Design Principles for Reference Modeling

Design Principles for Reference Modelling

Advances in Database Research - Innovations in Information Systems Modeling ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-278-7.ch014 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 269-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jan vom Brocke

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Systems Engineering ◽

Reference Model ◽

Design Principles ◽

Reference Models ◽

Information Models ◽

Design And Application

With the design of reference models, an increase in the efficiency of information systems engineering is intended. This is expected to be achieved by reusing information models. Current research focuses mainly on configuration as one principle for reusing artifacts. According to this principle, all variants of a model are incorporated in the reference model facilitating adaptations by choices. In practice, however, situations arise whereby various requirements to a model are unforeseen: Either results are inappropriate or costs of design are exploding. This paper introduces additional design principles that aim toward giving more flexibility to both the design and application of reference models.

Perspectives on Reference Modeling

Reference Modeling for Business Systems Analysis ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-054-7.ch001 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Peter Fettke ◽

Peter Loos

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Enterprise Resource Planning ◽

Reference Model ◽

Resource Planning ◽

Systems Development ◽

Information Systems Development ◽

Future Research ◽

Reference Models ◽

Reference Modeling ◽

Business Engineering

Conceptual models play an increasingly important role in all phases of the information systems life cycle. For instance, they are used for business engineering, information systems development, and customizing of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Despite conceptual modeling being a vital instrument for developing information systems, the modeling process often is resource-consuming and faulty. As a way to overcome these failures and to improve the development of enterprise-specific models, the concept of reference modeling has been introduced. A reference model is a conceptual framework and may be used as a blueprint for information systems development. In this Chapter, we seek to motivate research on reference modeling and introduce the chapters of this book on using reference models for business systems analysis. Our discussion is based on a framework for research on reference modeling that consists of four elements: reference modeling languages, reference modeling methods, reference models, and reference modeling context. Each element of the framework is discussed with respect to prior research, the contributions of chapters in this book, and future research opportunities.

Fundamental Patterns for Enterprise Integration Services

Technological Applications and Advancements in Service Science, Management, and Engineering ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-1583-0.ch003 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 35-51

Author(s):

Stephan Aier ◽

Robert Winter

Keyword(s):

Computer Science ◽

Systems Engineering ◽

Middle Layer ◽

Government Agency ◽

Enterprise Integration ◽

Diverse Range ◽

Reference Models ◽

Reference Modeling ◽

Integration Project ◽

A Company

Enterprise integration projects link or merge artifacts across many functions, processes and management levels in a company or government agency. In the absence of methods generic enough to cover the diverse range of enterprise integration projects and adaptable enough to support specific projects effectively, integration services promise to constitute a suitable “middle layer”. Since patterns and reference models could serve as such a middle layer, existing work in the fields of patterns in computer science and reference modeling in information systems engineering is analyzed. In a bottom-up manner, alignment, derivation, binding and merge are proposed as fundamental patterns for enterprise integration. Integration services are identified as integration tasks associated with these base patterns. Such integration services are clustered into enterprise integration patterns that serve as fragments for composing a context and project type specific enterprise integration project. Two case studies illustrate the concept and gain initial validation insights.

Ontological Analysis of Reference Models

Business Systems Analysis with Ontologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-339-5.ch003 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 56-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Peter Fettke ◽

Peter Loos

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Reference Model ◽

Point Of View ◽

Model Quality ◽

Analysis And Evaluation ◽

Reference Models ◽

Planning And Control ◽

Sound Theory ◽

Ontological Analysis ◽

And Control

Within the information systems field, reference models have been known for many years. A reference model is a conceptual framework and may be used as a blueprint for information systems development. Despite the relevance of reference model quality, little research has been undertaken on their systematical analysis and evaluation. In this chapter, we describe how reference models can be analyzed from an ontological point of view. Such an analysis consists of four steps: 1) developing a transformation mapping, 2) identifying ontological modeling deficiencies, 3) transforming the reference model, and 4) assessing the results. The usefulness of our method will be demonstrated by analyzing Scheer’s reference model for production planning and control. Although our approach is based on sound theory, we argue that this approach is not inherently superior to other approaches of reference model analysis and evaluation.

Lessons Learned in Reference Modeling

Reference Modeling for Business Systems Analysis ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-054-7.ch017 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 355-371 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wolfgang Hohnel ◽

Daniela Krahl ◽

Dirk Schreiber

Keyword(s):

Success Factors ◽

Reference Model ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Practical Work ◽

Time Constraints ◽

Development Environment ◽

Reference Models ◽

Critical Success ◽

Reference Modeling ◽

Key Issues

A reference model is always developed in order to support a specific purpose. The development environment is setting the broader context. Limitations are not only set by size and experience of the modeler team or by budget and time constraints. The intended usage scenario also defines the fundamental contour of a reference model. During the practical work with reference models, a range of key issues has come up to increase the suitability of reference models for daily use. As the result of many projects, the authors have summarized the key issues and formulated critical success factors for reference modeling projects.

A Reference Model for Retail Enterprise

Reference Modeling for Business Systems Analysis ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-054-7.ch009 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 182-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jorg Becker ◽

Reinhard Schutte

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Organizational Structure ◽

Graphical Representation ◽

Reference Model ◽

Retail Sector ◽

Organizational Processes ◽

Structural Framework ◽

Information Models ◽

Retail Enterprise

In order to provide a structural framework for information systems that serves as a basis for understanding the organizational structure and the information systems of the retail sector, we present an architecture, the „Retail-H“, that outlines the various facets of trade information systems. The framework encompasses two further criteria, the types of businesses and the differentiation of goods. This architecture and its graphical representation aims at enhancing the orientation within the heap of information models applied in the retail sector. These information models are crucial for the management of information systems and organizational processes.

Fundamental Patterns for Enterprise Integration Services

International Journal of Service Science Management Engineering and Technology ◽

10.4018/jssmet.2010010103 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 33-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stephan Aier ◽

Robert Winter

Keyword(s):

Systems Engineering ◽

Middle Layer ◽

Government Agency ◽

Enterprise Integration ◽

Diverse Range ◽

Reference Models ◽

Initial Validation ◽

Reference Modeling ◽

Integration Project ◽

A Company

Enterprise integration projects link or merge artifacts across many functions, processes and management levels in a company or government agency. In the absence of methods generic enough to cover the diverse range of enterprise integration projects and adaptable enough to support specific projects effectively, integration services promise to constitute a suitable “middle layer”. Since patterns and reference models could serve as such a middle layer, existing work in the fields of patterns in computer science and reference modeling in information systems engineering is analyzed. In a bottom-up manner, alignment, derivation, binding and merge are proposed as fundamental patterns for enterprise integration. Integration services are identified as integration tasks associated with these base patterns. Such integration services are clustered into enterprise integration patterns that serve as fragments for composing a context and project type specific enterprise integration project. Two case studies illustrate the concept and gain initial validation insights.

Interchange Formats for Reference Models

Reference Modeling for Business Systems Analysis ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-054-7.ch016 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 337-354

Author(s):

Jan Mendling ◽

Gustaf Neumann ◽

Markus Nuttgens

Keyword(s):

Reference Model ◽

Modeling Language ◽

Markup Language ◽

Modeling Tools ◽

Second Best ◽

Model Reuse ◽

Reference Models ◽

Process Chains ◽

Reference Modeling ◽

Interchange Format

This chapter presents interchange formats as an enabler for reference model reuse on a technical level. We use a framework to describe the interplay of modeling tools and interchange formats. Based on an extended framework, we discuss the potential of interchange formats for the reuse aspect of reference models. Furthermore, we distinguish four cases of different technical sophistication that is needed to make interchange work. As it is unrealistic that everybody will use the same tool, the standardization of open interchange formats is the second best solution to leverage reference model reuse across different tools. After briefly sketching XMI, BPEL, XPDL, and PNML, we focus on Event-driven Process Chains (EPCs) as they are frequently used as a language for process reference models. The introduction to EPC Markup Language serves as an example to illustrate the design of an open interchange format for a reference modeling language.

The Effect of Project and Programme Reference Models in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) System Development

Jurnal Teknologi ◽

10.11113/jt.v70.3570 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 70 (7) ◽

Author(s):

Norshakila Muhamad Rawai ◽

Mohammad Abedi ◽

Mohamad Syazli Fathi

Keyword(s):

Information System ◽

Information Systems ◽

Information Integration ◽

System Integration ◽

Reference Model ◽

System Development ◽

Information Analysis ◽

Reference Models ◽

Information System Integration ◽

Different Characteristics

This paper presents the effect of project and programme reference models in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) system development. The trend towards AEC projects becoming more globalized, with multiple projects and processes being conducted concurrently, requires information systems to be widely implemented in the industry. However, current information systems tend to be specific and individually-centred offerings. Also, the existing knowledge for the implementation of information system integration is not helpful because different organizations have different characteristics regarding work, information, processes, culture, and ideas. To address these issues, research was conducted to review the existing information system models which can be apply to construction project and programme management and their effects on developing an information reference model for an AEC information system. The reference model can be used as guidelines for developing a standardized information system for enterprise project management with information integration practice for various organizations. The model can also be used to outline software requirements in the process of selecting a project and programme management software system in the market. Thus, adoption of this reference model as an essential foundation will affect the data management, knowledge management, information analysis and sustainability aspects in AEC system development.

Using UML for Reference Modeling

Enterprise Modeling and Computing with UML ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-174-2.ch009 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 171-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Peter Fettke ◽

Peter Loos ◽

Jörg Zwicker

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Reference Model ◽

Unified Modeling Language ◽

Conceptual Modeling ◽

Information Modeling ◽

Modeling Languages ◽

Unified Modeling ◽

Modeling Process ◽

Reference Modeling ◽

Field Information

Within the Information Systems field, information modeling is a vital instrument to develop information systems. However, the modeling process is often resource-consuming and faulty. As a way to overcome these failures and to improve and to accelerate the development of enterprise-specific models, the concept of reference modeling has been introduced. A reference model is a conceptual framework and may be used as a blueprint for information systems development. Yet little research has been undertaken on using Unified Modeling Language (UML) for reference modeling. In this paper, we analyze potentials and limitations of using UML for reference modeling. Our investigation is based on the framework for research on conceptual modeling proposed by Wand & Weber. The framework comprises four elements: reference modeling languages, reference modeling methods, reference models, and reference modeling context. Each framework element is discussed with respect to possible applications and limitations of UML for reference modeling. As well, we illustrate further research opportunities.