An Ontology-Based Semantics for the Motivation Extension to ArchiMate

The "motivation domain" of an Enterprise Architecture addresses objectives in a broad scope ranging from high-level statements expressing the goals of an enterprise to declarations of requirements on business processes, services and systems. An important development regarding the incorporation of the motivation domain in a comprehensive Enterprise Architecture modeling language is the upcoming Motivational Extension to ArchiMate (based on the ARMOR language). The extension proposes the inclusion of concepts such as concerns, assessments, goals, principles and requirements to ArchiMate. We believe that careful definition of the semantics of these concepts is required, especially when considering that the motivation domain addresses subjective aspects of the enterprise. To address that, this paper focuses on an ontology-based semantics for the Motivation Extension. We interpret the concepts by using the Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO) as a semantic domain, and, as a result, propose well-founded recommendations for improvements of the extension.

[1]  Giancarlo Guizzardi,et al.  Grounding Software Domain Ontologies in the Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO): The case of the ODE Software Process Ontology , 2008, CIbSE.

[2]  Gerd Wagner,et al.  Some Applications of a Unified Foundational Ontology in Business Modeling , 2005 .

[3]  Giancarlo Guizzardi,et al.  An ontology-based semantic foundation for ARIS EPCs , 2010, SAC '10.

[4]  Joerg Evermann,et al.  Towards Ontologically Based Semantics for UML Constructs , 2001, ER.

[5]  Marten van Sinderen,et al.  A Goal-Oriented Requirements Modelling Language for Enterprise Architecture , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference.

[6]  Axel van Lamsweerde,et al.  From Object Orientation to Goal Orientation: A Paradigm Shift for Requirements Engineering , 2002, RISSEF.

[7]  Nicola Guarino,et al.  Formal Ontology and Information Systems , 1998 .

[8]  Giancarlo Guizzardi,et al.  Ontology-Based Transformation Framework from Tropos to AORML , 2011, Social Modeling for Requirements Engineering.

[9]  Ron Weber,et al.  An Ontological Evaluation of Systems Analysis and Design Methods , 1989, ISCO.

[10]  Luc Schneider.  Formalised Elementary Formal Ontology , 2002 .

[11]  Giancarlo Guizzardi,et al.  Applying and extending a semantic foundation for role-related concepts in enterprise modelling , 2009, Enterp. Inf. Syst..

[12]  Marta Indulska,et al.  The ontological deficiencies of process modeling in practice , 2010, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[13]  Marta Indulska,et al.  Modeling languages for business processes and business rules: A representational analysis , 2009, Inf. Syst..

[14]  Luc Schneider,et al.  Designing Foundational Ontologies: The Object-Centered High-Level Reference Ontology OCHRE as a Case Study , 2003, ER.

[15]  Giancarlo Guizzardi,et al.  Ontological foundations for structural conceptual models , 2005 .

[16]  John A. Zachman,et al.  Enterprise Architecture: The Issue of the Century , 2001 .

[17]  Share,et al.  The ANSI/SPARC DBMS model : proceedings of the second SHARE Working Conference on Data Base Management Systems, Montreal, Canada, April 26-30, 1976 , 1977 .

[18]  Fausto Giunchiglia,et al.  Tropos: An Agent-Oriented Software Development Methodology , 2004, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems.

[19]  Giancarlo Guizzardi,et al.  Towards an Ontological Account of Agent-Oriented Goals , 2007, SELMAS.

[20]  Ron Weber,et al.  Mario Bunge's ontology as a formal foundation for information systems concepts , 1990 .

[21]  Giancarlo Guizzardi,et al.  An Ontology-Based Semantic Foundation for Organizational Structure Modeling in the ARIS Method , 2010, 2010 14th IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference Workshops.

[22]  John F. Sowa,et al.  Extending and Formalizing the Framework for Information Systems Architecture , 1992, IBM Syst. J..

[23]  Renata S. S. Guizzardi,et al.  On the Support for the Goal Domain in Enterprise Modelling Approaches , 2010, 2010 14th IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference Workshops.

[24]  Gerd Wagner,et al.  On the General Ontological Foundations of Conceptual Modeling , 2002, ER.

[25]  Evellin C. S. Cardoso,et al.  Semantic Integration of Goal and Business Process Modeling , 2010 .