Business Object Modeling

Definition

Business Object Modeling

the architecting task during which object models of the customer organization’s business enterprise are produced

Classification

As illustrated in the preceding figure, business object modeling is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:

• Type: Concrete
• Superclass: Task
• Subclasses: None

Responsibilities

The typical responsibilities of the business object modeling task are to:

• Produce a complete and accurate object model of the customer organization's current and/or re-engineered business.

Preconditions

Business object modeling can typically begin when the following preconditions hold:

• The business strategy phase has begun.
• The business strategy team has been adequately:
  • Staffed.
  • Trained in object modeling.

Completion Criteria

Business object modeling is typically complete when the following postconditions hold:

• The object model of the customer’s current business enterprise has passed evaluation been baselined, and accepted by the customer organization.
• The object model of the customer’s [re]engineered business enterprise has passed evaluation, been baselined, and accepted by the customer organization.

Steps

Business object modeling typically involves the following teams performing the following steps in an interative, incremental, parallel, and time-boxed manner:

• Business Strategy Team:
  • Identify the types or classes of essential business objects.
  • Name these types or classes.
  • Define these classes.
  • Determine their responsibilities.
  • Determine their relationships and associated collaborators.
  • Add them and their relationships to the associated class diagrams.
  • Determine their interfaces.
  • Where appropriate, model their states using a state transition diagram.

Techniques

Business object modeling can typically be performed using the following techniques:

• Object modeling and associated diagrams and guidelines
• State modeling and associated diagrams and guidelines
• Class Responsibility Collaborato (CRC) cards
• Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions
• Whiteboards

Work Products

Business object modeling typically results in the production of all or part of the following work products:

• Class Responsibility Collaborator (CRC) cards of the types and classes of business objects
• Class diagrams
• State diagrams
• Business object model of the customer organization’s:
  • Current business enterprise.
  • Re-engineered business enterprise.

Guidelines

• This task is useful for both business [re]engineering and application development endeavors.
• The business object modeling and business process modeling tasks are typically done concurrently whereby the:
  • Business object modeling task drives the business process modeling task.
  • Business process modeling task leads to significant iteration of the business object modeling task.