Lucas Onno Meertens

Mapping the business model canvas to ArchiMate

Many IT projects fail to succeed in the market, as they start purely from technology. Much effort is therefore wasted, while the potential benefits are not realized. We argue that the design process should start with creating a business model, which is then translated to an architecture to ensure fitness for market of the future system. Therefore, we propose a mapping from Osterwalders business modeling canvas and ontology to the enterprise architecture modeling standard ArchiMate, which makes the above translation possible and represents a formal basis for business modeling in ArchiMate. A case study illustrates the mapping between the two languages.

From enterprise architecture to business models and back

In this study, we argue that important IT change processes affecting an organization’s enterprise architecture are also mirrored by a change in the organization’s business model. An analysis of the business model may establish whether the architecture change has value for the business. Therefore, in order to facilitate such analyses, we propose an approach to relate enterprise models specified in ArchiMate to business models, modeled using Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas. Our approach is accompanied by a method that supports business model-driven migration from a baseline architecture to a target architecture and is demonstrated by means of a case study.

A Method for Business Model Development

Currently, business modelling is more an art, than a science, as no widely accepted method exist for the design and specification of business models. This could be an important reason why many IT innovation projects fail to be absorbed in a real life setting. We propose a structured method to create “as-is” business models in a repeatable manner. The method consists of the following steps: identify the involved roles, recognize relations among roles, specify the main activities, and quantify using realistic estimates of the model. The resulting business model reflects the current situation. This is the basis for further analysis of possible business cases, scenarios, and alternative innovations, which may enable successful projects to be implemented, instead of ending on a shelf after the pilot stage. We illustrate the proposed method by means of a case in the healthcare sector.

Feasibility of EPC to BPEL Model Transformations based on Ontology and Patterns

Model-Driven Engineering holds the promise of transforming business models into code automatically. This requires the concept of model transformation. In this paper, we assess the feasibility of model transformations from Event-driven Process Chain models to Business Process Execution Language specifications. To this purpose, we use a framework based on ontological analysis and workflow patterns in order to predict the possibilities/limitations of such a model transformation. The framework is validated by evaluating the transformation of several models, including a real-life case. The framework indicates several limitations for transformation. Eleven guidelines and an approach to apply them provide methodological support to improve the feasibility of model transformation from EPC to BPEL.

Virtual communities for elderly healthcare: user-based requirements elicitation

Virtual communities for elderly healthcare have a potential to improve the community building process and to facilitate care services through support for activities, participation and information needs. This paper expounds on this idea by proposing a mobile virtual community (MVC) platform for elderly healthcare based on a services concept. The requirements for this platform are elicited using a method based on in-depth interview sessions with clients and caregivers in a care institution, a workshop with multiple stakeholders, and scenario-based user need analysis. We focus on the technical platform that is intended to fulfil the requirements elicited from this approach. The platform is an extension of our existing MVC platform architecture, based on service-oriented principles. It enables user-tailoring through an adaptable set of mobile and platform services. We describe the platform and discuss its current and novel services as distilled from the requirements elicitation.

Goal and model driven design of an architecture for a care service platform

Service-Oriented Architecture holds the potential of allowing the development on-the-fly of flexible applications that can adapt rapidly by combining and reusing existing services. We believe that in order to react swiftly and coherently to changes, an architecture must provide a capability to capture how services, and the more complex applications based on them, realize business motivations. This research develops a framework and a method for goal-driven, model-driven, and service-oriented design. The framework includes goal modeling in the MDA stack, from CIM to code. By using this framework, we are able to create a system that is compatible with its business goals, and thus is flexible when business demands change. A case study demonstrates how our framework can be used to combine MDA, SOA, and goal modeling with business rules as an architecture for a care service platform.

The MOF Perspective on Business Modelling

The business model field of research is a young and emerging discipline that finds itself confronted with the need for a common language, lack of conceptual consolidation, and without adequate theoretical development. This not only slows down research, but also undermines business models usefulness for research and practice. We offer a new perspective on business modelling to address these issues. It looks at business modelling from the perspective of the Meta-Object Facility, emphasising the role of models and meta-models. From this new perspective, a commonality analysis can identify the important classes in business modelling. This new perspective on business modelling helps to create a common language, achieve conceptual consolidation and supports theory development; it addresses issues that hinder business model research.

Creating a Business Case from a Business Model

Intuitively, business cases and business models are closely connected. However, a thorough literature review revealed no research on the combination of them. Besides that, little is written on the evaluation of business models at all. This makes it difficult to compare different business model alternatives and choose the best one. In this article, we develop a business case method to objectively compare business models. It is an eight-step method, starting with business drivers and ending with an implementation plan. We demonstrate the method with a case study for innovations at housing associations. The designed business case method can be used to compare and select the best business model successfully. In doing so, the business case method increases the quality of the decision making process when choosing from possible business models

A Meta-Model Perspective on Business Models

The business model field of research is a young and emerging discipline that finds itself confronted with the need for a common language, lack of conceptual consolidation, and without adequate theoretical development. This not only slows down research, but also undermines business model’s usefulness for research and practice. We offer a new perspective on business modelling to address these issues. It looks at business modelling from the perspective of the Meta-Object Facility, emphasising the role of models and meta-models. From this new perspective, a commonality analysis can identify the important classes in business modelling. This new perspective on business modelling helps to create a common language, achieve conceptual consolidation and supports theory development; it addresses issues that hinder business model research.

Tailoring the Business Modelling Method for R&D

While the benefits of innovation seem to be clear intuitively, Research and Development (R&D) organisations are struggling to show the value they add. Especially in times of crisis, the result is that they get the first budget cuts to reduce costs in the short term. This causes companies, industries, or even whole economies, to lose competitive advantage in the long run. The field of business modelling deals with the creation and capturing of value. However, it has not yet provided a method tailored to R&D previously. Building upon earlier work on business modelling, we adapt the Business Modelling Method (BMM) to the field of R&D.