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Enterprise modeling is the process of understanding an enterprise business and improving its performance through creation of enterprise models. This includes the modelling of the relevant business domain (usually relatively stable), business processes (usually more volatile), and Information technology.
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Overview
An enterprise in general is a unit of economic organization or activity. These activities are required to develop and deliver products and/or services to a customer. An enterprise includes a number of functions and operations such as purchasing, manufacturing, marketing, finance, engineering, and research and development. The enterprise of interest are those corporate functions and operations necessary to manufacture current and potential future variants of a product.2
The term "enterprise model" is used in industry to represent differing enterprise representations, with no real standardized definition.3 Due to the complexity of enterprise organizations, a vast number of differing enterprise modeling approaches have been pursued across industry and academia.4 Enterprise modeling constructs can focus upon manufacturing operations and/or business operations; however, a common thread in enterprise modeling is an inclusion of assessment of information technology. For example,the use of networked computers to trigger and receive replacement orders along a material supply chain is an example of how information technology is used to coordinate manufacturing operations within an enterprise.2
Enterprise modelling topics
Model
Thomas Naylor 5 defines a model as ". . . an attempt to describe the interrelationships among a corporation's financial, marketing, and production activities in terms of a set of mathematical and logical relationships which are programmed into the computer." These interrelationships should (according to Gershefski) represent in detail all aspects of the firm including ". . . the physical operations of the company, the accounting and financial practices followed, and the response to investment in key areas"6.
Programming the modelled relationships into the computer in not always necessary: enterprise models, under different names, have existed for centuries and were described, for example, by Adam Smith, Walter Bagehot, and many others.
Economic modelling
The modeling of the enterprise network could facilitate the creation of enhanced understanding of the business processes of the extended enterprise and relations that extend across the boundaries of the enterprise. A particularly effective form of enterprise modelling is concerned with the definition of statements of purpose and the derivation of human activity systems. In an organisational context these Human Activity Systems become conceptual Enterprise Models, whereas in a programme and project management context they are known as Programme Blueprints, each representing what needs to be done to achieve the stated purpose. Enterprise models derived in this way are useful tools for conducting organisational reviews, information analysis and business systems alignment.
Ontologies in Enterprise Modeling
In the domain of enterprise architecture, an ontology is an outline or a schema used to structure objects, their attributes and relationships in a consistent manner.2 As in enterprise modeling, an ontology can be comprised of other ontologies. The purpose of ontologies in enterprise modeling is to formalize and establish the sharability, re-usability, assimilation and dissemination of information across all organizations and departments within an enterprise. Thus, an ontology enables integration of the various functions and processes which take place in an enterprise.7
One common language with well articulated structure and vocabulary would enable the company to be more efficient in its operations. A common ontology will allow for effective communication, understanding and thus coordination among the various divisions of an enterprise. There are various kinds of ontologies used in numerous environments. While the language example given earlier dealt with the area of information systems and design, other ontologies may be defined for processes, methods, activities, etc., within an enterprise.2
Using ontologies in enterprise modeling offers several advantages. Ontologies ensure clarity, consistency, and structure to a model. They promote efficient model definition and analysis. Generic enterprise ontologies allow for reusability of and automation of components. Because ontologies are schemata or outlines, the use of ontologies does not ensure proper enterprise model definition, analysis, orclarity. Ontologies are limited by how they are defined and implemented. An ontology may or may not include the potential or capability to capture the all of the aspects of what is being modeled.2
Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)
Enterprise modeling has been developed as a variant of Soft Systems Methodologycitation needed by Brian Wilson. He also developed an Enterprise Model entitled Vision Realisation in support of the Office of Government Commerce's (OGC) methodology for programme management, i.e. Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) and applied his approach in a large number of public and private organisations, e.g. MoD, NHS, DWP, British Telecom, BAE Systems, Hachette Livre UK, etc.
Systems architecture
The RM-ODP reference model identifies enterprise modelling as providing one of the five viewpoints of an open distributed system. Note that such a system need not be a modern-day IT system: a banking clearing house in the 19th century may be used as an example.
The Open Group has adopted ArchiMate as an open and independent modelling language for enterprise architecture.
Systems thinking
The modelling of the enterprise and its environment could facilitate the creation of enhanced understanding of the business domain and processes of the extended enterprise, and especially of the relations -- both those that "hold the enterprise together" and those that extend across the boundaries of the enterprise. Since enterprise is a system, concepts used in system thinking8 can be successfully reused in modeling enterprises.
This way a fast understanding can be achieved throughout the enterprise about how business functions are working and how they depend upon other functions in the organization.
Enterprise modelling techniques
There are several techniques for modelling the enterprise such as
- Active Knowledge Modeling,
- ArchiMate
- Dynamic Enterprise Modeling
- Enterprise Modelling Methodology/Open Distributed Processing (EMM/ODP)
- Extended Enterprise Modeling Language
- Object-Oriented Modeling,
- Process modeling such as CIMOSA, PERA, LOVEM, DYA, etc.
- Integrated Enterprise Modeling (IEM), and
- modelling the enterprise with multi-agent systems.
See also
- Business process modeling
- Business reference model
- Enterprise architecture
- Enterprise Architecture framework
- Enterprise engineering
- Enterprise integration
- Enterprise Life Cycle
- Generalised Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology
- OBASHI The OBASHI Business & IT methodology and framework
References
- ^ Paul R. Smith & Richard Sarfaty (1993). Creating a strategic plan for configuration management using Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. Paper For 1993 National DOE/Contractors and Facilities CAD/CAE User's Group.
- ^ a b c d e James K. Ostie (1996). "An Introduction to Enterprise Modeling and Simulation"
- ^ E. Aranow (1991). "Modeling Exercises Shape Up Enterprises". In: Software Magazine Vol.11 , p. 36-43
- ^ C. J. Pétrie Jr. (1992). "Introduction", In: Enterprise Integration Modeling - Proceedings ofthe First International Conference MIT Press, p. 563.
- ^ (Naylor,T. 1970)
- ^ (Gershefski,G. 1971 : 44)
- ^ G. Fadel, M. Fox, M. Gruninger (1994). "A Generic Enterprise Resource Ontology". In: Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises. p. 117-128
- ^ (see, for example, (Weinberg, 1982), or, more generally, works by Bunge, for example, (Bunge, 2003) and by Hayek, for example, (Hayek, 1967))
Further reading
- François Vernadat (1996) Enterprise Modeling and Integration: Principles and Applications, Chapman & Hall, London, ISBN 0-412-60550-3
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Enterprise modelling |
- Agile Enterprise Modeling. by S.W. Ambler, 2003-2008.
- Enterprise Modeling Anti-patterns. by S.W. Ambler, 2005.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 8 January 2009, at 05:14.
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