Empirical evaluation of a new DEMO modelling tool that facilitates model transformations

Abstract

The engineering methodology for organizations (DEMO) incorporates an organization construction diagram (OCD) and transaction product table (TPT) to depict a consolidated representation of the enterprise in terms of actor roles that coordinate in consistent patterns on different transaction kinds. Although managers find the OCD useful due to its high level of abstraction, enterprise implementers and operators prefer detailed flow-chart-like models to guide their operations, such as business process model and notation (BPMN) models. BPMN models are prevalent in industry and offer modeling flexibility, but the models are often incomplete, since they are not derived from theoreticallybased, consistent coordination patterns. This study addresses the need to develop a DEMO modeling tool that incorporates the novel feature of transforming userselected parts of a validated OCD, consistently and in a semi-automated way, into BPMN collaboration diagrams. The contribution of this article is two-fold: (1) to demonstrate the utility of the new DEMO-ADOxx modelling tool, including its model transformation ability; and (2) to empirically evaluate the usability of the tool.