Semantic object model

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The Semantic Object Model (SOM) is a methodology for the conceptual modeling of types of operational systems. So far there is no reference in national or international standardization.

origin

The SOM project was carried out as a cross-sectional, permanent research project jointly by the chairs of Otto K. Ferstl and Elmar J. Sinz at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg , who also carried out the initial research work in the 1990s; The essential fundamentals for the method concept of "Bamberg Business Informatics" originate from him.

The SOM method distinguishes between three model levels of an operational system,

  • the strategic business plan (external perspective),
  • the operational business process models of process types (internal perspective) and
  • the specifications for the implementation of the application system (resource perspective).

The model levels are generally defined by a specific metaphor and corresponding metamodels . For example, business processes at the authority level are modeled as distributed systems, consisting of objects that coordinate with each other in relation to a common operational objective using the autonomous negotiation principle or according to the closed regulatory principle .

Methodologies

Several methodologies were used to build a semantic object model:

  • By means of the enterprise architecture , a is Systemdekomposition (decomposition of complexity to the controllability) made.
  • The process model describes the direction of development when setting up the corporate architecture as well as the views used and their application.
  • The coordination principles are used to represent the cybernetic relationships in the corporate architecture.
  • The object system is the subject of modeling in the SOM. It consists of interacting, autonomous and loosely coupled operational (discourse world and relevant environment) objects.

Enterprise architecture

1st model level 2nd model level 3rd model level
Surname Business plan Business processes resources
Illustration perspective Outside perspective Inside perspective Inside perspective
differentiation No separation of the
task level and the
responsible body level

task level only
only
responsible authority level
Viewing
categories
Business plan Business process Organizational structure,
application systems,
IT infrastructure,
machines and systems
viewing
objects
1. Establishing the
company's

task 2. Definition of initial goals
(objective and formal goals )

3a. Analysis of the environment for
exogenous success factors
(opportunities and risks)
3b. Analysis of the discourse world
for endogenous success factors
(strengths and weaknesses)

4a. Corporate strategy
4b. Market strategy
4c. Formal strategy

5a. Definition of service
relationships
5b. Definition of the value
chain
5c. Definition of specific goals

6a. Development of strategies
6b. Definition of resources
1. Specification of
solution methods for
implementation of the
business plan

2. Detailing the
performance relationships

third refinement of the
value chains
to business processes

4a. Presentation of the
contribution to the achievement of the objective
through
business processes
4b. Representation of the
support of
formal goals, success
factors and strategies
through business processes.

5. Uncovering the
control of
business processes
1. Refinement of the resources defined in the
business
plan

2. Organizational structure for the
representation of personnel
resources

3a. Technical specification of
the application systems
(as object-oriented or
object-integrated distributed
application systems) and
their integration into the application system
architecture
3b. Expulsion of the
relationships between
application systems
and business processes

4. Definition of IT infrastructure
structure

5. technical specification
of plant and machinery

Process model

1st model level 2nd model level 3rd model level
Surname Business plan Business processes resources
structure-
oriented views
Object system Interaction scheme conceptual object schema
behavioral
views
Target system Process-event scheme Process object schema

Coordination principles

In systems based on the semantic object model, the coordination between the target-oriented objects, in particular between the objects of the business processes, is carried out either by

  • a method based on the control principle (hierarchical coordination) with feed forward control transactions and feedback control transactions are effective, i.e. the given controlled system object and an added controller object are firmly coupled or
  • a method based on the negotiation principle (non-hierarchical autonomous coordination) with initiation, agreement and execution transactions, i.e. with autonomous agents and a coherent objective

pictured.

Object system

The object system as an open (interacts with the environment) and targeted system contains the objects of the discourse world and the relevant environment considered in the SOM.

Examples of this are the task object (object on which a task is performed), task (a performance) and task holder (personal or technical resource for the fulfillment of tasks).

Tool support and dissemination in practice

The semantic object model is mainly used in teaching and research and has hardly achieved practical dissemination. The main reason for this is the lack of software available for practical use of the SOM.

The two C ++ based implementations of SOM through software, SOM-V3 and SOMpro from SFB Solutions For Business GmbH , were abandoned because of the low distribution and the high maintenance effort.

Since 2014, intensive work has been carried out on the implementation of a modeling tool for the SOM methodology based on the ADOxx metamodeling platform. The resulting tool is freely available as part of the Open Models Initiative Laboratory (OMiLAB). Since its publication, the tool has been used in courses on business process modeling and company modeling at the University of Bamberg, the Virtual University of Bavaria and the University of Vienna.

criticism

An investigation into the complete and realistic representation of reality by SOM came to the result "that the SOM has a high ontological coverage, but also shows isolated ontological deficits".

Compared to other approaches to company mapping, SOM shows strengths in the scientific underpinning of the applied methodologies and weaknesses in practical applicability due to its complexity and the scope of the aspects that can be represented .

In contrast to methods of modeling according to the concepts of Petri nets, the previous approaches with SOM do not provide any known tools for syntactic and / or semantic testing or for analytical modeling, other than described, for example

  • ECNO (Event Coordination Notation according to Kindler, 2014), or with
  • ProM (Process Mining, Workflow Patterns according to vanderAalst, ProM Framework).

The factual limitation of the concept to model types without an abstraction approach for instantiating model variants or for individual model instances allows it to be used only in a process environment that is not very flexible. The effort of modeling and maintenance inevitably increases exponentially with the complexity and always with the use for variant instances of the model.

Individual evidence

  1. Ferstl O. K., Sinz EJ: Object modeling of operational information systems in the semantic object model (SOM) . In: Wirtschaftsinformatik Volume 32, Issue 6 (1990), pp. 566-581
  2. Ferstl O. K., Sinz EJ: A procedural model for object modeling of business information systems in the semantic object model (SOM) . In: Wirtschaftsinformatik Volume 33, Issue 6, December 1991, pp. 477–491
  3. Elmar J. Sinz: Architecture of operational information systems  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 52 kB)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.winfobase.de  
  4. Otto K. Ferstl & Elmar J. Sinz: The Semantic Object Model (SOM) approach to modeling business processes  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 377 kB)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / 141.13.6.53  
  5. Ferstl, Sinz: The modeling approach of the semantic object model ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 363 kB) Published in: Bamberg Contributions to Business Informatics, No. 18 (1993) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / 141.13.6.53
  6. Otto Ferstl, Elmar Sinz: SOM in: Enzyklopädie der Wirtschaftsinformatik, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag
  7. Domenik Bork, Elmar J. Sinz: A multi-view modeling tool for SOM business process models based on the meta-modeling platform ADOxx Published in: Writings from the Faculty of Information Systems and Applied Computer Science at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg, Volume 9, 2011
  8. Dominik Bork, Elmar J. Sinz: Download of the SOM modeling tool 2015
  9. Peter Fettke , Peter Loos : Ontological Evaluation of the Semantic Object Model (PDF; 220 kB), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Information Systems & Management, Chair of Information Systems and Business Administration
  10. Kindler, ECNO Event Coordination Notation ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.swbdenmark.dk
  11. Process Mining, Workflow Patterns according to vanderAalst

Web links