Domain modeling for enterprise information systems - Formalizing and extending Zachman Framework using BWW ontology

Domain engineering is perhaps the most promising method for requirement reuse. However, most of the methods proposed are too generic and lack practical guidelines to be used in information systems development. An information system distinguishes itself from other software as it is developed to facilitate the operation of an organization, hence it reflects its strategies, plans, organizations, processes, marketing etc. We believe that domain knowledge involved in information system development, which may include industry specific knowledge and generic enterprise management knowledge, can be organized and modeled in Enterprise Architecture. We propose a conceptual modeling method for the domain modeling of information system based on one of the most widely used Enterprise Architectures, the Zachman Framework. Our approach maps phases of domain engineering to Zachman Framework and develops a meta-model for Zachman Framework which is adapted and integrated from the Bunge-Wand-Weber ontology. We also extend the Zachman Framework to represent features. This results in a more concrete and comprehensive information system development methodology. Finally we illustrate our methodology using an example of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system in a manufacturing company. © 2008 IEEE.