Business Information Driven Approach for EA Development in Practice

In this paper, we extrapolate findings of using the Genre and Ontology based Business Information Architecture Framework (GOBIAF) as a methodology to approach enterprise architecture (EA) development from business perspective. GOBIAF seems to contribute as the first business critical information driven framework for EA development, addressing the importance on integrating (information creation) context to (information) content. GOBIAF was developed for and applied in a knowledge intensive, heterogeneous, and geographically dispersed environment in process industries. In the context, GOBIAF increased our knowledge of complex relationships between business, information, and technical domains. Further, GOBIAF provided needed structure for evaluating and developing difficult and heterogeneous issues in relation to organizational strategies

The impact of conceptual structures on transaction and enterprise architecture practices

This research hypothesises is Conceptual Structures using the Resource Event Agent (REA) ontology adds value when defining a Transaction Oriented Architecture (TOA) for Enterprise Systems. Enterprise Systems drive global economic growth through well-designed implementations that provide organisations with multiple benefits, including streamlined business processes, increased efficiencies, improved productivity and decreased costs. Conversely, poorly implemented Enterprise Systems can lead to poor operating results. Most Enterprise Systems still use traditional methods of storing economic data mirroring the double-entry bookkeeping system, which can cause several problems, including data loss and repetition. Enterprise Systems must capture transaction data in a format available to multiple business processes to fulfil their goals. This thesis provides an overview of the currently available frameworks for Enterprise Architecture design. It details the problems that are observed and experienced during the completion of real-world Enterprise System development projects. The basis of the Transaction Concept is then presented as the general solution, leading to a TOA for Enterprise Systems. The Transaction Pyramid describes TOA through three layers of transactions: Enterprise, Business, and Database. The Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) is used as the primary research methodology to provide a framework to this research. Together with the secondary research method of Action Research to provide a more granular basis for DSRM Step 3 : "Design and development", which required multiple minor iterations of the cyclical process of Action Research to produce the required artefacts. The case study approach is used also as a secondary research method for empirical inquiry and investigation required for DSRM step 4: "Demonstration". A Knowledge Management System is defined to validate TOA, and artefacts are implemented for an Automated REA (AREA) based on Protégé Frames to underpin TOA as a Proof of Concept. AREA provides a fully- edged, TOA design tool for Enterprise Architecture using the REA ontology. AREA's Knowledge Repository uses Conceptual Structures through a) the ISO Common Logic standard's Conceptual Graph Interchange Format (CGIF) to store and transmit the TOA using an REA ontology, and b) Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) for validation. AREA is then demonstrated and evaluated using two industrial case studies as exemplars. These Findings support the research's hypothesis and its contribution to knowledge

Ontology-based patterns for the integration of business processes and enterprise application architectures

Increasingly, enterprises are using Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as an approach to Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). SOA has the potential to bridge the gap between business and technology and to improve the reuse of existing applications and the interoperability with new ones. In addition to service architecture descriptions, architecture abstractions like patterns and styles capture design knowledge and allow the reuse of successfully applied designs, thus improving the quality of software. Knowledge gained from integration projects can be captured to build a repository of semantically enriched, experience-based solutions. Business patterns identify the interaction and structure between users, business processes, and data. Specific integration and composition patterns at a more technical level address enterprise application integration and capture reliable architecture solutions. We use an ontology-based approach to capture architecture and process patterns. Ontology techniques for pattern definition, extension and composition are developed and their applicability in business process-driven application integration is demonstrated