cross-posted from SOA Process blog
One thing I keep getting asked why the CBDI Service Architecture and Engineering
method distinguishes between the Business Concept Model (describing
things as they are in the real world) and the Business Type Model
(describing things as they are represented within the enterprise
systems).
Here's a simple example. As I mention in my post Will Libraries Survive? there is a conceptual difference between book title and book copy. Some libraries identify each physical copy
individually, while other libraries merely count the physical copies of a
given book title. The physical copies are distinct in the real world,
but may be indistinguishable in the library systems. Information
strategy includes making this kind of choice.
Let's suppose a library buys ten copies of a book. To start with these
copies are physically indistinguishable. The library then attaches some
identifying marks to the book, including an ID number. This marking
depend on the information strategy - the library could choose to give
all ten copies the same number or could choose to give each copy a
different number.
If we assume that this ID number is used throughout the library systems,
then it is clearly important to know whether the ID number identifies
the book title or the book copy. So this is a critical element of the
Business Type Model, which reflects a whole series of strategic
decisions of this nature, and then feeds into the identification of core
business services.
One important form of business improvement is to increase the
differentiation in the Business Type Model. For example, a library that
previously didn't distinguish between physical copies could decide to
make this distinction in future. But this business improvement doesn't
change the underlying reality of books, so the Business Concept Model
stays the same.
Extract from Business Information Improvement (CBDI Journal, May 2009)
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