AF&F

The Architecture Framework & Foundation Working Group (AF&F) is responsible for defining and updating the BIAN Metamodel and providing the BIAN service definition working groups with tools for creating service definitions that align with the metamodel.

In order to carry out the first of these responsibilities, AF&F has defined a formal metamodel that conforms to UML and related modeling standards from the Object Management Group. The metamodel is an extension of the ISO 20022 metamodel, which is a key underpinning of a number of banking standards. The metamodel’s extensions beyond ISO 20022 are intended to support service-oriented architecture (SOA) and to support W3C Semantic Web standards.

In order to carry out the second of these responsibilities, AF&F is in the process of assembling and configuring tools that leverage UML, spreadsheet technology, and W3C Semantic Web standards in a manner that conforms to the BIAN metamodel. These tools enable the service definition working groups to define the services that make up the BIAN Service Landscape, and to do so in a manner that conforms to the metamodel.

The approach of using a formal metamodel to underpin service definition production will allow BIAN to build out a Service Landscape that has the integrity of a database that represents a single underlying truth, and yet provides different stakeholders with different ways to input and view the Landscape based on their needs.

AF&F members generally have strong backgrounds in IT architecture, but also have experience in banking business architecture and banking solution architecture.