CURIE: Towards an Ontology and Enterprise Architecture of a CRM Conceptual Model

2022 | Business & Information Systems Engineering | Citations: 0

Authors: Fernández-Cejas, Miguel; Pérez-González, Carlos J.; Roda-García, José L.; Colebrook, Marcos

Abstract: Companies face the challenge of managing customer relationships (CRM) in a conte ... Expand

Abstract: Companies face the challenge of managing customer relationships (CRM) in a context marked by a drastic digital transformation and unbridled evolution of consumer behavior, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The customer is more demanding, has access to the global market and interacts with companies through multiple digital channels, such as email, social networks, mobile apps or instant messaging. In this situation, the success of a CRM implementation highly depends on information technology and the applications used. To harmonize this new business context with the development of information systems (IS), a suitable CRM ontology and enterprise architecture (EA) is needed. While an ontology-based conceptual model provides a unifying framework, aids sharing and reusing knowledge, and facilitates communication within a domain, an EA-based model unequivocally describes, analyzes, and visualizes how an organization should operate from the perspective of business, application, and technology. The purpose of the paper is the proposal of CURIE-O, a CRM OntoUML UFO-based ontology, together with CURIE-EA, a CRM ArchiMate-based EA to serve business managers and IS specialists an updated unifying framework of reference in the CRM domain as well as a highly efficient tool to support application development and maintenance in this changing and increasingly digital context. Modeling has proven to be an essential element to achieve high-performance information systems. In order to apply the ontology and the EA proposed here, the authors developed a CRM task management application prototype that was implemented as a case study in a consulting company. The methodology followed was design science research (DSR), in order to design and validate the artifacts. Within the DSR framework, other complementary research methods have been used, in particular literature research, interviews and focus groups carried out with several hotel chains in Tenerife (Canary Islands). The main existing CRM models in the scientific literature have also been analyzed together with the leading CRM market solutions. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation microservice architecture Kubernetes PostgreSQL database system

Methods: ontological modelling design artifact conceptual modelling design science upper ontology

A Visual Inquiry Tool for Brand Identity

2019 | HICSS | Citations: 10

Authors: Elikan, Dina

Abstract: Brand identity is of paramount importance for companies. Owing to the advancemen ... Expand

Abstract: Brand identity is of paramount importance for companies. Owing to the advancement of technology, faster innovation, growing competition, and more demanding consumers, managing a brand is becoming increasingly complex. This is especially true for entrepreneurs in startups and SMEs, who may not have the knowledge and various resources to ensure a clear branding strategy. This paper describes the development, in three steps, of a visual collaboration tool that supports practitioners in SMEs and startups to collaboratively strategize their brand identity in a structured way. This paper reports the creation, demonstration, and a first evaluation of what we have called the Brand Identity Tool. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation participatory design ease of use perceived usefulness systems development

Methods: ontological modelling design science design methodology literature sample upper ontology

Theories: boundary objects theory theory of affordance

Knowledge model for emergency response based on contingency planning system of China

2019 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Ni, Zi-jian; Rong, Lili; Wang, Ning; Cao, Shuo

Abstract: China is severely exposed to natural hazards. Currently, there are more than 5.5 ... Expand

Abstract: China is severely exposed to natural hazards. Currently, there are more than 5.5 million contingency plans for handling various incidents. Similar to those produced in other counties, the paper-based plans in China are limited in that emergency responders cannot easily extract helpful information for them. In this paper, a knowledge-based system will be proposed for providing different stakeholders with helpful information in the emergency response. The conceptual model is the core for the whole system, which can link plans in the physical world and the ontology in the cyber world. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation explicit knowledge earthquake database languages expert system

Methods: conceptual modelling ontological modelling upper ontology

Cyberspace: Towards an Ontology of the External Digital Contemporary Memory

2017 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 6

Authors: Rodrigues, Jaqueline; BaiÃ, Fernanda

Abstract: Currently, denunciations, reports, news and questions about surveillance, invasi ... Expand

Abstract: Currently, denunciations, reports, news and questions about surveillance, invasion, and privacy violation emerge exponentially. Consequently, it seems fundamental to build up a debate on the construction and manipulation of the memories from the multiple subjects and society of the 21st Century, from the complex universe constituted within and through cyberspace, observed as the moving contemporaneous external digital memory. From the establishment of external memories throughout time, both for individuals and society, we discuss preliminary issues and explore the potentialities of cyberspace as an ontological model for the collective and individual memories. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation

Methods: ontological modelling unified modeling language design science upper ontology unified foundational ontology

Analysis of Federated Enterprise Architecture Models.

2015 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Antunes, Goncalo; Barateiro, Jose; Caetano, Artur; Borbinha, José Luis

Abstract: Enterprise architecture models support decision-making as they help organizatio ... Expand

Abstract: Enterprise architecture models support decision-making as they help organizations to understand, communicate and analyse how business processes are performed, the goals they achieve, the information they use, as well as the applications that realize the business, and the supporting technological infrastructure. The integrated analysis of these models is not straightforward because it cross-cuts different domains that are described using heterogeneous concepts. This paper explores the application of ontologies to analyse enterprise architecture models. Ontologies represent knowledge that can be analysed using computational inference. The contributions of this paper are (1) the specification of multiple enterprise architecture models as ontological schemas, (2) the integration of ontological schemas, and (3) the analysis of the integrated models. The solution artefact consists of a federated model specified as a set of ontological schemas described in OWL-DL that integrates multiple enterprise models and assists their analysis using computational inference. The paper demonstrates the application of the federated model to the ArchiMate language as a means to assess the compliance of business requirements in a civil engineering scenario.This section reviews the main concepts and definitions related to enterprise architecture model analysis (section 2.1) and ontologies (section 2.2). Collapse

Topics: enterprise architecture knowledge representation user requirement extensible markup language business process management

Methods: ontological modelling design science metamodel upper ontology

The Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting as a Domain Ontology

2015 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 1

Authors: Gerber, Marthinus C; Gerber, Aurona J

Abstract: The Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (CFfFR) was developed to provid ... Expand

Abstract: The Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (CFfFR) was developed to provide guidance to users and preparers of financial reports and standards. However, general consensus within the accounting community is that the Conceptual Framework fails to achieve the stated intended purpose. This paper reports on an interpretive research study to understand the role, position, content and usage of the CFfFR, specifically how the Conceptual Framework could play the role of a domain ontology for financial reporting, and how this role determine the content contained in the Conceptual Framework. Following the Ontology Life Cycle Model we determined and represented key concepts for the CFfFR ontology as part of this work we developed a model to depict the decision process to report decision-useful information in financial reports. This paper therefore describes three contributions towards the CFfFR namely: 1) an hierarchical model depicting the positioning of the CFfFR as a domain ontology determining the role, purpose, usage and content of the CFfFR; 2) a model depicting the decision process for decision-useful information depicts the implicit domain knowledge about transformations from economic activities of an entity to financial reports; and 3) a first version of the CFfFR domain ontology using both the hierarchy and decision process models as input for the identification of key concepts and relations. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation accounting accounting standard electronic data interchange implicit knowledge

Methods: ontological modelling domain ontology financial report upper ontology business process modeling

Failure recovery in distributed model composition with intelligent assistance

2015 | Information Systems Frontiers | Citations: 1

Authors: Huang, Hui; Chen, Xueguang; Wang, Zhiwu

Abstract: Composite models in Decision Support Systems (DSS) are combinations of model fun ... Expand

Abstract: Composite models in Decision Support Systems (DSS) are combinations of model functions to solve complex decision problems. They must be executed successfully to obtain the desired results. Unfortunately, faults may happen during its execution due to the dynamic networks or the information asymmetry between developers and users. Therefore, designing effective failure recovery mechanism to ensure the reliability of the composite model execution is essential. Progress has been made in the web service composition field to obtain limited failure recovery capabilities, but not fully applicable to composite models since model services are informational services in essence which do not change the world conditions. This paper proposes a unified framework, integrated with a process ontology and multiple recovery strategies that can provide valuable failure recovery recommendations intelligently. The recovery strategies have been greatly enhanced in providing greater failure recovery capability. Feasibility and efficiency of this framework have been illustrated and tested. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation web service decision support system earthquake Linux

Methods: ontological modelling experiment case study literature study upper ontology

How Semantics and Pragmatics Interact in Understanding Conceptual Models

2014 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 37

Authors: Bera, Palash; Burton-Jones, Andrew; Wand, Yair

Abstract: Underlying the design of any information system is an explicit or implicit conce ... Expand

Abstract: Underlying the design of any information system is an explicit or implicit conceptual model of the domain that the system supports. Because of the importance of such models, researchers and practitioners have long focused on how best to construct them. Past research on constructing conceptual models has generally focused on their semantics (their meaning), to discover how to convey meaning more clearly and completely, or their pragmatics (the importance of context in model creation and use), to discover how best to create or use a model in a given situation. We join these literatures by showing how semantics and pragmatics interact. Specifically, we carried out an experiment to examine how the importance of clear semantics in conceptual models—operationalized in terms of ontological clarity—varies depending on the pragmatics of readers' knowledge of the domain shown in the model. Our results show that the benefit of ontological clarity on understanding is concave downward (follows an inverted-U) as a function of readers' prior domain knowledge. The benefit is greatest when readers have moderate knowledge of the domain shown in the model. When readers have high or low domain knowledge, ontological clarity has no apparent benefit. Our study extends the theory of ontological clarity and emphasizes the need to construct conceptual models with readers' knowledge in mind. Collapse

Topics: problem solving knowledge representation semantic network IT career database system

Methods: conceptual modelling hierarchical linear modeling experiment statistical hypothesis test ontological modelling

Theories: theory of ontological clarity semiotic theory speech act theory

Web 3.0 and Crowdservicing

2011 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Davis, Joseph; Lin, Huairen

Abstract: The World Wide Web (WWW) has undergone significant evolution in the past decade. ... Expand

Abstract: The World Wide Web (WWW) has undergone significant evolution in the past decade. The emerging web 3.0 is characterized by the vision of achieving a balanced integration of services provided by machines and human agents. This is also the logic of ‘crowdservicing’ which has led to the creation of platforms on which new applications and even enterprises can be created, and complex, web-scale problem solving endeavors undertaken by flexibly connecting billions of loosely coupled computational agents or web services as well as human, service provider agents. In this paper, we build on research and development in the growing area of crowdsourcing to develop the concept of crowdservicing. We also present a novel crowdservicing application prototype, OntoAssist, to facilitate ontology evolution as an illustration of the concept. OntoAssist integrates the computational features of an existing search engine with the human computation provided by the crowd of users to find desirable search results. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation crowdsourcing Wikipedia search engine knowledge base

Methods: ontological modelling experiment design artifact WordNet design science

Countering Service Information Challenges in the Internet of Services

2009 | Business & Information Systems Engineering | Citations: 0

Authors: Oberle, Daniel; Bhatti, Nadeem; Brockmans, Saartje; Niemann, Michael; Janiesch, Christian

Abstract: Business Webs apply the idea of value networks to the WWW. The underlying delive ... Expand

Abstract: Business Webs apply the idea of value networks to the WWW. The underlying delivery platform is commonly referred to as the Internet of Services and will certainly have to deal with a great variety and amount of information about services along several service information dimensions. As soon as brokerage, discovery, or community feedback parts are decentralized, there emerge a number of service information challenges (modeling the information in a holistic way, documentation, interlinkage, tool interoperability, distributed querying, inconsistent information, and cooperation of different stakeholders). In this paper, we propose to counter such service information challenges by two artifacts. First, we contribute a Service Ontology based on a sound and rigid foundational ontology. The Service Ontology provides a holistic and consistent way of capturing service information. We apply the recommendations of the W3C Semantic Web Activity whose recent standardization has already opened new possibilities for tool interoperability, interlinkage of information, and distributed querying on the web. However, building and prescribing an ontology in standardized languages is not enough to address all service information challenges. Therefore, as a second contribution, we provide a method around the ontology including a governance framework, guidelines for applying the W3C Semantic Web recommendations, a lifecycle-spanning tool chain, and different levels of applicability. We label our method Semantic Business Web approach, since we build on W3C Semantic Web standards, use and extend them in the Business Web setting. Both artifacts are constructed in an interdisciplinary way by experts participating in the German lighthouse project THESEUS/TEXO. The project’s scenario also serves as a proof of concept evaluation of the artifacts. Collapse

Topics: semantic web knowledge representation

Methods: ontological modelling upper ontology