Posts

Showing posts from June, 2009

Coherent modelling landscapes

The role of models in enterprise transformation My previous blog was concerned with securing modelling effort . A specific aspect in this regard is the coherence of models . As promised, I will now elaborate on the coherence of models. Before reading this blog, it therefore makes sense to first read the previous one, where I also argue how enterprise transformation is a model-intensive activity, and why it therefore makes sense to secure modelling efforts. The set of models produced during an enterprise transformation cover the entire chain of a transformation, ranging from models used for problem analysis, via architecture models, to specific designs. While these models clearly deal with different aspects of the enterprise, and are concerned with different stages during the transformation, they still deal with the same domain. Therefore, it is only natural to expect these models to have a strong coherence. Such an increased coherence would, for example, enable the re-use of investme

Securing modelling effort

The role of models in enterprise transformations When enterprises aim to meet new challenges, or optimise themselves in terms of increased flexibility, effectiveness, or efficiency, they will transform themselves. In other words, they will engage themselves in a deliberate change. This may involve changes to several aspects, including organisational structures, their processes, their culture, as well as their IT systems. In my view, such transformations will become increasingly model intensive in the sense that the driving process of (continuously!) assessing what to change, selecting the desired direction of a change, and consequently acting out the change, involves models in different roles (see one of my earlier blogs ). On the one hand, the increase of the use of models is driven by the increasing role of IT as an integral part of business operations, bringing the model-intensive nature of IT development to enterprise transformation. On the other hand, the transformation of "t