On Understanding the Value of Domain Modeling (regular paper)

In the context of enterprise and information systems engineering (in-cluding enterprise architecture, business process management, etc), a wide range of domain models are produced and used. Examples of such domain models include business process models, enterprise architecture models, information models , all sorts of reference models, and indeed value models and business ontolo-gies. The creation, administration, and use, of such domain models requires an investment in terms of resources (time, money, cognitive effort, etc). We contend that such investments should be met by a (potential) return. In other words, the resulting models and / or the processes involved in their creation, administration, and use, should add value that make these investments worth while. In the work reported on in this paper, we aim to gain a better understanding of the factors that can be used to define the value of modeling. We also look forward to raising a broader discussion on this important topic at VMBO 2021.

Architectures and Functions

In information systems engineering there is a long history of development and application of different domain modeling approaches, methods and techniques. The chapter surveys and analyzes enterprise models, systems development artifacts, enterprise architectures, enterprise modeling tools, and information systems change management issues from the point of view of information systems engineering. The purpose of this work is to share experience from information systems engineering with model driven architecture community and to reveal strong and weak sides of domain modeling approaches and tools used in information systems engineering which, in turn, would help to see where further research and development efforts are needed in order to achieve maximum value from systems development efforts in the area of information systems engineering and model driven architecture. The chapter focuses on methods used in information systems engineering and, according to its purpose, does not consider...

Computing Letters, 2005

Abstract: This position paper focuses on business domain modeling as part of requirements engineering in software development projects. Domain modeling concerns obtaining and modeling the language (concepts, terminologies; ontologies) used by stakeholders to talk about a domain. Achieving conceptual clarity and consensus among stakeholders is an important yet often neglected part of requirements engineering. Domain modeling can play a key role in supporting it. This does, however, require a nuanced approach aspects of ...

2013

These lecture notes are primarily about domain modelling and only secondarily how to transform domain models into domain and interface requirements. The following facets of domain modelling will be covered: business processes, intrinsics, support technologies, management and organisation, rules and regulations, scripts, and human behaviour. The lectures will exemplify excerpts of models of container shipping, financial services, etcetera. We shall relate two (of three) parts of requirements models to domain models: the domain requirements-which are the requirements that can be expressed solely in terms of the terms of the domain models, and the interface requirements-which are those requirements that can only be expressed using terms both of the domain and the machine: the hardware and software being required. For domain requirements we briefly sketch the domain-to-requirements "algebra" of projection, instantiation, determination, extension and fitting. For interface requirements we briefly sketch the domain & machine issues of shared entities (bulk data input and refreshments), shared functions, shared events, and shared behaviours.

2005

Abstract: Business process modeling and design, as an essential part of business process management, has gained much attention in recent years. An important tool for this purpose is reference models, whose aim is to capture domain knowledge and assist in the design of enterprise specific business processes. However, while much attention has been given to the content of these models, the actual process of reusing this knowledge has not been extensively addressed.

2000

It is our hope that through the FREMA examples the reader will gain a better understanding of domain modelling itself, and gain some insight into the potential techniques that can used to express such a model. states 'the purpose of modelling is insight'. That insight promotes and encourages a shared understanding or mental model of a domain. The purpose of domain modelling is to record and share a deeper understanding of a domain, so that gaps in effort or resources can be identified and work can be placed in a joint context, and to provide a single point of focus for community action or reflection. Domain Modelling is the first stage of creating a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to enable Information Technology to be aligned with the business of an enterprise.

2015

This paper presents an application of a “Systematic Soft Domain Driven Design Framework” as a soft systems approach to domain-driven design of information systems development. The framework use SSM as a guiding methodology within which we have embedded a sequence of design tasks based on the UML leading to the implementation of a software system using the Naked Objects framework. This framework have been used in action research projects that have involved the investigation and modelling of business processes using object-oriented domain models and the implementation of software systems based on those domain models. Within this framework, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is used as a guiding methodology to explore the problem situation and to develop the domain model using UML for the given business domain. The framework is proposed and evaluated in our previous works, and a real case study “Information Retrieval System for academic research” is used, in this paper, to show further pra...

2007

Abstract. In order to cope with increasingly complex business and IT environments, organisations need effective instruments for managing their knowledge about these environments. Essential among these instruments are enterprise models that represent an organisation including its domain of work, processes, and context. Most enterprise models have focussed on information and process structures, but there has recently also been a growing interest in goal models, describing the intention of actors.

Theory of Computing Systems / Mathematical Systems Theory, 2005

Enterprises are experiencing the need to model their domain in order to improve the communication and control over their intellectual assets. There are several different approaches to modeling a domain, some old-fashioned, some trendy; practitioners are at a loss when having to decide which approach best suits their situation. In this research we compare different domain modeling schemes to find out which problem each of them is best suited to solve. The modeling schemes we consider are taxonomy, thesaurus and ontology. We draw relevant information from evaluating case studies and interviewing practitioners in the field of domain modeling. We restrict the scope to those projects that aim at improving the retrieval of information. The aim of this research is to support practitioners when they want to model their domain to choose the right scheme, considering the trade-offs being made between requirements and effort.

2011

In the discipline of accounting, the resource-event-agent (REA) ontology is a well accepted conceptual accounting framework to analyze the economic phenomena within and across enterprises. Accordingly, it seems to be appropriate to use REA in the requirements elicitation to develop an information architecture of accounting and enterprise information systems. However, REA has received comparatively less attention in the field of business informatics and computer science.