Improving IT infrastructures representation: A UML profile

IT infrastructures are most times informally modeled. The resulting models are ambiguous to stakeholders, cannot be checked for validity, and therefore are unable to play their important role in design, deployment and maintenance activities. The main reason for such a poor state-of-the-art lies mainly in the absence of a modeling language capable of representing IT infrastructures at the required level of abstraction. Indeed, existing candidate languages are too abstract, as shown in this paper by reviewing their metamodels. The present paper mitigates this problem by proposing a UML profile to describe the semantics of an IT infrastructure.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Model driven validation approach for enterprise architecture and motivation extensions

As the endorsement of Enterprise Architecture (EA) modelling continues to grow in diversity and complexity, management of its schema, artefacts, semantics and relationships has become an important business concern. To maintain agility and flexibility within competitive markets, organizations have also been compelled to explore ways of adjusting proactively to innovations, changes and complex events also by use of EA concepts to model business processes and strategies. Thus the need to ensure appropriate validation of EA taxonomies has been considered severally as an essential requirement for these processes in order to exert business motivation; relate information systems to technological infrastructure. However, since many taxonomies deployed today use widespread and disparate modelling methodologies, the possibility to adopt a generic validation approach remains a challenge. The proliferation of EA methodologies and perspectives has also led to intricacies in the formalization and validation of EA constructs as models often times have variant schematic interpretations. Thus, disparate implementations and inconsistent simulation of alignment between business architectures and heterogeneous application systems is common within the EA domain (Jonkers et al., 2003). In this research, the Model Driven Validation Approach (MDVA) is introduced. MDVA allows modelling of EA with validation attributes, formalization of the validation concepts and transformation of model artefacts to ontologies. The transformation simplifies querying based on motivation and constraints. As the extended methodology is grounded on the semiotics of existing tools, validation is executed using ubiquitous query language. The major contributions of this work are the extension of a metamodel of Business Layer of an EAF with Validation Element and the development of EAF model to ontology transformation Approach. With this innovation, domain-driven design and object-oriented analysis concepts are applied to achieve EAF model’s validation using ontology querying methodology. Additionally, the MDVA facilitates the traceability of EA artefacts using ontology graph patterns

Improving IT infrastructures representation: A UML profile

IT infrastructures are most times informally modeled. The resulting models are ambiguous to stakeholders, cannot be checked for validity, and therefore are unable to play their important role in design, deployment and maintenance activities. The main reason for such a poor state-of-the-art lies mainly in the absence of a modeling language capable of representing IT infrastructures at the required level of abstraction. Indeed, existing candidate languages are too abstract, as shown in this paper by reviewing their metamodels. The present paper mitigates this problem by proposing a UML profile to describe the semantics of an IT infrastructure.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Formalising responsibility modelling for automatic analysis

Modelling the structure of social-technical systems as a basis for informing software system design is a difficult compromise. Formal methods struggle to capture the scale and complexity of the heterogeneous organisations that use technical systems. Conversely, informal approaches lack the rigour needed to inform the software design and construction process or enable automated analysis. We revisit the concept of responsibility modelling, which models social technical systems as a collection of actors who discharge their responsibilities, whilst using and producing resources in the process. Responsibility modelling is formalised as a structured approach for socio-technical system requirements specification and modelling, with well-defined semantics and support for automated structure and validity analysis. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated by two case studies of software engineering methodologies

Metamodel-based framework in designing fault management in network management system

Fault management is the first element that matters in network management to ensure the high availability of the network. The existing fault management models are mostly specific to an organization’s standard. The proposed model can guide and help network managers to perform their routine task. Thus, the purpose of this research is to develop a generic and unified Fault Management Metamodel (FMM) that would create a fault management model, which in turn could be referred to as to better understand the flow of fault management. The FMM is developed by extracting and reconciling the fault management components from various fault management models. Then, the FMM is validated to ensure the correctness and logic of the proposed FMM. The FMM is validated using three validation techniques, which are the Frequency-based Selection, Face Validity and Tracing. The metamodelling framework that was used in this research is the Meta Object Facilities (MOF), and it was chosen because of its wide acceptance and coverage in many domains. The outcome of this research is the final validated FMM v1.2, which would guide network managers and other network users to better understand the fault management concepts flow and issues for their network. As for the future work, besides fault management, there are four other functional areas in network management that should be developed. The other areas are configuration management, accounting management, performance management and security management

Planning of Higher Education Information Technology Strategy Using TOGAF (A Case Study at AMN Cilacap)

Information technology that develops along with the rapid role of communication through the Internet makes technology and information systems have a position that is vital for the business alignment of an institution including higher education institutions. The strategic planning of this sector has a goal to develop the basis / guidelines in developing and developing information technology and systems to support organizational goals and increase increasingly competitive competitive advantage. Thus, the integration between business and information technology becomes important to support the competitiveness of institutions. The responsibility of Enterprise Architecture (EA) is to provide an accurate and fast information system based on the business demands of the institution. Appropriate standards and models are needed by higher education institutions to improve the alignment of business strategies and information technology. This study will explore the problems faced by AMN Cilacap and provide the development of information technology and systems needed to use EA using the Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) methodology. TOGAF provides methods and tools to assist in the receipt, production, use and maintenance of corporate architecture

Enterprise modelling framework for dynamic and complex business environment: socio-technical systems perspective

The modern business environment is characterised by dynamism and ambiguity. The causes include global economic change, rapid change requirements, shortened development life cycles and the increasing complexity of information technology and information systems (IT/IS). However, enterprises have been seen as socio-technical systems. The dynamic complex business environment cannot be understood without intensive modelling and simulation. Nevertheless, there is no single description of reality, which has been seen as relative to its context and point of view. Human perception is considered an important determinant for the subjectivist view of reality. Many scholars working in the socio-technical systems and enterprise modelling domains have conceived the holistic sociotechnical systems analysis and design possible using a limited number of procedural and modelling approaches. For instance, the ETHICS and Human-centred design approaches of socio-technical analysis and design, goal-oriented and process-oriented modelling of enterprise modelling perspectives, and the Zachman and DoDAF enterprise architecture frameworks all have limitations that can be improved upon, which have been significantly explained in this thesis. [Continues.

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