UEML: Systematic Approach for the Determination of Elementary Constructs

The Unified Enterprise Modelling Language (UEML) aims to become a hub for integrated use of enterprise and information systems (IS) models expressed using different languages. The paper explains how central constructs from UML's class and activity diagrams have been incorporated into UEML. As a result, the semantics of UML's central constructs for representing classes and activities have become more precisely defined in terms of the common UEML ontology. Through their ontology images, the two diagram types are also on the way to become interoperable with other enterprise and IS modelling languages in UEML.

At the current state of technology, we can state that Enterprise Modeling (EM) is now a reality in many large companies. Enterprise Engineering practices are developing and enterprises are under pressure to adopt engineering procedures based on models. However, interoperability between Enterprise modelling methods and also modelling tools is still very weak compared to real needs. Although both EM and El are nearly not introduced in SMEs. They are only exposed when they take part in supply chains. In this case, they are told what to do and which tools they have to use. It is the author’s opinion that these technologies would better penetrate any kind of enterprises if there were a standard interface in the form of a unified enterprise modelling language (UEML), which is based on a consensus on all modelling tools available on the market. This paper presents requirements and an approach to support common representation by a unified enterprise modelling language (UEML).

Interoperability in enterprise modelling: requirements and roadmap

Summary form only given. This poster presents an experience, on gathering business needs in business models adapted to the business expert language and translating these needs into a service oriented architecture (SOA) in a systematic way. The poster introduces the current situation highlighting three interoperability problems: (1) Organisations do not use a standard, unified and widely adopted business process definition language. Organisations want a common understanding of the process where they are involved from different perspectives; (2) Information systems are implemented to address specific requirements, ignoring future integration needs by using proprietary formats, and ad-hoc communication strategies and protocols; and (3) Information systems do not, clearly, support the business processes. There is a gap between business process models and their information systems implementations. The approach shown in this poster is based on the usage of the SOA paradigm from a model driven point of view: a model driven service oriented architecture (MDSOA) framework. Based on the MDA specification we have identified a metamodel for each of the three abstraction levels: (1) POP* (process, organisation, product) is selected as the metamodel to represent and exchange business processes. POP* is the unified enterprise modelling language (UEML) successor. POP* metamodel represents the starting point; (2) PIM4SOA (platform independent model for service oriented architecture) (Benguria et al., 2006) is a metamodel to represent service, process, information and quality of service elements; and (3) WSDL (Web service description language) and BPEL (business process execution language) are platform specific languages

During the last years, several enterprise modeling languages became de-facto standards in their particular field of application. This dissemination increased the need for extending these languages in order to both specify concepts domain-specifically and integrate additional concepts. However, only the minority of enterprise modeling languages provides an extension mechanism and even those defining one, reveal some syntactical shortcomings. This issue can be also observed in the context of the well-known meta modeling language MOF and its correspondingly defined enterprise modeling languages like BPMN. This position paper therefore elaborates an adaptation of the profile mechanism from UML for generic extensions of meta models in the field of enterprise modeling. Therefore, the characteristics of profiling are abstracted to the meta meta model layer and comprehensively integrated within an framework for the integrated definition of meta models. The Stereotype concept is thereby applied to several parts of meta models including also aspects of the concrete syntax as well as semantics. The proposed framework serves as reference architecture for the derivation of meta modeling language specific implementations (e.g., Within MOF).

Enterprises are inherently complex systems, which involve a multitude of components working dynamically and in coordination to obtain a desired end goal. The intricacy of an enterprise and how the different components can be modeled is the area of research of Enterprise Modeling (EM). When holistically modeling an enterprise, it is required to use more than one modeling language, including general and domain specific modeling languages (DSML), to boost the comprehension of different enterprise areas. However, the use of multiple languages can lead to a lack of detail and understanding of the relationships between enterprise components that are modeled in different domains. Analyzing the relationships between various enterprise domains can generate valuable insight into understanding the uncertainty, complexity, and operations of an enterprise. In this paper, we present an approach to enable EM from multiple perspectives allowing enterprises to use different languages to describe various domains. This approach supports the creation of relationships and dependencies between domains, to analyze from different depths and viewpoints desired enterprise perspectives. Considering the needed requirements for multi-perspective modeling, we developed a workbench that allows the composition and merger of different EM languages and creates ad-hoc EM tools based on the necessities of the enterprise.KeywordsEnterprise ModelingLanguage workbenchDomain specific modeling languages

The main purpose of this paper is to present knowledge-based Enterprise model (EM) sufficiency as data repository for Unified Modelling Language (UML) models generation. UML models are one of the most usable modelling languages in system lifecycle design stage, despite the problem domain of the system. UML models can be generated from Enterprise Model by using particular transformation algorithms presented in previous researches. Generation process from Enterprise model is represented by certain Hospital Information Management process example. Generated UML dynamic Use Case, Activity, Sequence and State models of different perspectives of Hospital Information Management process prove sufficiency of stored information in Enterprise model.

In this paper, we propose a model-driven approach for web-service development with the intention of IT infrastructure integration in enterprise models. This implies the extension of existing conceptual modelling languages with language constructs that aim at model information transparency on a web-service basis. Therefore, we assess the grammatical specification of conceptual modelling languages for business domains. Acting on the language meta-level means in this context the introduction of web-service-related constructs into widely used visual modelling grammars. The vision is the situation-dependent adaptation of software functionality to the actual documented utilisation. Economical relevance results from the reduction of significant discrepancies between enterprise systems functionalities and business requirements.

Enterprise Modeling is used to analyze and improve IT, as well as to make IT more suitable to the needs of the business. However, asset intensive organizations have an ample set of operational technologies (OT) that Enterprise Modeling does not account for. When trying to model such enterprises, there is no accurate form of showing components that belong to the world of OT nor is there a way to bridge the division between OT and IT. Existing languages fall short due to their limited focus that does not consider modeling operational technologies and even less relating them to the IT and Business dimensions. To address these issues, in this paper we present a new modeling language which extends ArchiMate. This language proposes a set of core elements for modeling OT components, based on existing OT standards and ontologies, and makes it possible to associate these components to business and IT elements. Introducing this language makes it possible to apply existing modeling and analysis techniques from Enterprise Modeling in settings that cover Business, OT and IT.

In enterprise modelling, we witness numerous efforts to predefine and integrate perspectives and concepts for modelling some problem area, which result in standardised modelling languages (e.g. BPMN, ArchiMate). The empirical observations however indicate that, in actual use, standardising and integrating effect of such modelling languages erodes, due to the need to accommodate specific modelling contexts. Instead of designing yet another mechanism to control this phenomena, we argue it should first be fundamentally understood. To account for the functioning of a modelling language in a socio-pragmatic context of modelling, we claim it is necessary to go beyond a normative view often adopted in modelling language study. We present a developing explanatory theory as to why and how modelling languages are used in enterprise modelling. The explanatory theory relies on a conceptual framework on modelling developed as the critical synthesis of the existing theoretical work, and from the position of socio-pragmatic constructivism.

Objective: The aim of the study was to conduct a meta-analysis of research examining the early speech and language functioning of young children, birth to age 8;11 (years;months), with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCL/P) compared to their peers without NSCL/P.Method: We conducted a random-effects metaregression using 241 effect sizes from 31 studies comparing 955 young children with NSCL/P to 938 typically developing peers on measures of speech and language functioning. Moderators were sample characteristics (i.e., age, cleft type, publication year, and study location) and measurement characteristics (i.e., speech sample material, language modality and domain, and assessment type).Results: Young children with NSCL/P scored significantly lower on measures of speech and language compared to children without NSCL/P. Children with NSCL/P had smaller consonant inventories (standardized mean difference effect size [ESg] = −1.24), less accurate articulation (ESg = −1.13), and more speech errors (ESg = 0.93) than their peers. Additionally, children with NSCL/P had poorer expressive (ESg = −0.57) and receptive (ESg = −0.59) language skills than their peers. Age and assessment type moderated effect sizes for expressive language. As children with NSCL/P aged, their expressive language performance became more similar to their peers. Expressive language effect sizes from parent reports and observational language measures (estimated effect size = −0.74) were significantly lower than those from standardized norm-referenced tests (estimated effect size = −0.45).Conclusions: These findings suggest that young children with NSCL/P experience delays relative to their peers across multiple speech and language constructs. Differences between children with NSCL/P and their typically developing peers appear to decrease with age.Supplemental Material S1. PRISMA 2009 Checklist.Supplemental Material S2. Code for meta-analysis. Supplemental Material S3. List of citations and study ID number for included studies.Lancaster, H. P., Lien, K. M., Chow, J. C., Frey, J. R., Scherer, N. J., & Kaiser, A. P. (2019). Early speech and language development in children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate: A meta-analysis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-19-00162

A growing number of collaborative networked organizations can be found in industry, services, and research. However, the lack of a reference model that could synthesize and formalize the base concepts, principles, and recommended practices, is an obstacle for an easier and more consistent development of the area. Therefore, after a clarification of concepts and terminology, the ARCON reference modeling approach is proposed considering multiple modeling perspectives: environment characteristics, life cycle, and modeling intent. This novel modeling framework takes into account contributions from previous works on enterprise modeling and extends them to the context of collaborative networked organizations. A taxonomy of collaborative networks is introduced. Examples of concepts to be part of a reference model are collected and abstracted from several manifestations of collaborative networks. Establishing a reference model in this area is a long-term endeavor; therefore this contribution is aimed as just a step in this process for which needed further research is also identified.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that it is feasible to theoretically and empirically build an international typology of social enterprise (SE) models. The authors first rely on their previous work (Defourny and Nyssens, 2017), suggesting that the concept of “interest principles” can serve as a cornerstone in such perspective. This concept, when combined with that of SEs’ “resource mixes”, allows to design an analytical tool that shows from which “matrices” and through which “trajectories” several distinct SE models can emerge, namely, the “non-profit entrepreneurial model”, the “social cooperative model”, the “social business model” and the “public sector model”.Design/methodology/approachThis paper combines deductive and inductive approaches. In a deductive perspective, the authors build upon the analytical framework proposed by Gui (1991) to identify capital interest, mutual interest and general interest as key driving forces and fundamental motives in the overall economy. To confront their theoretical construction and their tentative typology of SE models with field realities, the authors also adopt an inductive approach, relying on bottom-up research strategies developed in the seven “ICSEM country contributions” forming this special issue.FindingsAt first view, mapping exercises of SE categories in the seven countries seem to highlight a high degree of heterogeneity. However, a closer analysis of these apparently diverging contributions clearly suggests that the four major SE models derived from the authors’ theoretical framework find significant empirical support in most—if not all—countries.Originality/valueAlthough major statistical work to test the authors’ typology of SE models remains to be carried out, mainly through the exploitation of the international ICSEM database (which covers over 700 SEs from more than 40 countries), this paper represents a first—although limited—attempt to collect empirical evidence for testing this typology.

Within enterprise modelling, models are typically needed for a range of different purposes, ranging from vision and strategy development to computer-aided analyses. It is well known that model's content and form need to be adapted to its purpose. This typically concerns the tuning in terms of granularity, visualisation, precision and formality of the model, as well as in terms of the concepts/language in which the model is expressed. However, typical modelling tools lack such support. A number of empirical observations points at a lack in flexibility of tools and underlying modelling languages to aptly fit the needs of specific modelling situations. For instance, it is observed that fixed metamodels make it difficult to align the language with e.g. organisation-specific domains/concerns. This often leads to the different levels of discipline in which a fixed modelling language is obeyed to, or even the use of home-grown notations instead of fixed standard ones. Likewise, to compensate the lack of flexibility in dedicated modelling tools, classical drawing tools or paper are used as modelling support. Once models created this way transition to the more formal tasks, a lot of redundant work and increased effort is needed to ensure consistency and coherence among different enterprise models. As a result of an ongoing research, this paper discusses the need to adapt the models and modelling environments to specific modelling situations. In particular, we explore the concept of natural enterprise modelling, as a strategy for enabling the flexibility while also ensuring the coherence in modelling. We also sketch potential high level design of a flexible modelling infrastructure supporting natural enterprise modelling, and indicate some promising future research directions.

Enterprise model verification and validation: an approach