Informationssystem-Methoden projizieren verschiedene Modellierungsaspekte in unterschiedliche Dimensionen, und dies führt zu Schwierigkeiten bei der Erzielung von Integrität in verschiedenen Diagrammtypen. Konzepte können nicht isoliert von Interaktionen und Zustandsänderungen analysiert werden, wie dies bei den derzeitigen traditionellen Systementwicklungsmethoden der Fall ist. Das Fehlen eines integrierten grafischen Modellierungsansatzes führt zu Problemen beim Überdenken und Ändern von Geschäftsprozessen. In diesem Kapitel stellen wir die Methode der Semantisch Integrierten Konzeptionellen Modellierung (SICM) vor und zeigen, wie die Methode für das Business Process Re-Engineering eingesetzt werden kann. Ein bekanntes Fallbeispiel wird analysiert, um zu zeigen, wie Service-Interaktionen zwischen Organisationskomponenten eines Unternehmens dargestellt werden können, um die wesentlichen Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede von Geschäftsprozessen zu erkennen. Die Servicearchitektur wird grafisch in Form von Interaktionen zwischen organisatorischen und technischen Unternehmenssystemkomponenten beschrieben. Einer der Vorteile der SICM-Methode besteht darin, dass sie auf einem einzigen Diagrammtyp basiert, der interaktive, übergangsweise und strukturelle Aspekte von Konzepten darstellt. Zustandsänderungen resultieren aus Prozessen, die durch Erstellungs- und Beendigungsereignisse verschiedener Konzepte dargestellt werden.

One of the problems with conventional conceptual modelling methods is that they do not take into account certain important semantic interdependency types between the static and dynamic aspects. Integrity of dimensions is crucial for successful reasoning and solving problems that occur in conceptual modelling. Typically, conceptual modelling methods project various aspects of information systems using different graphical representations. Therefore, to reach semantic integration of various architectural aspects is very difficult. This paper presents semantically integrated conceptual modelling method. This method enables stability and flexibility of the diagrams that are very important for managing constant changes of organizational and technical requirements. It shows how alternative actions introduced into different scenarios. This is also important for controlling semantic integrity and for maintaining holistic representations of different aspects. Holistic modelling approach enables reasoning about system architecture across organizational and technical system boundaries. On a simple hotel reservation system scenario, it is demonstrated how different actions can be decomposed into more primitive underlying interaction loops. Integrated conceptual modelling method is important for evaluation of expressive power of conceptual modelling languages. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Information system methodologies project different modelling aspects into disparate dimensions and it creates difficulties to achieve integrity in various diagram types. Concepts cannot be analysed in isolation from interactions and state changes, which is the case in current traditional system development methods. The lack of an integrated graphical modelling approach creates problems in rethinking and changing business processes. In this chapter, we present Semantically Integrated Conceptual Modeling (SICM) method and demonstrate how the method can be applied for business process re-engineering. A well-known case study is analyzed to demonstrate how service interactions among enterprise organizational components can be represented to detect the essential similarities and differences of business processes. Service architecture is graphically described in terms of interactions among organizational and technical enterprise system components. One of the advantages of SICM method is based on a single type of diagram, which represents interactive, transitional and the structural aspects of concepts. State changes result from processes that are represented by creation and termination events of various concepts.

Abstract. Analysis patterns are the groups of elements that represent a common construction in business modelling. Patterns are established with the aim to define and visualize the fundamental requirements that arise during business process modelling. There are a lot of patterns that describe the behaviour of business processes. Patterns enable stakeholders to communicate more effectively, with greater conciseness and less ambiguity. The problem with the existing business process patterns is that these patterns leave aside the static aspects of business processes. It is not enough to provide patterns just for processes or actions, it is necessary to show how data is integrated into business processes. This integration is important for flexible business processes, where stakeholders have more freedom to handle the sequence of actions in order to accomplish a given goal. The lack of an integrated modelling approach creates problems in rethinking and changing business processes. It is necessary to have a modelling approach which enables to manage necessary changes in business processes and data. The patterns for business processes should support the integration of static (data) and dynamic aspects (interaction and state changes of data) of the system as well to provide possibilities to model alternative actions in business processes. The paper presents Semantically Integrated Conceptual Modelling method (SICM) and how the method is applied for two modelling patterns that enables integration of both static and dynamic aspects of the system.

Abstract. To obtain value from the graphical representations that are used by different stakeholders during the system development process, they must be integrated. This is important for achieving a holistic understanding about system specification. Integration can be reached via modelling process. Currently, most of information system modelling methods present different modelling aspects in disparate modelling dimensions and therefore it is difficult to achieve semantic integrity of various diagrams. In this paper, we present the principles of semantically integrated conceptual modelling method for information system analysis and design. The foundation of this modelling method is based on interaction flows. This way of modelling is critical for the identification of discontinuity and inconsistency in information systems specifications. It also provides possibility to integrate business processes and business data, which is necessary for the integration of various architectural domains and to reach the holistic view of enterprise architecture. We have explained in object-oriented terms how interactive, structural and transitional aspects are merged. We also demonstrated the interpretation of various patterns, in terms of semantically integrated conceptual modelling method. It was shown that the method has sufficient expressive power to cover some special cases, which do not match the standard pattern of transaction. The inference rules of interactions help in reasoning about system decomposition. In this method, decomposition is graphically described as classification, inheritance or composition of concepts. SICM method is based on a single type of diagram, which enables reasoning about integration with the help of a special set of inference rules. The ultimate goal of this paper is to present the generic principles for computation- neutral modeling of service interactions.

Keywords: Conceptual modelling, Modelling aspects, Service interactions, Consistency, Value flows, Inference rules, Decomposition, Object transitions.

To obtain value from the graphical representations that are used by different stakeholders during the system development process, they must be integrated. This is important to achieve a holistic understanding about system specification. Integration can be reached via modelling process. Currently, most of information system modelling methods present different modelling aspects in disparate modelling dimensions and therefore it is difficult to achieve semantic integrity of various diagrams. In this paper, we present semantically integrated conceptual modelling method for information system analysis and design. The foundation of this modelling method is based on interactions. This way of modelling provides possibility of integration of business processes and business data. The inference rules of interactions help in reasoning about the decomposition of concepts. In this method, decomposition of the system is graphically described as classification, inheritance or composition of organizational and technical system components.

System modeling patterns are similar to workflow patterns, which were established with the purpose of delineating the requirements that arise during business process modeling on a recurring basis. Traditionally, only dynamic aspects are used for the specification of modeling patterns leaving aside the static aspects of business processes. The paper presents the conceptual modeling patterns where integrity of totally different aspects can be analyzed. The advantage of such a modeling approach is that it enables visualization and integration of different modeling dimensions of information system specifications using a single diagram. Many graphical representations do not allow such visualization and integration of static and dynamic aspects. We also represent graphically interpretation of the conversation for action schema by constructs of our semantically integrated conceptual modeling method.

Managing evolutionary changes, identification of discontinuities and separation of concerns is not an easy task in the area conceptual modeling in information system development. One of the fundamental problems is that most conventional conceptual modeling techniques deal with the collections of loosely linked meta-models, which are defined by the different types of diagrams. Typically, system development methods project interactive, behavioral and structural aspects of information systems conceptual representations into disparate views. Therefore, the semantic integrity of various architecture dimensions is difficult to achieve. In this paper we present semantically integrated conceptual modeling method. The advantage of this method is stability and flexibility of the diagrams to manage the constant changes of system requirements. This method provides possibility to visualize the interplay among structural, interactive and behavioral aspects. This is very important for the control of semantic integrity and to maintain a holistic representation, where external and internal views of service conceptualizations are visualized together. Such visualization is also important for separation of concerns which provides foundation for creation of modeling patterns. Modeling patterns are important for several reasons. First, they can be used for demonstration of the interplay of fundamental constructs that are used for system analysis and design. Secondly, modeling patterns are important for the evaluation of the expressive power of semantic modeling languages. It is demonstrated by case study examples that sequential, underlying, enclosing, overriding and overlaying interaction loops between actors provide the foundation for the composition of complex scenarios, which are spanning across organizational and technical system boundaries.

System modeling patterns are similar to workflow patterns, which were established with the purpose of delineating the requirements that arise during business process modeling on a recurring basis. Traditionally, only dynamic aspects are used for specification of modeling patterns leaving aside the static aspects of business processes. The paper presents three conceptual modeling patterns where integrity of totally different aspects can be analyzed. The advantage of such a modeling approach is that it enables visualization and integration of different modeling dimensions of information system specifications in a single diagram. Many graphical representations do not allow such a visualization and an integration of static and dynamic aspects.