Master Enterprise Architecture Meta-Model: 2. Appl Layer
 

Part 2: The Application Layer - Logic, Integration, and Lifecycle
What you'll learn
✓ Navigate the Essential EAS Meta-Model: Understand the core classes and relationships of the Business Layer in version 6.21.
✓ Modern Ontology Management: Learn to use the latest Protégé (5.6.9) to explore and document complex meta-models.
✓ Graph Prototyping: Use arrows-app to visually prototype and validate architectural relationships before implementation.
✓ Graph Database Implementation: Master the basics of importing and managing architecture data in Neo4j Desktop.
✓ Real-World Application: Apply the meta-model to actual business scenarios based on global enterprise standards.
Requirements
● A basic understanding of Enterprise Architecture concepts (TOGAF or ArchiMate knowledge is a plus).
● Familiarity with installing desktop software (Protégé and Neo4j Desktop).
● No prior coding experience is required, though a curiosity for graph logic and data structures is helpful.
Description
Bridge the Gap Between Abstract Frameworks and Data-Driven Architecture
The Business Layer defined the "What" and "Who." Now, we tackle the "How." In many organizations, the Application Layer is a chaotic "black box" of legacy monoliths and fragmented microservices. To manage this complexity, you need more than just a list of names-you need a structured ontology.
This second installment of our 5-part series dives deep into the Application Layer of the Essential Architecture Store (EAS) Meta-Model v6.21. We move beyond static spreadsheets to model applications as dynamic assets that support business capabilities and drive digital transformation.
What You Will Learn in Part 2
This is a 100% hands-on deep dive into modeling the software landscape. We explore the critical relationships between business needs and technical implementation.
• Application Services vs. Functions: Learn to distinguish between what an application does for the user and how it operates internally.
• The Provider/Instance Logic: Master the complex EAS logic of distinguishing between a "Software Product" (the vendor's version) and an "Application Provider" (your organization's specific deployment).
• Integration & Data Flow: Stop drawing lines; start modeling interfaces. We will map how data moves between systems using a graph-based approach.
• Lifecycle & Disposition: Use the meta-model to drive strategy. We will model application roadmaps (Buy, Hold, Retire) to automate portfolio rationalization.
Module Breakdown
Module 1: Expanding the Schema
• Reviewing the connection: How the Application Layer anchors to the Business Layer.
• Setting up the Application Meta-Model in Protégé 5.6.9.
• Introduction to the Application Provider and Application Deployment classes.
Module 2: Modeling the Portfolio
• Application Capabilities: Mapping software to the Business Capabilities defined in Part 1.
• Application Types: Categorizing by Cloud, On-Premise, SaaS, and Custom-built.
• Logical vs. Physical: Separating the conceptual "System" from the physical "Installation."
Module 3: Integration and Interfaces
• Defining Application Services as the "contracts" between systems.
• Using arrows-app to prototype complex integration patterns (API, Batch, Message Queue).
• Capturing Data Objects: What information is being moved and who owns it?
Module 4: Advanced Graph Analysis in Neo4j
• Impact Analysis: Running Cypher queries to see which Business Processes break if an Application goes down.
• Portfolio Health: Visualizing application "technical debt" and lifecycle status using graph nodes.
• The "Application 360" View: Creating a holistic dashboard of an application's ecosystem.
The Tech Stack
Continuing our "Architecture as Code" philosophy, we use
• Protégé 5.6.9: For managing the Application Layer ontology and slots.
• Neo4j: For high-performance visualization of application dependencies.
• arrows-app: To build prototype for neo4j graph database.
• GitHub: Access to updated Cypher scripts and updated Meta-Model templates.
Your Roadmap to Mastery
You've mastered the Business Layer. Now, connect it to the software. By the end of this course, you will have a functional, queryable model of your application landscape that provides real-time insights to stakeholders.
• Business Layer (Completed)
• Application Layer (Available Now)
• Information Layer: Mastering data objects and flows.
• Technology Layer: Modeling infrastructure and cloud.
• Enterprise Support: Governance and Change.
Don't just catalog your apps-architect them. Join Part 2 and bring your application portfolio to life.
Who this course is for
■ Aspiring & Seasoned Enterprise Architects looking to deepen their meta-modeling skills.
■ Solution Architects who want to understand how business requirements map to technical structures.
■ Data Architects interested in the intersection of EA and Graph Databases (Neo4j).
■ IT Strategy Consultants seeking a rigorous framework for documenting client landscapes.