A Role-Based Capability Modeling Approach for Adaptive Information Systems
Abstract
Most modeling approaches lack in their ability to cover a full-fledged view of a software system’s business requirements, goals, and capabilities and to specify aspects of flexibility and variability. The modeling language Capability Driven Development (CDD) allows modeling capabilities and their relation to the execution context. However, its context-dependency lacks the possibility to define dynamic structural information that may be part of the context: persons, their roles, and the impact of objects that are involved in a particular execution occurrence. To solve this issue, we extended the CDD method with the BROS modeling approach, a role-based structural modeling language that allows the definition of context-dependent and dynamic structure of an information system. In this paper, we propose the integrated combination of the two modeling approaches by extending the CDD meta-model with necessary concepts from BROS. This combination allows for technical development of the information system (BROS) by starting with capability modeling using CDD. We demonstrate the combined meta-model in an example based on a real-world use case. With it, we show the benefits of modeling detailed business requirements regarding context comprising environment- and object-related information.
... Наукові праці таких відомих учених, як: Pidun U., Reeves M., Schüssler M. [1], Adner, R. [3], Chung, V., Dietz, M. [5], Rab, I., & Townsend, Z., Fletcher,A. [7], H. Schön, J. Zdravkovic, J. Stirna, S. Strahringer [8], Hung Le Hong [9], Jacobides [10], M. G., Jacobides M. G., Sundararajan A., Van Alstyne M. [11], Kindler A., Siegel D., Paulsen J. H. [12], Koch, M., Krohmer, D. [13], Moore, J. F. [14], Nachira, F., Nicolai, A., Dini, P., Le Louarn, M., & León, L. R. [15], P. K. Senyo, K. Liu, J. Effah [20], Parker G. G., Van Alstyne M. W., Choudary S. P. [21], Reeves, M., Levin S., Daichi U. [23], привертають увагу питання дослідження особливостей та специфіки цифрової трансформації бізнес-структур та переходу до цифрових бізнес-моделей, архітектури та підходів до проектування екосистем, методів об'єднання сервісів у бізнесекосистеми, аналізу моделей цифрової бізнес-екосистеми, а також позиціонування екосистемних компаній на ринку інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій. ...
During the research it was determined that the digital business ecosystem is a whole complex of interconnected elements of the organization of functional and institutional relationships of economic entities, the formation of which consists in ensuring the effective strategic development of ICT enterprises by initiating certain additional economic entities: state structures (state authorities, state institutions), business structures, non-profit organizations, communities and social groups of the population. It was established that the effective implementation of the developed digital ecosystem of ICT enterprises is based on a client-centric approach not only to attract the target audience with various goods and services, but also to keep them within the functioning of the digital ecosystem in order to increase the duration of the consumer's stay in the ecosystem (customer-centric approach) by focusing attention on his diverse and urgent needs in order to achieve a high level of competitive advantages in the target market. In the research have been determined that in the conditions of growing demand in the ICT market, the online service is rapidly developing, digital information innovations are being implemented, including digital information products, digital channels and business models, as a result of which there is a digitalization of cooperation: the increasing use of digital information and communication innovations in the relationship with management financial resources. Due to the high digitization of the complex of products and services, the enterprises studied in the article, satisfy a significant part of the needs of their customers in their own ecosystem are characterized as effective financial indicators obtained as a result of reaching a significant client base. Thus, the most important goal of domestic ICT enterprises forming a digital ecosystem is the development of a client-centric approach not only to attract the target audience with various services, but also to increase the duration of the consumer's stay in the ecosystem by focusing attention on his needs and providing the potential consumer with favorable conditions for using a complex of digital products and services.
... Examples from recent scientific publications indicate that also in research on domain-specific languages, no common practice of metamodel specification is in use. Several contributions specify metamodels with UML class diagrams, declaring object types as classes and relation types as classes or named association arrows, e.g., [35,46,57,60,62]. Others simply define the object and relation types with box-and-line models devoid of an underlying language and rely on the intuitive understanding of the reader, e.g., [45,55]. ...
Enterprise modeling deals with the increasing complexity of processes and systems by operationalizing model content and by linking complementary models and languages, thus amplifying the model value beyond mere comprehensible pictures. To enable this amplification and turn models into computer-processable structures, a comprehensive formalization is needed. This paper presents the formalism MetaMorph based on typed first-order logic and provides a perspective on the potential and benefits of formalization that arise for a variety of research issues in conceptual modeling. MetaMorph defines modeling languages as formal languages with a signature $$\varSigma $$ Σ —comprising object types, relation types, and attributes through types and function symbols—and a set of constraints. Four case studies are included to show the effectiveness of this approach. Applying the MetaMorph formalism to the next level in the hierarchy of models, we create , a formal modeling language for metamodels. We show that is self-describing and therefore complete the formalization of the full four-layer metamodeling stack. On the basis of our generic formalism applicable to arbitrary modeling languages, we examine four current research topics—modeling with power types, language interleaving & consistency, operations on models, and automatic translation of formalizations to platform-specific code—and how to approach them with the MetaMorph formalism. This shows that the rich knowledge stack on formal languages in logic offers new tools for old problems.
... Several contributions specify metamodels with UML class diagrams, declaring object types as classes and relation types as classes or named association arrows, e.g. [33,44,53,58,60]. Others simply define the object and relation types with box-and-line models devoid of an underlying language and rely on the intuitive understanding of the reader, e.g. ...
Enterprise modeling deals with the increasing complexity of processes and systems by operationalizing model content and by linking complementary models and languages, thus amplifying the model-value beyond mere comprehensible pictures. To enable this amplification and turn models into computer-processable structures a comprehensive formalization is needed. This paper presents a generic formalism based on typed first-order logic and provides a perspective on the potential and benefits arising for a variety of research issues in conceptual modeling. We define modeling languages as formal languages with a signature $\Sigma$ - comprising object types, relation types, and attributes through types and function symbols - and a set of constraints. Three cases studies are included to show the effectiveness of the approach. Applying the formalism to the next level in the hierarchy of models we create M2FOL, a formal modeling language for metamodels. We show that M2FOL is self-describing and therefore complete the formalization of the full four-layer metamodeling stack. On the basis of our generic formalism applicable to arbitrary modeling languages we examine three current research topics - language interleaving & consistency, operations on models, and automatic translation of formalizations to platform-specific code - and how to approach them with the proposed formalism. This shows that the rich knowledge stack on formal languages in logic offers new tools for old problems.
Enterprise modeling deals with the increasing complexity of processes and systems by operationalizing model content and by linking complementary models and languages, thus amplifying the model-value beyond mere comprehensible pictures. To enable this amplification and turn models into computer-processable structures a comprehensive formalization is needed. In this paper we build on the widely accepted approach of logic as basis for modeling languages and define them as languages in the sense of typed predicate logic comprising a signature \(\varSigma \) and a set of constraints. We concretize how the basic concepts of a language – object and relation types, attributes, inheritance and constraints – can be expressed in logical terms. This naturally leads to the denotation of a model as \(\varSigma \)-structure satisfying all constraints. We apply this definition also on the metalevel and propose a formal modeling language to specify metamodels called M2FOL. A thus formalized metamodel then rigorously defines the signature of a language and we provide an algorithmic derivation of the formal modeling language from the metamodel. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated by formalizing the Petri Net modeling language, a method frequently used for analysis and simulation in enterprise modeling.
Representing and reusing the business objects of a domain model for various use cases can be difficult. Especially, if the domain model is acting as a template or a guideline, it is necessary to map the enterprise's individual structure and processes on the shared domain model. Structural modeling languages often do not meet this requirement of reusing structures and complying to established processes. We propose a modeling language called BROS (Business Role-Object Specification) for describing the business objects' structure and behavior for structural models, based on a given domain model and process models. It utilizes roles for a use case related specification of business objects as well as events as interfaces for the business processes affecting these roles. Thus, we are able to represent and adapt the business object in different contexts with individual requirements, without changing the underlying domain model. We demonstrate our approach by modeling a simple case.
The notion of capability has been gaining a growing attention in the business and information system (IS) engineering community due to a number of reasons: it facilitates focus on business investments, it can be used as a baseline for business planning, and it directly leads to service specification and design. It is not however widely known to what extent capability is considered in different modeling approaches, how it is defined, and what purpose it fulfills. This article analyzes how the notion of capability is included in the frameworks spanning from business-oriented such as Business Architecture and Business Value Modeling, to the alignment-oriented represented by Enterprise Architecture (EA), and Enterprise Modeling (EM). The results of the analysis have shown that capability has widespread presence in the frameworks and that its conceptual meaning is largely similar, while the intentions and the mechanisms of its use differ, which raises stimulating opportunities for new contributions and improvements in the field.
The overall objective of the CaaS project is to create an integrated approach consisting of methods, tools and reusable best practices that allow digital enterprises to take advantage of changes in business context and technologies. This deliverable primarily contributes to CaaS Objective 1, namely, “to elaborate a methodology and supporting methods for Capability Driven Development (CDD) which is adopted by the industrial partners involved in the project and their customers”. To this end the deliverable presents the final version of the CDD methodology, which consists of a number of method components supporting different aspects of the CDD process. More specifically, methodology components addressing capability design, enterprise and business process modelling, context modelling, supporting reuse, as well as adjusting capability delivery at run-time have been developed. Furthermore, there is a method component supporting the decision making about whether or not CDD is suitable and how to get started. The methodology also includes method extensions for specific application domains, namely business process outsourcing, collaborative software development and project management office.
The deliverable reflects the modular and incremental approach to methodology engineering and documentation in CaaS, which is manifested in the methodology components and extensions. The modularity allows for the users to focus only on those parts of the methodology that are needed for their work. The CDD methodology is described from three conceptual aspects – (1) The modelling languages in terms of concepts and notations used to represent the modelling product, i.e. the models and capability designs created. (2) The way of working, the procedures and tools used, in order to arrive at a capability design that fits organization’s needs, i.e. the modelling process. (3) The technical foundation and formal definition of algorithms for run-time adjustments of capabilities.
The deliverable also includes extensive examples of capability design, context modelling and run-time adjustments. These examples are meant to support understanding and selection of the method components.
Role-based approaches gain more and more interest for modeling and implementing variable software systems. Role models clearly separate static behavior represented by players and dynamic behavior modeled as roles which can be dynamically bound and unbound to players at run time. To support the execution of role-based systems, a dynamic binding mechanism is required. Especially, since instances of the same player type can play different roles in a single context, the binding mechanism is required to operate at instance level. In this paper, we introduce a mechanism called dynamic instance binding for implementing a runtime for role-based systems. It maintains a look-up table that allows the run-time system to determine and invoke the currently active role binding at instance level. We explain dynamic instance binding mechanism in detail and demonstrate that it is flexible enough to support both adaptation and evolution of software systems at run time.
Putting capability management into practice requires both a solid theoretical foundation and realistic approaches. This book introduces a development methodology that integrates business and information system development and run-time adjustment based on the concept of capability by presenting the main findings of the CaaS project – the Capability-Driven Development (CDD) methodology, the architecture and components of the CDD environment, examples of real-world applications of CDD, and aspects of CDD usage for creating business value and new opportunities.
Capability thinking characterizes an organizational mindset, putting capabilities at the center of the business model and information systems development. It is expected to help organizations and in particular digital enterprises to increase flexibility and agility in adapting to changes in their economic and regulatory environments. Capability management denotes the principles of how capability thinking should be implemented in an organization and the organizational means.
This book is intended for anyone who wants to explore the opportunities for developing and managing context-dependent business capabilities and the supporting business services. It does not require a detailed understanding of specific development methods and tools, although some background knowledge and experience in information system development is advisable. The individual chapters have been written by leading researchers in the field of information systems development, enterprise modeling and capability management, as well as practitioners and industrial experts from these fields.
DevOps for Developers delivers a practical, thorough introduction to approaches, processes and tools to foster collaboration between software development and operations. Efforts of Agile software development often end at the transition phase from development to operations. This book covers the delivery of software, this means the last mile, with lean practices for shipping the software to production and making it available to the end users, together with the integration of operations with earlier project phases (elaboration, construction, transition). DevOps for Developers describes how to streamline the software delivery process and improve the cycle time (that is the time from inception to delivery). It will enable you to deliver software faster, in better quality and more aligned with individual requirements and basic conditions. And above all, work that is aligned with the DevOps approach makes even more fun! Provides patterns and toolchains to integrate software development and operations Delivers an one-stop shop for kick-starting with DevOps Provides guidance how to streamline the software delivery process What youll learn Know what DevOps is and how it can result in better and faster delivered software Apply patterns to improve collaboration between development and operations Introduce unified processes and incentives to support shared goals Start with or extend a tool infrastructure that spans projects roles and phases Address pain points in your individual environment with appropriate recipes Break down existing walls that make up an unnecessarily sluggish delivery process Who this book is for DevOps for Developers is for motivated software engineers, particularly programmers, testers, QA, system admins, database admins, both beginners and experts, who want to improve their software delivery process. Its the perfect choice for engineers who want to go the next step by integrating their approaches for development and delivery of software. This book is for engineers who want to shape their processes and decide on and integrate open source tools and seek for guidance how to integrate standard tools in advanced real world use cases. Table of Contents Beginning DevOps for Developers Introducing DevOps Building Blocks of DevOps Quality and Testing Introduce Shared Incentives Gain Fast Feedback Unified and Holistic Approach Automatic Releasing Infrastructure as Code Specification by Example
Developing products that are more easily adaptable to future requirements can increase their overall value. Product adaptability is largely determined by choices about product architecture, especially modularity. Because it is possible to be too modular and/or inappropriately modular, deciding how and where to be modular in a cost-effective way is an important managerial decision. In this article, we gather data from four case studies to model effects of firms' product architecture decisions at the component level. We optimize an architecture adaptability value (AAV) measure that accounts for both the benefits of more architecture options and the costs of interfaces. The optimal architecture prompted each firm to rearchitect an existing product to increase its expected future profitability. Several insights emerged from the case evidence during this research. (i) Although decomposing an architecture into an increasing number of modules increases product adaptability, the amount of modularity is an insufficient predictor of the adaptability value of a system. AAV, which also accounts for interface costs, provides an improved measure of appropriate modularity. (ii) Managers can influence the path of architectural evolution in the direction of increased value. This influence may diminish but does not disappear as products become more mature. Also, modularity and innovations coevolved, as the new modularizations suggested by AAV optimization prompted and guided searches for further innovations. (iii) When presented with the concepts of options, interface costs, and AAV, the firms' designers and managers were initially skeptical. However, in each case, the modelers were able to rearchitect an actual product not only with increased AAV by our model (theoretical improvement) but also with actual future benefits for their firm. Postproject reports from each firm confirmed that the AAV modeling and optimization approaches were indeed helpful, equipping them to increase the adaptability, cost-efficiency, lifespan, and overall value of actual products. The evidence suggests that firms can benefit from designing products for adaptability, but that how they do so matters. This study expands our understanding of modularity and adaptability by illuminating managerial decisions and insights about appropriate approaches to each.