Editing Zachman Framework (section)

=== Framework set of rules ===
[[File:Example of Zachman Framework Rules.JPG|thumb|420px|Example of Zachman Framework Rules.]]

The framework comes with a set of rules:<ref>Adapted from: Sowa, J.F. & J.A. Zachman, 1992, and Inmon, W.H, J.A. Zachman, & J.G. Geiger, 1997. [http://www.isqa.unomaha.edu/vanvliet/arch/ISA/isa.htm University of Omaha]</ref>
* ''Rule 1 The columns have no order'' : The columns are interchangeable but cannot be reduced or created
* ''Rule 2 Each column has a simple generic model'' : Every column can have its own meta-model
* ''Rule 3 The basic model of each column must be unique'' : The basic model of each column, the relationship objects and the structure of it is unique. Each relationship object is interdependent but the representation objective is unique.
* ''Rule 4 Each row describes a distinct, unique perspective'' : Each row describes the view of a particular business group and is unique to it. All rows are usually present in most hierarchical organizations.
* ''Rule 5 Each cell is unique'' : The combination of 2,3 & 4 must produce unique cells where each cell represents a particular case. Example: A2 represents business outputs as they represent what are to be eventually constructed.
* ''Rule 6 The composite or integration of all cell models in one row constitutes a complete model from the perspective of that row'' : For the same reason as for not adding rows and columns, changing the names may change the fundamental logical structure of the Framework.
* ''Rule 7 The logic is recursive'' : The logic is relational between two instances of the same entity.

The framework is generic in that it can be used to classify the descriptive representations of any physical object as well as [[conceptual object]]s such as enterprises. It is also recursive in that it can be used to analyze the architectural composition of itself. Although the framework will carry the relation from one column to the other, it is still a fundamentally structural representation of the enterprise and not a flow representation.