core processes?	Process documentation
Where	Where do we operate?	Business geography
Who	What is the org structure?	Org chart
When	What are business cycles?	Business calendar
Why	What are strategic goals?	Strategy documents

Wizard Mode

If you're unsure which row/column to use:

Step 1: Who's the audience?

• Executives → Row 1 (Planner)
• Business managers → Row 2 (Owner)
• Architects → Row 3 (Designer)
• Developers → Row 4 (Builder)
• Implementers → Row 5 (Subcontractor)
• Operations → Row 6 (User)

Step 2: What question?

• About data/things → Column 1 (What)
• About processes → Column 2 (How)
• About locations → Column 3 (Where)
• About people/roles → Column 4 (Who)
• About timing/events → Column 5 (When)
• About goals/rules → Column 6 (Why)

Practical Application

Minimum Viable Coverage

For most projects, ensure at least:

• Row 3, Column 1-2 (Designer: What & How) - Architecture diagrams
• Row 4, Column 1-2 (Builder: What & How) - Technical specs
• Row 4, Column 6 (Builder: Why) - ADRs

Comprehensive Coverage

For enterprise-scale work:

• All cells for rows 3-5
• Key cells for rows 1-2 (with stakeholder input)

Memory References

For detailed limitations, see references/zachman-limitations.md. For the complete matrix, see references/zachman-overview.md.

Version History

• v1.0.0 (2025-12-05): Initial release
  • Zachman Framework 3.0 matrix documentation
  • Critical limitation: code extraction capabilities by row
  • Wizard mode for row/column selection
  • Practical application and minimum viable coverage

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Last Updated

Date: 2025-12-05 Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101