Abstract
The ontological analysis of conceptual modelling techniques is of increasing popularity. Related research did not only explore the ontological deficiencies of classical techniques such as ER or UML, but also business process modelling techniques such as ARIS or even Web services standards such as BPEL4WS. While the selected ontologies are reasonably mature, it is the actual process of an ontological analysis that still lacks rigor. The current procedure leaves significant room for individual interpretations and is one reason for criticism of the entire ontological analysis. This paper proposes a procedural model for the ontological analysis based on the use of meta models, the involvement of more than one coder and metrics. This model is explained with examples from various ontological analyses.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
van der Aalst, W.M.P., Dumas, M., ter Hofstede, A.H.M., et al.: Pattern Based Analysis of BPML (and WSCI). Brisbane, Queensland University of Technology (2002)
Bansler, J.P., Bodker, K.: A reappraisal of structured analysis: Design in an organizational context. ACM Transactions on Information Systems 11(2), 165–193 (1993)
Burton-Jones, A., Meso, P.: How good are these UML diagrams?: An empirical test of the Wand and Weber good decomposition model. In: Proc. 23rd International Conference on Information Systems, Barcelona (2002)
Gorla, N., Pu, H.-C., Rom, W.O.: Evaluation of process tools in systems analysis. Information and Software Technology 37(2), 119–126 (1995)
Green, P.F.: Use of Information Systems Analysis and Design (ISAD) Grammars in Combination in Upper CASE Tools - An Ontological Evaluation. In: Proc. 2nd CaiSE/IFIP8.1 International Workshop on the Evaluation of Modeling Methods in Systems Analysis and Design, Barcelona, pp. 1–12 (1997)
Green, P.F., Rosemann, M.: Integrated Process Modelling: An Ontological Evaluation. Information Systems 25(2), 73–87 (2000)
Green, P.F., Rosemann, M.: Perceived ontological weaknesses of process modeling techniques: Further evidence. In: Proc. 10th European Conference on Information Systems, Poland, pp. 312–321 (2002)
Green, P., Rosemann, M., Indulska, M., et al.: Candidate Interoperability Standards: An Ontological Overlap Analysis, Working Paper, The University of Queensland (2003)
Gruninger, M., Lee, J.: Ontology: Applications and Design. Communications of the ACM 45(2), 39–41 (2002)
Guarino, N., Welty, C.: Evaluating Ontological Decisions with OntoClean. Communications of the ACM 45(2), 61–65 (2002)
Karam, G.M., Casselman, R.S.: A cataloging framework for software development methods. IEEE Computer, 34–46 (February 1993)
Olle, T.W., Hagelstein, J., Macdonald, I.G., et al.: Information Systems Methodologies: A Framework for Understanding. Addison-Wesley, Reading (1991)
Opdahl, A.L., Henderson-Sellers, B.: Grounding the OML metamodel in ontology. Journal of Systems and Software 57(2), 119–143 (2001)
Opdahl, A.L., Henderson-Sellers, B.: Ontological evaluation of the UML using the Bunge-Wand-Weber Model. Software and Systems Modeling 1(1), 43–67 (2002)
Parsons, J., Wand, W.: Using objects in systems analysis. Communications of the ACM 40(12), 104–110 (1997)
Rosemann, M., Green, P.: Developing a meta model for the Bunge-Wand-Weber ontological constructs. Information Systems 27(2), 75–91 (2002)
Scheer, A.-W.: ARIS - Business Process Modeling. Springer, Heidelberg (2000)
Shanks, G., Tansley, E., Nuredini, J., et al.: Representing part-whole relationships in conceptual modelling: An empirical evaluation. In: Proc. 23rd International Conference on Information Systems, Barcelona (2002)
Wand, Y., Weber, R.: An ontological evaluation of systems analysis and design methods. In: Falkenberg, E.D., Lindgreen, P. (eds.) Information System Concepts: An In-depth Analysis, pp. 79–107. North-Holland, Amsterdam (1989)
Wand, Y., Weber, R.: Mario Bunge’s Ontology as a formal foundation for information systems concepts. In: Weingartner, P., Dorn, G.J.W. (eds.) Studies on Mario Bunge’s Treatise, Atlanta, Rodopi, pp. 123–149 (1990)
Wand, Y., Weber, R.: An ontological model of an information system. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering 16(11), 1281–1291 (1990)
Wand, Y., Weber, R.: On the ontological expressiveness of information systems analysis and design grammars. Journal of Information Systems 3(4), 217–237 (1993)
Wand, Y., Weber, R.: On the deep structure of information systems. Information Systems Journal 5, 203–223 (1995)
Weber, R.: Ontological Foundations of Information Systems. Melbourne, Vic., Coopers & Lybrand and the Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand (1997)
Weber, R., Zhang, Y.: An analytical evaluation of NIAM’s grammar for conceptual schema diagrams. Information Systems Journal 6(2), 147–170 (1996)
Wohed, P., van der Aalst, W.M.P., Dumas, M., et al.: Pattern Based Analysis of BPEL4WS. Brisbane, Queensland University of Technology (2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Rosemann, M., Green, P., Indulska, M. (2004). A Reference Methodology for Conducting Ontological Analyses. In: Atzeni, P., Chu, W., Lu, H., Zhou, S., Ling, TW. (eds) Conceptual Modeling – ER 2004. ER 2004. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3288. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30464-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30464-7_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-23723-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-30464-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive