Re: Examples

[Peter Bernus <P.Bernus@cit.gu.edu.au>]

Jakob Vlietstra wrote:
> 
> I read Ted's reamrks about examples of PERA. That's not what I am
> interested in. I would like to see an example of how an enterprise,
> especially its organizational structure, is defined by an existing
> architecture and then how GERA relates to that specific example.
> 

Dear Jakob,


in the Globeman 21 consortium we have represented a project enterprise
and we can specifically point at a) how the representations relate to
GERA,
what could still be described and why that would be of bnefit to the
involved engineering companies.  We plan to repeat that exercise now in
several Globeman projects during the next year.

> If nobody knows how to do that, or if such an example does not exist, or
> cannot be presented, then what are we doing?


Our lesson (at least in Globeman 21) is similar to what the CIMOSA
validation 
process was; but given that GERA defines *classes* of views rather then 
having just one view-class - one language, it allows the end user to
utilise a 
flexible methodology tailored to the end user's skills, project aims,
and the availability of tools.

For the above reason the methodological steps and the enterprise models
can 
be enterprise specific, depending on the reason for the enterprise
engineering 
project.  This has been very nicely demonstrated again in Globeman. 
Specifically 
the GERA framework allows us to organise the models which were developed 
in various Globeman demonstrator projects so as they can 
a) learn from one another  
b) reuse each others' models  
c) identify important new areas of modelling which could contribute to
the improvement 
of the company, such as social relations (!).  (I refer here to models
that allow the 
identification of technical sources of social conflict in the
enterprise.)

The Handbook of Enterprise Integration (in preparation, Springer for
1999)
is planned to contain many examples taken from these cases (minus
company 
confidential information).

The beauty of it all is that by the understanding of EI the parners
gained
through GERAM they can combine PERA with CIMOSA languages and tools,
with GRAI, (and others) 
without getting lost in the maze of so many components.  We use GERAM
(not just GERA)
as a shopping list for the management of the company, and a good
shopping list too, 
because the questions and categories that there are in GERAM make
crucial difference 
to strategic management.  

Such as:  "Let us buy this tool, it worked for company X!" --  Cool. 
What is the 
*language* (are the languages) supported by this tool?  If they
represent the models 
what analysis / executions,.. services are possible *on the basis of
this language*?  
Are these the questions that we want to ask?  What, out of these
services are offered 
by this tool?  Is the semantics of the language defined in open
literature?  Does the 
tool comply with this semantics?   These questions, although trivial,
are often not asked, 
because the trade literature does everything to obfuscate the issues.  

It is not in the interest of a tool vendor to make it cristal clear that
(all) they have is 
a Petri neet tool, but which tool can do very few things even relative
to what a Petri net model 
can answer, however the tool has such a fancy graphical representation
of Petri nets that 
even Petri would not be able to tell that it is just a Petri net.... and
so companies are 
lead to buy tools which do not do the job, train their people and force
the entire modelling 
process into a blind alley, doing double damage to the company. In
Australia it is legally 
required (as well as in many other cpunries) that products have all
ingredients listed on them --
using standard terminology.  

What GERAM does it also serves as a Bookshelf of yet unwritten books, or
as Laszlo sometimes 
says, as a Mendelejev table.  Burrows to be explored, developments yet
to be made, or research to 
be done.




Peter Bernus



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-- 
Dr. Peter Bernus, Enterprise Integration Group, School of Computing and
Information Technology, Faculty of Information and Communication
Technology, Griffith University, Nathan (Brisbane) Queensland 4111
Australia, tel+61-7-3875 5039 fax+61-7-3875 5051
email:bernus@cit.gu.edu.au URL http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~bernus/
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