Tool Support for the Collaborative Design of Reference Models — A Business Engineering Perspective

The central idea in reference modeling is the reutilization of the business knowledge contained in reference models for the construction of specific information models. The orientation on the technical content of a reference model can increase the efficiency of processes in business engineering projects. Despite this, the use of reference models in the field of business engineering has not established itself in practice. This is due to the particular field of conflict between research and practice, in which reference modeling is at home. Thus, there is still a deficit in knowledge about the use and problems inherent in the implementation of reference models despite the array of theoretical concepts. Accordingly, in the past years the supply-sided development of reference models predominant in the science world has distanced itself from their demand-sided use in business and administration. The article at hand analyses this problem and presents an integrative approach to the computer-aided management of reference models. The task to be mastered using the proposed approach will be conceptually concretized with an framework and prototypically implemented in the form of a reference model management system.