An integrative modelling technique bridging the gap between business and information systems development

Abstract

The goal of this research is to develop an integrative modelling technique that is easy enough to be used by most business users with little training, but robust and structured enough to be used in subsequent Information Systems Development (ISD) modelling. This technique attempts to bridge the current gap between modelling on a business level and modelling on a technical level. The overall research methodology is design science research, embedding a grounded approach, to develop an integrative modelling technique. The resultant artefact is applied to a case study to test its applicability and suitability, and the results are evaluated. The results show that the proposed integrative modelling technique that is based on a better understanding of the fundamental entities in business and ISD modelling and their properties, attributes and relationships, can be used as a method to model business situations easily and expressively. By overcoming the divide between business and ISD modelling, the technique also advances informal, mostly textual, business modelling. The paper makes a methodological contribution by establishing a new technique that integrates business analysis with ISD, as well as demonstrating how a single case study could serve as an exemplar of a theory.