| Description | A Conceptual Operating Model serves as a strategic framework for the enterprise, directing its functional division of labor to fulfill its missions and purposes. This model provides an ideal configuration of key Operating Domains and their value-added behaviors (Value Streams) to deliver enterprise Business Outcome Events. Unlike a reflection of the current state of operations, a Conceptual Operating Model envisions the ideal operation landscape. It is a blueprint for the optimal functioning of Business Operations. While it is sometimes referred to as a "business capability" model (see Gartner reference below), a Conceptual Operating Model is not to be confused with a Business Capability Map. Despite their shared aim of framing business operations, they are different tools and serve distinct purposes: a) A Business Capability Map is used to frame the services that business operations aimed to provide to internal or external customers. This aspect is often termed the "WHAT" in the architecture landscape. b) A Conceptual Operating Model is used to frame the strategic way the enterprise should "function" to fulfill these Business Capabilitys. This aspect is often termed the "HOW" of the architecture landscape. It's important to recognize that these 'HOW' and 'WHAT' aspects are contextual and should be viewed in conjunction with the Conceptualization Levels classifications. For example, the Conceptual Operating Model is seen as the "HOW" at the Conceptual level, but is considered as the "WHAT" at the Resource level. |
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| External references |
Gartner - business-capability-modeling,
OMG - UAF - View - Operational Views,
Russell Ackoff - System of concepts - FunctionalDivisionOfLabor,
UCF Glossary - Business Model |
| Dictionary |
Dictionary of SysFEAT concepts |
| Parent Domain |
SysFEAT Enterprise Domains |
| Domain dependencies |
Architecture Assets
EA Pattern - Business Resource Operating Pattern
Enterprise Glossary
Policies
Product & Customer Experience
System Operating Framework - SOF |
| Consuming Method |
Produce reference models and intentional architecture
Analyze data lineage |
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
Business Capability |
A Business Capability is a conceptual Capability that benefits to Customers (internal or external) of the enterprise. It expresses an ability to produce Conceptual Outcome Events. A Business Capability is defined by its intended Enterprise Outcome Events and the conditions (Condition Property) under which the production of the Enterprise Outcome Events shall be proceeded. The actual Condition Scale Values for a given Business Capability at different stages of Enterprise Initiatives is given by their exhibition (Exhibited Capability). |
Business Function |
A Business Function is a Mezzo unit within the enterprise's functional division of labor. It is used to shape the enterprise management structure in regard to how it produces, consumes or processes Business Outcome Events: information, energy, materiel. A Business Function specifies Skills and Functionality(ies) required to perform their activities effectively. |
Business Partner |
A Business Partner is a state of a Resource Agent, who acts as a party interacting with the enterprise in the context its operating eco-system (the Resource Operating Ecosystem). Example : Private Sector Customer, Regulation Authority, Public health Authority. |
Concept Domain |
A Concept Domain is a subset of the Concepts of a Business Dictionary that are relevant to an Operating Domain. |
Conceptual Business Rule |
A Conceptual Business Rule is a rule that is under business jurisdiction. A rule’s being 'under business jurisdiction' means that it is under the jurisdiction of the semantic community that it governs or guides - that the semantic community can opt to change or discard the rule. Laws of physics may be relevant to a company (or other semantic community); legislation and regulations may be imposed on it; external standards and best Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules, v1.0 161 practices may be adopted. These things are not business rules from the company’s perspective, since it does not have the authority to change them. The company will decide how to react to laws and regulations, and will create business rules to ensure compliance with them. Similarly, it will create business rules to ensure that standards or best practices are implemented as intended. |
Conceptual Environment |
A Conceptual Environment is an operating context which defines the interactions (Business Interaction) of an Operating Domain with its partners (Customers).
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Conceptual Environment Scenario |
As part of the enterprise Conceptual Operating Model, a Conceptual Environment Scenario is a story that describes how an Operating Domain interacts with its partners (Business Partner) to achieve Business Outcome Events in a specific Conceptual Environment.. This includes: 1) A course of events represented by Resource Object Flows depicting the story towards the delivery of expected Business Outcome Events. 2) Interacting partners who participate to the story in the considered Conceptual Environment. |
Conceptual Event |
An Conceptual Event is a Temporal Bounding Type that establishes a temporal connection between Conceptual Behaviors. An Conceptual Event connects a Previous Behavioral Event, to a Next Behavioral Event. |
Conceptual Interaction Scenario |
As part of the Conceptual Operating Model, a Conceptual Interaction Scenario is a story that frames how the components of a Conceptual Agent interacts to achieve Conceptual Outcome Events. This includes: 1) A course of events represented by Business Object Flows depicting the steps towards the delivery of expected Conceptual Outcome Events. 2) Conceptual Agents who participate to the story. |
Conceptual Service Interface |
A Conceptual Service Interface is a communication behavior that describes a typical course of interactions intended to produce Conceptual Outcome Events, through the involvement of Conceptual Agents. |
Customer |
A Customer is a Business Partner who orders and/or uses Products (goods or services) produced by enterprises. A Customer is part of an ecosystem and has the ability to choose between different Products.
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Operating Domain |
An Operating Domain is a Macro functional division of labor within an enterprise, acting as a Conceptual Agent. It embodies a collection of interrelated Business Functions which collaboratively provide one or more Business Capability(ies). Operating Domains serve as the highest hierarchical grouping of Business Functions within the enterprise's Conceptual Environment. |
Supplier |
A Supplier is a Business Partner that supplies goods and services to the enterprise. This entity is part of the supply chain of a business which may provide the bulk of the value contained within its products. Some suppliers may even engage in drop shipping, where they ship goods directly to the customers of the buyer.. |
Value Stream |
Value Streams are used to frame the Conceptual Operating Model of the enterprise: they describe how the enterprise shall operate, at the conceptual level, and helps chunking responsibilities between Conceptual Agents (Operating Domain or Business Function) . In the EA context, a Value Stream is a conceptual Action Process that represents an overarching perspective of the organization's processes aiming at producing Conceptual Outcome Events. The focus is on shaping and understanding the functional relationships and roles within the enterprise : its functional division of labor. This is not to be confused with Value Stream Mapping (VSM) which is focused on Lean optimization and is addressed with the concept of Business Process (see the Organization & Processes domain). A Value Stream is performed by Conceptual Agents who produce Conceptual Outcome Events. It is depicted as a sequence of Value Stream Stages, controlled by events and conditions. Value Stream Activitys are carried out by the involvment of Conceptual Agents as participants in the Value Stream. During its course of action, a Value Stream consumes, produces or stores Business Objects. 1) It may read or write Domain Assets in its Business Object Store. 2) It may receive Domain Assets at its boundary: reacted to Business Outcome Events. 3) It may produce Domain Assets at its boundary: produced Business Outcome Events. The course of actions of a Value Stream is constrained by the application of rules ( Conceptual Rule Enforcement) that define what is allowed and not allowed to do. There are traditionnaly two kinds of Value Streams: 1) Development development Value Streams define all of the actions, both value-creating and nonvalue-creating, required to bring a Product from concept to launch. 2) Operational Value Streams define define all of the actions, both value-creating and nonvalue-creating, required from order to delivery. These include actions to process information from the Customer and actions to transform the product on its way to the Customer. |
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
Conceptual Agent |
A Conceptual Agent is an abstract type of Agent that depicts a functional division of labor within an enterprise, influencing the formation of its business operating model. The concrete specializations of Conceptual Agent follow the systemic level pattern and come in the form of Operating Domain (a Macro Conceptual Agent) and Business Function (a Mezzo Conceptual Agent). |
Conceptual Asset |
A Conceptual Asset is an Asset Type that is a constituant of an Conceptual Operating Model, that provide an idealized view of an enterprise's operations or those of one of its sub-systems.. |
Conceptual Behavior |
A Conceptual Behavior is a Conceptual Operating Asset that describes any action or reaction of a Conceptual Agent to external or internal circumstances. This includes Value Streams (actions), Conceptual Interaction Scenarios (stories) or Conceptual Service Interfaces. |
Conceptual Ecosystem |
A Conceptual Ecosystem is an operating context in which a Conceptual Agent exists or lives for a specific purpose. For instance, the operating context of a Conceptual Ecosystem includes its Business Partners (customers and suppliers). |
Conceptual Functional Asset |
Conceptual Functional Assets are Functional Assets used to describe the Conceptual Operating Model of an enterprise to shape its functional division of labor. |
Conceptual Operating Asset |
A Conceptual Operating Asset is an Operating Asset used to describe the Conceptual Operating Model of the enterprise. It includes Value Streams, Operating Domains and Business Functions and the way they contribute to the delivery of Business Outcome Events.
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Conceptual Operating Connection |
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Conceptual Outcome Event |
An Conceptual Outcome Event is a conceptual Conceptual Event that signals the happening of a change in the state of a Domain Asset (Conceptual Outcome), produced by a Conceptual Agent, for the benefits of an internal or external consumer (especially Customers). |
Domain Asset |
A Domain Asset is the representation of any type of tangible or intanglible resource, or its respective state, that is critical for comprehending an enterprise, including its data, resources, and activities. Similar to any Information Asset, a Domain Asset can be classified into three categories: 1) Conceptual Entitys denote entities that can change over time. 2) Event Concepts embody the temporal boundaries associated with Conceptual Entitys. 3) Concept Propertys represent immutable characteristics of Conceptual Entitys. |