Enterprise Knowledge Based Software Requirements Elicitation

Architecture frameworks continue to evolve. The Unified Profile for the Department of Defense (DoD) Architecture Framework (DoDAF) and the UK's Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MODAF) (UPDM) provides a standard means of representing DoDAF, MODAF, and NATO Architecture Framework (NAF) conformant architectures using the Unified Modeling Language (UML), and Systems Modeling Language (SysML). Since the UPDM V2.0 publication, further information has emerged such as the June 2011 NATO study entitled: “Development of The AMN (Afghanistan Mission Network) Architecture In 2010 – Lessons Learned,” by Torsten Graeber of the NATO C3 Agency. This report identified the following in section 4.1‐ARCHITECTURE FRAMEWORKS, sub‐section 4.1.2 Observations (Need for a Unified Architecture Framework) and stated that:• differences in DoDAF, MODAF, and NAF make it difficult to match the metamodel one to one.• some of the concepts in the frameworks have the same name but different definitions, i.e. different semantics.• difficult to cross‐walk the concepts between the different frameworks leads to miscommunication between architects using different frameworks.Based on the above, the NATO Architecture Capability Team (Architecture CaT) meeting on Sept. 10‐11, 2012 committed to move to a single world‐wide Architecture Framework. Consequently, a new architecture framework profile supporting a unified framework is needed. It is intended that this framework bring the different architecture frameworks together. The UPDM V3.0 domain metamodel shall be derived from MODEM (the MODAF metamodel) and the DoDAF 2.0 metamodel (DM2), both of which are based upon the International Defence Enterprise Architecture Specification Foundation [IDEAS]. This paper will document the rationale behind the UPDM 3.0 as well as its new name of the Unified Architecture Framework (UAF).

Enterprise architecture (EA) models the whole enterprise in various aspects regarding both business processes and information technology resources. As the organisation grows, the architecture of its systems and processes must also evolve to meet the demands of the business environment. Evolving an EA model may involve making changes to various components across different levels of the EA. As a result, an important issue before making a change to an EA model is assessing the ripple effect of the change, i.e. change impact analysis. Another critical issue is change propagation: given a set of primary changes that have been made to the EA model, what additional secondary changes are needed to maintain consistency across multiple levels of the EA. There has been however limited work on supporting the maintenance and evolution of EA models. This article proposes an EA description language, namely ChangeAwareHierarchicalEA, integrated with an evolution framework to support both change impact analysis and change propagation within an EA model. The core part of our framework is a technique for computing the impact of a change and a new method for generating interactive repair plans from Alloy consistency rules that constrain the EA model.

Architecting online service applications involves the challenging coordination task of ensuring the collaboration achieves the overall business goal while adhering to the global constraints agreed between the interacting participants. We propose a declarative approach for specifying the underlying service interactions and generating the service choreography required for successful execution. The proposed approach builds on the Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules (SBVR), an OMG standard for specifying business models in structured English. Our approach can be used to verify i) whether a specific request can be realised in the given choreography, ii) the consistency of the business rules, and iii) domain-specific static constraints in the generated choreography. We describe a mapping from an SBVR model to a relational constraint solver, namely the Alloy Analyzer. The transformation of SBVR into Alloy allows to automatically generate the corresponding service choreography, hence producing an immediate instance of execution that satisfies the constraints of the specification.Architecting online service applications involves the challenging coordination task of ensuring the collaboration achieves the overall business goal while adhering to the global constraints agreed between the interacting participants. We propose a declarative approach for specifying the underlying service interactions and generating the service choreography required for successful execution. The proposed approach builds on the Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules (SBVR), an OMG standard for specifying business models in structured English. Our approach can be used to verify i) whether a specific request can be realised in the given choreography, ii) the consistency of the business rules, and iii) domain-specific static constraints in the generated choreography. We describe a mapping from an SBVR model to a relational constraint solver, namely the Alloy Analyzer. The transformation of SBVR into Alloy allows to automatically generate the corresponding service choreography, hence producing an ...

Multiple attempts have been made these days to automate the creation of class diagrams by providing structured English statements as input. The resulting diagrams are of close proximity to what the user wants. This paper is one such attempt to transform business designs written in OMG’s (Object Management Group) standard SBVR (Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Rules) framework, into a set of classes in UML (Unified Modeling Language) Class Model using a theoretical approach. SBVR provides a set of specific rules which are processed in order to get class diagram of close proximity. It involves the transformation of “Structured English” into a set of UML Class Model with SBVR as a mediator. Further, the results of the approach are validated using VeTIS tool.

The discipline of enterprise architecture (EA) is an established approach to model and manage the interaction of business processes and IT in an organization. Thereby, the EA model as a central artifact of EA is subject to a continuous evolution caused by multiple sources of changes. The continuous evolution requires a lot of effort in controlling and managing the evolution of the EA model. This is especially true when merging the induced changes from different sources in the EA model. Additionally, the lack of tool and automation support makes this a very time-consuming and error-prone task. The evolutionary character and the automated quality assessment of artifacts is a well-known challenge in the software development domain as well. To meet these challenges, the discipline of continuous delivery (CD) has emerged to be very useful. The evolution of EA model artifacts shows similarities to the evolution of software artifacts. Therefore, we leveraged practices of CD to practices of EA maintenance. Thus, we created a conceptual framework for automated EA model maintenance. The concepts were realized in a first prototype and were evaluated in a fictitious case study against equivalence classes based on EA model metrics and a set of several requirements for automated EA model maintenance from research. Overall, the concepts prove to be a promising basis for further refinement, implementation, and evaluation in research in an industrial context.

Translating natural language constraints to OCL

Properly aligned business and Information Technology (IT) can provide competitive edge to an organization. In order to align business with IT, IT should fully support business operations. Enterprise Architecture (EA) can be used to support business and IT alignment. To help design such systems using EA, Enterprise Architecture Frameworks (EAF) may be used. There are frameworks to support EA, such as Zachman Framework, the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF), and The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF). They help to design, evaluate, and build the right architecture and reduce the costs of planning, designing, and implementing [8]. ArchiMate is an open and independent architecture modeling language that complements EAF for modeling and visualizing EA. Regardless of chosen EAF, conversion processes from requirements to EA using ArchiMate are not well-defined to the best of our knowledge. Goal-oriented approach is a requirement analysis technique that supports early requirements analysis, which can be used to define a process for bridging EA requirements to ArchiMate. Therefore,we propose guidelines using goal-oriented approach and then apply them to the interoperability of prescriptions in a healthcare system.KeywordsBusiness ProcessBusiness ServiceEnterprise ArchitectureBusiness ObjectBusiness FunctionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

The Applied Polymathical/Holistic Mathematical Model for Integrating Data Sciences (AHMM4IDS) supports Enterprise's transformation projects (simply Project).The AHMM4IDS uses various Mathematical Models (MM), that abstract, incorporate, and integrate Data Sciences (DS), AI-Subdomains, Information Communication System (ICS) components with Project's transformed resources.Transformed resources can be services (and artefacts), success factors (or calibration variables), business processes (and scenarios), mixed-methods, AI-Models, and adequate Enterprise Architecture (EA) Models (EAM).MMs, mixed-methods' based services, artefacts, and EAMs can be used to establish set of DS Patterns (DSP) that include DS technics/capabilities, data-platforms' access (and management), algorithms-functions, mapping concepts, unbundled services; to model and implement Decision Making Processes' (DMP) related infrastructure, data-storage(s), components-models, and end-users' integration.The integration of DSPs enforces and automated DMPs, Project's validity-checking, and Gap Analysis (GAPA); which all need adapted interfaces to access Enterprise, Project, Data-storage(s), ICS, EAMs, pool(s) of Artificial Intelligence (AI) services, and other types of resources.On the other hand, DSPs communicate with other, by using Project's and AI components; and can use also various medias-types formats, like the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format, and many others.Imported (or exported) DSs' contents and structures are combined with other Project's artefacts and components, to deliver DSPs for various AI-Subdomains.

Enterprise architecture (EA) offers steering instruments to aid architects in their decision-making process. However, the management of such a process is a challenging task for enterprise architects, due to the complex dependencies amongst EA models when evolving from an initial to a subsequent state. In this paper, we design, present and analyze an approach supporting EA model evolution. In doing so, we define EA artifacts dependencies and model their corresponding evolutions during change. Then, this model is processed using a feedback control schema to fully inform the EA design decisions. An access control model for an inventory case study is introduced to reason on issues connected to this evolution. The results obtained by a stochastic solution (Markov Decision Processes) are used to argue about the usefulness and applicability of our proposal.

Recent approaches for managing Enterprise Architecture (EA) models provide technical systems to procure information from existing repositories within the application landscape of an organization. Beyond technical solutions, social factors are of utmost importance to implement a successful EA initiative. Institutional theory has for example been employed to understand crucial factors for realizing EA Management (EAM) benefits through architectural thinking. Yet, it remains unclear how these social factors influence a federated approach for EA model management. Based on a socio-technical systems perspective, we investigate success factors for Federated EA Model Management (FEAMM) by conducting qualitative interviews with industry experts. Our findings suggest that success factors for FEAMM are related to the model sources, modeling instruments, and model integration aspects from a technical perspective as well as to organizational grounding, governance, enforcement, efficiency, goal alignment, and trust from a social perspective. KeywordsFederated enterprise architecture model managementInstitutionalizationSocio-technical system

Malfunctioning areas and various business-IT mismatches encumber the achievement of strategic alignment. This paper deals with the concept of misalignment, with special attention to enterprise architecture (EA)-based analytical potential. In this paper, an analytical solution is tested in form of a case study at a road management authority. The study proposes a rule-based framework to reveal the symptoms of malfunctioning alignment areas. In the proposed framework rule construction is supported by Schematron, a pattern-based XML validation language. Schematron language is used for making assertions about patterns (i.e. misalignment symptoms) found in the XML exports of the EA models. Queries are processed for every suitable EA model within the proposed EA model structure at the case organization. The paper highlights the results from the empirical investigation.

In the context of digital transformation, companies are increasingly forced to develop, manage and continually align IT and business. Companies have found in Enterprise Architecture (EA) a valuable tool to represent and manage IT and business in a holistic way by establishing connections among technology concerns and business/strategical/motivational ones. EA modelling is one of the most critical tasks in this context to represent accurate models that make the difference in the decision‐making and governance processes of the company. In most of the cases, EA models are manually defined by experts which is usually error‐prone and time‐consuming. Thus, the constant business and IT realignment through manual modelling becomes complex and expensive. This research presents ArchiRev, an extensible reverse engineering method that automate the extraction of EA models (using ArchiMate language) by analysing different information systems artefacts. This proposal has been validated through an industrial case study in the context of a C#‐based system of an Italian ship refurbishment company. The study has demonstrated the effectiveness (based in the opinion of some business experts) and efficiency of the method. The main implication is that EA modelling can be accelerated, whereas subjectivity and errors introduced by experts might be reduced.

We consider current Design and Engineering Methodology for Organizations (DEMO) Action Rules Specification to be unnecessarily complex and ambiguous. Even while using a “structured English” syntax similar to the one used in Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules (SBVR), such specifications are: incomplete while not containing enough ontological information to derive a functional implementation; and complex by containing mostly unneeded specifications. We propose a new meta-model for DEMO’s Action Model in the form of an Extended Backus–Naur Form (EBNF) syntax which is being implemented in a prototype that directly executes DEMO models as an Information and Workflow System. This prototype includes an action engine that runs DEMO transactions and the enclosed actions specified in our approach. We are currently integrating Blockly in our solution to allow syntactically correct visual programming of our proposed new Action Rule language that includes constructs to evaluate logical conditions, update the state of internal or external information systems, obtain input and provide output (formatted with a ‘What You See Is What You Get’ (WYSIWYG) template editor) to users, among others.

This research designs an Enterprise Architecture (EA) model for the space loan management system at Amikom Purwokerto University using the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF). The main objective is to improve efficiency, accuracy, and transparency in the space management process. The methodology used is descriptive qualitative approach with case study method. The research was conducted through the stages of problem identification, analysis of existing conditions, information architecture design, and classification of EA models. The main findings of the research show that the application of EA is able to speed up the process of borrowing space, reduce recording errors, and provide more accurate reports. The designed EA model includes four main perspectives: planning, ownership, design, and development. The contribution of this research is to provide an innovative and efficient solution for campus resource management through open-source technology.

Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Enterprise Modelling (EM) are systems engineering tools to understand, design, develop, implement and integrate complex enterprise and information systems. ISO 15704, 19439 and 19440 define fundamental concepts and principles of EAs and EMs, which are emphasized as the top standards of smart manufacturing by NIST’s smart manufacturing ecosystem and relative standardization roadmap. Since the three international standards will soon be subject to revision, this paper rethinks the basic principles of EAs and EMs, and presents a General Enterprise Modelling (GEM) framework and a relative EA (GEM-EA). GEM-EA provides tools and methodology of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to enterprise and automation systems integration. GEM involves a set of models and methods to describes different aspects of a system and covers its lifecycle. GEM and GEM-EA can greatly facilitate the process of enterprise diagnosis, business process reengineering and information system implementation.