ABC4IoT: Architecture Blueprint Canvas for IoT

Templates for architecting IoT solutions.

Introduction

ABC4IoT are Visio based templates for architects and development teams to brainstorm solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT). The template provides the following features:

• A systematic approach for eliciting business and technical requirements, identifying priorities and recording decisions and next steps for the following components in an IoT Solution: Devices, Messages, Field Gateway, Protocol Gateway, Device Registry, Device Management, Hot Path Analytics, Warm Path Analytics, Cold Path Analytics, Reporting, Client Applications, Integration and Extensibility.
• It allows evaluating nonfunctional requirements including Security, Scalability, Supportability, and Governance.
• IoT project teams can expedite their planning and requirement elicitation phase, identify dependencies and design constraints, and solidify design and architecture elements of their IoT Solution.

ABC4IoT targets Architects and Developers mainly, its a brainstorming tool that leads the team to take meaningful decision or identify gaps that need to addressed for the success of the solution. It is not affiliated to the business conversation but more focussed on how we solve the problem architecturally. In that sense, it is different from something like a Business Model Canvas, which focusses more on the business model.

Features

From business model to solution requirements and design

• An interactive tool for conducting design sessions and brainstorming technical requirements.
• End to End approach
• Systematically capture various attributes of an IoT Solution.
• Engage team members in design discussions
• Visio based templates

Versions

There are two version available for the template:

1. Basic: This is primarily the bare bone template which is for architecting a solution without documenting any decision points or brainstroming discussion. It is targeted towards an individual architect or a team that has already formulated an architecture and want to document their design across the different IoT components.
2. Collaborative: This is an advanced version of the basic template. It allows for team collaboration adn brainstroming by providing sections for taking decision and defining action items. A team can leverage the template to brainstrom ideas for problems for each component and then document them as a design decision in the template itself. For more information on how to use the template, refer here

How to use

Refer here for more guidance. The template are available here

Benefits

• Quickly brainstorm IoT design ideas.
• Discover new requirements, dependencies, design constraints early.
• Engage team collaboration and interaction.
• Structured approach towards IoT solutions.
• Easily record decisions and next steps.

Example

Below is a sample of a design session conducted using ABC4IoT template. See more here to understand process stages.