Task: Model the Business |
Define an overall model of the business that takes into account the business architecture, requirements, constraints, and realizations of the business requirements.
Disciplines: Business Modeling
Purpose
To understand the forces that significantly affect the business. To provide the means for defining system services that fulfill the goals of the business.
Relationships
Roles | Primary Performer: Business Analyst | Additional Performers:
Inputs | Mandatory: Business Use-case Model [Business Design] Business Model Functional Area Model [Business Requirements] Business Goal Business Use Case Business Use-case Model | Optional: Business Model
Outputs | Business Model
Main Description
Business model elements (business components, services, workers, entities, etc) and relationships are defined from a global perspective, taking into account external constraints (business architecture) and internal interactions (operations and behaviors). Changing a single behavior in the business can affect the structure of the business at a global level. New or changed relationships and operations are often introduced when a specific behavior is defined within the business. It's possible for inappropriate relationships or undesirable operations to be introduced. These need to be corrected while allowing the business to perform the desired behavior. It's likely that relationships need to be evaluated and refined to accommodate the new behavior. For instance, multiplicity or the direction of the associations might need to be adjusted. Operations also need to be normalized across the entire model. Look for operations that are redundant or entities that have similar descriptions or purpose. Refactor operations and entities to reduce redundancy, and illegal or contradictory behavior.
Steps
Find business elements
Locate business elements such as business components, services, workers, and entities based on the the contents of the use case model. Identify the primary abstractions used in the business such as roles, documents, job titles, and deliverables. These elements serve as a collection of business elements used when the business behavior is defined. Add the elements to the Business Model. These elements are in addition to the architecturally significant business elements provided in the [Business Architecture].
Refine relationships and operations based on realizations
Assure the entities and workers have legal relationships that take into account constraints from the [Business Architecture] such as organizational boundaries, the physical distribution of the business, and the competences of the business workers. Make sure the business goals can still be achieved once the Business Model has been refactored. Document any changes by updating the Business Model.
Reconcile business elements with the business architecture
New elements added to the business use-case realizations could already be identified by the architecture under different names, or they might need to be refactored to reflect architectural constraints or patterns. Work with the business architect to assure the relationships, elements, and behaviors described in the realizations are consistent with the business architecture.
More Information
Concepts | Business Entity
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