Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture

Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture (PERA), or the Purdue model, is a 1990s reference model for enterprise architecture, developed by Theodore J. Williams and members of the Industry-Purdue University Consortium for Computer Integrated Manufacturing.

[1] PERA is a reference architecture that can model the enterprise in multiple layers and in multiple stages of the architectural life cycle.

Initially PERA was part of the PERA methodology, which consisted of three main building blocks:[2] PERA has been further developed, and according to Gary Rathwell, PERA nowadays consists of the following components:[3] Later in the 1990s combined insights from PERA, and other reference architectures such as GRAI Integrated Methodology, CIM-OSA, and TOVE has led to the development of the Generic Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology[4] Purdue Reference Model, “95” provides a model for enterprise control, which end users, integrators and vendors can share in integrating applications at key[5] layers in the enterprise: