A meta modelling approach for unifying soft systems and information systems modelling

Dang

Dilip Patel

Shushma Patel

pp. 34-45

in: Trevor Wood Harper, Nimal Jayaratna, Bob Wood (eds), Methodologies for developing and managing emerging technology based information systems, Berlin, Springer, 1999

Abstract

This paper presents an approach based on meta-modelling techniques for unifying soft systems and information systems models in information systems development. The object-oriented conceptual modelling language Telos is utilised to specify SSM and other information modelling concepts together with their relationships. As a result, the meta model, which is in the format of Telos classes, represents the unified modelling language. These Telos classes can then be instantiated with objects that represent models of problem domains. These objects inherit all the properties of the classes (i.e. the modelling concepts and their relationships) specified in the meta model. Furthermore, the meta model can be flexibly defiined and extended by the modeller to meet specific requirements of a particular modelling project.