A Hypergraph Based Formal Description Technique for Enterprise Architecture Representation

Abstract

This paper provides a description about a hypergraph-based formalism for representing enterprise architecture, including formalized constraints for enterprise architecture definition. The paper describes a solid concept using the TOGAF Content Metamodel and the hypergraph theory. Hypergraphs provide a flexible mathematical structure to describe complex relationships in an enterprise architecture, mirroring the dependencies among components, and exploring integrity and consistency issues. The approach outlined in this paper offers extended analytical potential for discrepancy checking in complex enterprise architecture structures utilizing the tool set of hypergraph theory. The proposed approach can be used for extending EAM-based analysis of business information systems.