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In o ma ion Managemen
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2017-4-015
In oduc ion
Mo e han 20 yea s a e he idea o business
p ocess-d i en managemen was bo n he e
s ill exis essen ial insu i ciencies in he
unde s anding o how business p ocesses
should be modeled in o de o espec his
idea. These insu i ciencies a e mani es ing
hemsel es e en in he exis ing modeling
s anda ds. As he modeling o business p ocess
is a necessa y i s s ep in he p ocess o
implemen ing he p ocess-d i en managemen
idea, his si ua ion seems o be a main ba ie
o he needed pu ing his idea in o he eal li e.
On he o he hand, he e a e exis ing
heo ies, me hods and ideas, al eady known
in o he con ex s, which di ec ly add ess he
p oblems and ea u es behind he abo e
men ioned insu i ciencies o he cu en s a e.
As usually, he oo o he p oblem is no he
insu i cien basic knowledge bu a he he
insu i cien ealiza ion o he p ope con ex .
The aim o his a icle is o d aw a en ion o
he essen ial ea u es o he business p ocesses
and business sys ems in he con ex o hei
modeling. The needed e l ec ion o hese
essen ial ea u es in he modeling language
and me hodology will be analyzed. In addi ion,
he basic insu i ciencies o he con empo a y
app oaches o he business p ocess modeling
will be poin ed ou oge he wi h he ou line o
possible ways o hei o e coming.
As a basis o he main p inciples used
in conside a ions in his a icle we use he
MMABP me hodology Řepa (2003), OpenSoul
p ojec (2015). MMABP (Me hodology o
Modeling and Analysis o Business P ocesses)
is a ‘language independen ’ me hodology
based on he se o me a-models which de i ne
he basic concep s and exp ess he basic
p inciples o he me hodology, and comple ed
wi h he se o echniques, consis ency ules
and pa e s. MMABP is gene ally open in e ms
o p incipal abili y o be comple ed wi h newe
concep s, p inciples, echniques, e c. i hey
a e consis en wi h i s p inciples and he me a-
models. As he MMABP is based on me a-
models ins ead o pa icula languages i can
be also used as a basis o he e alua ion o
any modeling language owa ds he p inciples.
The oo idea, his a icle is based on, is ha
business p ocess is an equilib ium o in en ion
and causali y. This idea is based on he ac
ha business p ocess always ep esen s he
way o ollowing some in en ion. E e y business
p ocess has he goal which ep esen s he
meaning o he p ocess. E e y ac ion pe o med
in he p ocess han should be a ge ed o i s goal.
The abo e desc ibed ea u es o he business
p ocess mean ha business p ocess is always
subjec i e. On he o he hand, business p ocess
always exis s in some en i onmen which
de i nes he condi ions ha ha e o be espec ed
by he p ocess ac ions. These condi ions ha e
di e en o ms: he es ic ions o possible
ac ions, ime and o he ypes o limi s, admi ed
o p ohibi ed consequences, e c. Al hough he
condi ions become om di e en esou ces:
he na u e i sel , legisla ion, habi s, o speci i c
local es ic ions o ea u es, hey all ha e o
be espec ed in he p ocess uncondi ionally.
F om he p ocess poin o iew all condi ions
gi en by he p ocess en i onmen a e objec i e.
The e o e, we call he summa y o all hese
manda o y condi ions, no ma e whe e hey
come om, he causali y o he business sys em.
Concluding om p e ious wo pa ag aphs
one can see he business p ocess as a way
o ollowing some in en ion in he en i onmen
which pa icula ly es ic s i s ac ions. The
co ec business p ocess hus mus balance
be ween i s pu pose and he gi en causali y o
he en i onmen .
The a icle is di ided in o i e sec ions. In
he second sec ion, a e his in oduc ion, we
BUSINESS SYSTEM AS AN EQUILIBRIUM
OF INTENTION AND CAUSALITY
Václa Řepa
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In o mační managemen
ollow he oo ideas o cybe ne ics in o de
o explain he concep o in en ionali y and i s
consequences in business sys em modeling
as well as i s impac on he business p ocess
modeling me hodology and language. Thi d
sec ion is ocused on he concep o causali y
in business sys ems. Rele an in o ma ics
heo ies and echniques o modeling he eal
wo ld causali y a e in oduced in his con ex .
In he ou h sec ion he ela ionships be ween
bo h basic ypes o he business sys em models
(in en ional business p ocess e sus causal
on ology model) a e discussed oge he wi h he
me hodological consequences. In his sec ion
we also in oduce basic consis ency ules om
he MMABP me hodology. In he i nal sec ion
we summa ize he main ideas om he a icle,
discuss connec ed insu i ciencies o he cu en
app oaches and ou line some basic ask o he
u u e de elopmen .
1. In en ionali y in Business Sys em
In he legenda y a icle Rosenblue h, Wiene
and Bigelow (1943) au ho s exp essed he
idea which essen ially in l uenced he la e
de elopmen o cybe ne ics: ‘all pu pose ul
beha io may be conside ed o equi e nega i e
eed-back’. The concep o nega i e eed-back
is explained he e as ollows: ‘... he beha io o
an objec is con olled by he ma gin o e o
a which he objec s ands a a gi en ime wi h
e e ence o a ela i ely speci i c goal. The
eed-back is hen nega i e, ha is, he signals
om he goal a e used o es ic ou pu s which
would o he wise go beyond he goal’.
Acco ding o he basic wo k in he i eld
o p ocess-d i en managemen (Hamme ,
& Champy, 1993) business p ocess always
ollows some goal. The goal is a undamen al
a ibu e o a business p ocess as i is egula ly
used in ma u ed me hodologies like in E iksson
and Penke (2000) o ins ance. Tha means
ha business p ocess is always an in en ional
p ocess. By he e m in en ional p ocess we
mean he p ocess o pu pose ul beha io o
in e es ed objec ollowing some goal.
Concluding om p e ious wo pa ag aphs
one can i nd ha he business p ocess, as
i is an in en ional kind o p ocess, ha e o
ha e some nega i e eed-back which ensu es
es ic ion o i s ou pu s in o de o keep hem
in he ma gins o i s goal. This cha ac e is ic
s ongly dis inguishes he business p ocess
om he p ocess in gene al (i.e. in jus echnical
/physical sense) as well as om p ocesses
which do no need any eed-back like machine-
managed o au oma ed p ocesses unning
wi hou a con ac wi h hei en i onmen .
In he case o business p ocess he eed-
back is ep esen ed by he inpu o he p ocess
om i s en i onmen which is causally connec ed
wi h some p ocess ou pu . The alue o he inpu
should in l uence he ollowing beha io o he
p ocess in e ms o keeping i in he ma gins o i s
goal. This means ha ‘in e media e’ inpu s o he
p ocess (i.e. none-s a ing inpu s o he p ocess
coming be ween i s s a ing and end poin s) a e
c i ically impo an pa s o he business p ocess
dis inguishing i om o he , non-in en ional
(i.e. non-business), p ocesses. Wo king wi h
p ocesses we ha e o ake in o he accoun e en
he ime dimension; e e y inpu o he p ocess
om i s en i onmen has o be synch onized wi h
he p ocess un. Thus, in each pa o he p ocess
whe e some inpu which in l uences he ollowing
p ocess un is expec ed he p ocess s a e has
o be placed. P ocess s a e means such poin
in he p ocess s uc u e whe e no hing can be
done be o e he inpu o he p ocess occu s, i.e.
poin o wai ing o he inpu .
1.1 The Concep o P ocess S a e in he
MMABP Me hodology
The ideas p esen ed in his a icle a e
sys ema ically elabo a ed in he MMABP
me hodology (Me hodology o Business
P ocesses Analysis and Design). MMABP
dis inguishes be ween wo main ypes o
models: business p ocess e sus business
objec models. In bo h ypes o model he
me hodology ecognizes he global model
(sys em iew) and he de ailed model. The
modeling ools used by he me hodology a e
based on common s anda ds BPMN (Business
P ocess Model and No a ion (2011)), UML
(Uni i ed Modeling Language™ In as uc u e
Speci i ca ion e sion 2.4.1 (2015)), and
E iksson/Penke No a ion (E iksson and Penke
(2000)). The essence o he me hodology is
de i ned in he o mal me a-model (Business
Sys em Modeling Speci i ca ion (2015)) as
a pa o he de elopmen p ojec OpenSoul
(OpenSoul p ojec (2015)). The me a-model
consis s o h ee main packages which
co espond o he main dimensions o he
business sys em model: Business Subs ance
Me a-model, Business P ocess Me a-model,
and Business Models Consis ency Model.
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The ‘in en ional’ pa o he business sys em
is a subjec o he Business P ocess Me a-
model (see Fig. 1). Business P ocess Me a-
model de i nes he essen ial concep s in he i eld
o business p ocesses and hei ela ionships,
and exp ess he p inciples which he modeling
o business p ocesses should be based on.
As i is isible om he me a-model he
concep o ‘s a e’ is, oge he wi h ‘s imulus’ and
‘ac i i y’, one o he basic building blocks o he
business p ocess desc ip ion. Me a-model also
exp esses i s essen ial ela ionships o o he
basic concep s:
 S a e is a manda o y consequence o bo h
ypes o he p ocess ac i i y (p ocessing
and con ol, he di e ence is only in
he ca dinali y o he ela ionship which
depends on he ype o he ac i i y). This
p inciple exp esses he ac ha e e y
p ocess ac i i y (i.e. an ac ion pe o med
in he p ocess) needs o be ollowed by
wai ing o he eac ion om ou side he
p ocess (a eed-back).
 S a e has o be connec ed wi h a leas
one ‘e en ’ ype o ‘s imulus’. This p inciple
exp esses he ac ha ollowing p ocess
ac i i y can be pe o med a e he eac ion
om ou side he p ocess (a eed-back)
occu s. The eed-back comes o he p ocess
in he o m o ‘e en ’.
The de i ni ion o basic p inciples in he
me a-model is absolu ely exac , ne e heless
(and he e o e) i is e y ha dly eadable.
Mo eo e , he me a-model in jus de i ning he
p inciples bu does no explain hei meaning
and pu pose. The e o e, he me a-models in
he MMABP me hodology a e comple ed wi h
pa ial, no so exac bu mo e easily eadable,
de i ni ion o some p inciples in he o m o so-
called p ocess pa e ns.
The e a e wo main kinds o Business
P ocess Pa e ns in he MMABP:
 Basic Business P ocess Flow Pa e n
which de i nes he basic p ocedu e and
decision poin s o he p ocess o model
Fig. 1: MMABP Business P ocess Me a-model
Sou ce: OpenSoul p ojec (2015)
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c ea ion. This pa e n is essen ial in he
MMABP, i exp esses he main p inciples,
ules, and o he aspec s o he MMABP
app oach o he business p ocess modeling.
I also de i nes and explains he ole o he
p ocess s a e in he p ocess desc ip ion
and he e o e i is explained in de ail in his
a icle.
 BP pa e ns o pa icula si ua ions
which co e ypical si ua ions equen ly
occu ing in business p ocess models
whe e i is possible o i nd some
gene ally alid s uc u es, p inciples and
cons uc ions which should be ul i lled by
he p ocess desc ip ion undoub edly. The e
a e se e al mos gene al p ocess pa e ns
in he MMABP:
Complemen a y E en s Pa e n,
Repea ing S a e Pa e n,
and some o he speci i c pa e ns.
The i s wo men ioned complemen a y
pa e ns o pa icula si ua ions a e also
connec ed wi h he p oblem o p ocess
in en ionali y h ough hei ocus on wo main
concep s ele an o he p oblem: s a e and
e en . Thus, hese wo pa e ns a e also
explained in de ail in ollowing ex .
1.2 Basic P ocess Flow Pa e n
Basic P ocess Flow Pa e n exp esses he basic
s uc u e o he p ocess model which espec s
he essen ial ules o he MMABP me hodology.
These ules exp ess he ‘ echnical’ necessi ies
which mainly ollow om he gene al heo y
o algo i hms as well as he speci i c aspec s
o he business p ocess which dis inguish he
business p ocess om a p ocess in gene al
(i.e. jus echnical) sense. The la ely men ioned
ules ollow om he heo y o BP managemen
and e-enginee ing which is ancho ed al eady
in he basic wo k in his i eld: Hamme and
Champy (1993), Da enpo (1993). Basic
P ocess Flow Pa e n (see Fig. 2) exp esses
he essence o he p ocess l ow using h ee
me hodically essen ial ypes o he p ocess
elemen s: e en s, ac i i ies, and s a es.
Acco ding o he Basic P ocess Flow
Pa e n he business p ocess should be
desc ibed as a sequence o Ac i i y blocks
in e up ed by S a e blocks s a ing wi h jus
one E en block (s a ing e en ) and esul ing in
Fig. 2: De i ni ion o basic blocks and concep s o he BPF Pa e n
Sou ce: Business Sys em Modeling Speci i ca ion (2015)
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one o mo e End s a es. The de i ni ion is w i en
in he semi- o mal me alanguage based on he
simpli i ca ion o he s anda d Ex ended Backus-
Nau Fo m ( o de ails and explana ion o he
EBNF see Syn ac ic Me alanguages ISO/IEC
In e na ional S anda d 14977 (1996)). Used
me a-symbols ha e ollowing meanings:
 A = [ elemen 1 | elemen 2 | elemen 3 ] means
ha he i em A can be ei he elemen 1 o
elemen 2 o elemen 3 exclusi ely.
 A = { elemen X } means ha he i em
A consis s o one o mo e elemen sX.
Pa icula de i ni ion sen ences can be ead
as ollows:
De (i): P ocess l ow begins wi h s a ing
E en block ollowed by he P ocess
Body.
De (ii): E en block is ei he a single e en ,
o s uc u e o mu ually exclusi e
E en blocks, o s uc u e o mu ually
synch onized E en blocks.
De (iii): E en can be ei he an ad-hoc e en
o a ime .
De (i ): P ocess body consis s o one o
mo e pai s whe e each pai consis s
o an Ac i i y block ollowed by ei he
S a e block o End S a e. I he pai
ends wi h S a e block he desc ip ion
should con inue wi h ano he pai
(see he a ow a e he S a e block).
End s a e always means he end o
he p ocess.
De ( ): Ac i i y block is ei he a single Ac i i y,
o s uc u e o mu ually exclusi e
Ac i i y blocks, o s uc u e o pa allel
Ac i i y blocks.
De ( i): S a e block is a synch oniza ion o
in e nal p ocess l ow wi h expec ed
e en (s) exp essed as an E en
block (in o he wo ds: wai ing o he
e en (s)).
E en block ep esen s he ex e nal
in l uence which he p ocess always has o
espec . I wo ks ei he as a igge o a limi e
o he p ocess. In bo h cases i has o be
unambiguous which means, among o he s,
ha is has o ep esen a single poin o ime.
The e o e, i can be ei he a single e en
o a ime-elemen a y s uc u e o e en s.
I i is a s uc u e i can exp ess ei he he
synch oniza ion o pa allel e en s (e en
blocks) o he se o possible mu ually exclusi e
al e na i e e en s (e en blocks) in o de o be
ime-elemen a y.
Ac i i y block ep esen s an ac ion
elemen o he p ocess. I can be ei he a single
ac i i y o a s uc u e o ac i i ies (ac i i y
blocks). Simila ly, as in he case o e en also
an ac i i y should be unambiguous. The e o e,
i i is a s uc u e, i can exp ess ei he he
synch oniza ion o pa allel ac i i ies (blocks) o
he se o possible mu ually exclusi e ac i i ies
(blocks). I canno exp ess a sequence o
ac i i ies as i would be a iola ion o he
elemen a iness ule. The me hodical easons
and meaning o he need o he elemen a iness
o ac i i ies in he p ocess desc ip ion is
discussed in mo e de ail below.
S a e block ep esen s he essen ial need
o synch onize he p ocess un wi h expec ed
e en s. This need ollows om he ac ha
he e en is always an objec i e ex e nal
in l uence and hus i mus be espec ed. F om
he physical poin o iew such espec means
synch oniza ion – wai ing o he e en (e en
block). As he BPMN no a ion do no ecognize
he concep o p ocess s a e he e is no o he
way han o exp ess he p ocess s a e wi h
he gene al symbol o synch oniza ion – he
‘AND ga e’. In o de o dis inguish be ween
he gene al synch oniza ion and i s speci i c
meaning as a p ocess s a e we comple e he
BPMN wi h he s e eo ype <<p ocess s a e>>.
One o he mos impo an ideas exp essed
in his pa e n is ha he e canno be a sequence
o p ocess ac i i ies unin e up ed by he
p ocess s a e. This ule e l ec s he essence o
he de i
ni ion o an elemen a y p ocess ac i i y:
(a) he p ocess ac i i y is ega ded as
elemen a y i he e is no objec i e eason o
i s in e up ion,
(b) he eason o he in e up ion o he
ac i i y is objec i e i i comes om ou side o
he p ocess.
Rule (b) o his de i ni ion means ha each
objec i e eason o he p ocess in e up ion is
ep esen ed by an e en (ex e nal in l uence)
in ac . Thus, any ac i i y o he p ocess, no
ma e how echnically complex i is, mus be
ega ded as elemen a y i he e does no exis
an ex e nal in l uence (e en ) which he p ocess
has o espec (i.e. wai o ). This consequence
well illus a es he ac ha he elemen a iness
o a business p ocess ac i i y is no only i s
physical bu much mo e a unc ional a ibu e as
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In o mační managemen
he business p ocess i sel is always mo e han
a physical p ocess (algo i hm) only. This way
he me hodology p e en s he analyze om
he poin less unlimi ed di iding o he p ocess
ac i i ies which is a equen mis ake in he i eld
o business p ocess modeling. The necessi y o
such sa e y use in he me hodology agains he
unlimi ed di ision o ac i i ies is gi en by he ac
ha in he i eld o p ocess-o ien ed modeling he
agg ega ion is a domina ing ype o abs ac ion
(unlike in he i eld o objec -o ien ed modeling
whe e he gene aliza ion is a domina ing ype
o abs ac ion). This ac mani es s i sel in he
p incipally unlimi ed possibili ies o di ision o
ac i i ies known as a ule: any single p ocess
ac i i y can be decomposed in o he s uc u e o
sub-ac i i ies – a p ocess (as i is also de i ned
by he p ocess me a-model a Fig. 1). As he
di ision o ac i i ies is physically unlimi ed
he me hodology has o de i ne some logical –
unc ional de i ni ion o he e y low le el: he
le el o he p ocess elemen a iness.
Fig. 3 shows he symbolic example o he
p ocess which can be ega ded as co ec
acco ding o he Basic Business P ocess
Flow Pa e n. The p ocess can be seen as
a sequence o se e al pa s each ep esen ing
one block o a pa icula basic ype (see he
di ision o he whole p ocess by e ical dashed
lines). I is beginning by he s a ing e en block
which consis s o jus single e en E1 in his case
– he s a ing e en o he p ocess. The s a ing
e en is ollowed by he ac i i y block consis ing
o jus single p ocessing ac i i y A1. Acco ding
o he pa e n he ac i i y block is ollowed by
he s a e block in he o m o synch oniza ion
o he p ocess un wi h jus a single e en
E2. Following ac i i y block ep esen s mo e
complex s uc u e o ac i i ies: i consis s o
he s uc u e o h ee pa allel ac i i ies whe e
he i s wo a e single p ocessing ac i i ies
A2 and A3, and he las one is a s uc u e o
wo al e na i e p ocessing ac i i ies A4 o A5.
Following s a e block ep esen s he wai ing o
wo al e na i e e en s E3 o E4. The las ac i i y
block is a s uc u e o wo al e na i es: he
p ocessing ac i i y A6 ollowed by he p ocess
end End2 o he immedia e p ocess end End1.
The example in he Fig. 3 illus a es ha and
how any algo i hmic s uc u e o he p ocess
can be checked whe he i ul i lls he basic
de i ni ion o he business p ocess exp essed by
he Basic BP Flow Pa e n: business p ocess
is a sequence o Ac i i y blocks in e up ed by
S a e blocks s a ing wi h jus one S a ing E en
block and esul ing in one o mo e End s a es.
Fig. 3: Co ec business p ocess l ow example
Sou ce: own
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In he MMABP he Basic P ocess Flow
Pa e n is comple ed by a numbe o p ocess
pa e ns which model he speci i c ypical
si ua ions which a e o en occu ing in
business p ocess models. These si ua ions a e
gene alized and should be he e o e ins an ia ed
o he use in he pa icula p ocess.
2. Causali y o Business Sys em
By he e m ´causali y´ we unde s and an
agg ega e o basic ac s, condi ions, ules,
ela ionships, p esump ions, consequences,
and o he aspec s o he gi en business
sys em which can es ic he possible ac ions
in a business p ocess. As i ollows om his
de i ni ion, he causali y o he business sys em
is always supe o dina e o any ac ion in he
sys em, o any ac i i y o any business p ocess.
The adi ional in o ma ics echnique o
desc ip ion o he eal wo ld causali y is called
Concep ual Modeling. The o igin o concep ual
modeling is closely connec ed wi h he
da abase echnology. The o iginal pu pose o
he echnique o da a modeling was o c ea e
he concep o he da abase whose s uc u e
is so l exible o be able o accep as much as
possible needed u u e changes. The need o
u u e changes o he da abase comes om he
changes in he eal wo ld. As he eal objec s
and hei ela ionships a e na u ally changing,
he con en s o he da abase should change
as well. The oo mo i a ion o da a modeling
is he need o design he da abase which
would be able o accep as much as possible
necessa y changes in he eal wo ld wi hou he
need o change i s own s uc u e. Chen (1976)
exp essed he c ucial idea ha hese c i e ia
bes ul i lls such s uc u e o he da abase which
is simila as much as possible o he s uc u e
o he eal wo ld concep s. The e o e, he
modeling echnique has o be p ima ily aimed
on analyzing he s uc u e o he eal wo ld
concep s. Fo ha pu pose he p oposed a da a
model, called he en i y- ela ionship model,
which inco po a es he impo an seman ic
in o ma ion abou he eal wo ld by modeling
he eal wo ld concep s and hei ela ionships.
Concep ual Modeling was bo n.
Fig. 4: Example o he sys em model o objec s (Class Diag am)
Sou ce: own
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Since he mid-nine ies he Class Diag am
om he UML (Uni i ed Modeling Language™
In as uc u e Speci i ca ion e sion 2.4.1
(2015)) has been accep ed by he in o ma ics
communi y as a s anda d ool o concep ual
modeling. Class Diag am desc ibes he s a ic
s uc u e o he sys em in he o m o classes
and ela ionships among hem. Class Diag am
is a basic diag am o he whole UML epe oi e
o diag ams. In he ollowing decades he e
ha e come he new gene a ion o he Real
Wo ld modeling which can be also ega ded
as a successo o he adi ional concep ual
modeling: on ology modeling and on ology
enginee ing. A comp ehensi e desc ip ion
and explana ion o ela ionships among he
concep ual modeling, on ology modeling and
he UML can be ound in Guizza di (2005).
We unde s and he e m ‘sys em o business
objec s’ o mean he global iew o objec s. This
model exp esses which objec s in which mu ual
ela ionships o m he business sys em. Fo
an example o a pa icula sys em o business
objec s see Fig. 4 abo e. In p inciple, he
sys em iew o objec s can simply ecognize
hei exis ence and mu ual con ex , no hei
dynamic de ails. This model is a concep ual
model in he adi ional meaning, in ac .
Pa icula objec classes in he model ep esen
concep s which iden i y possible eal objec s
om he business sys em. Rela ionships
among objec classes hen iden i y possible
links among eal objec s om he business
sys em. Ne e heless, bo h eal objec s and
hei mu ual links a e na u ally dynamic in he
eal wo ld; hey a e changing in ime. These
dynamic aspec s canno be desc ibed in his
model as i p incipally only ep esen s a s a ic
iew o objec s. Fo he desc ip ion o objec ’s
dynamics he de ailed objec s model (li e cycles
o objec s) is in ended.
One o he main easons o using he UML
Class Diag am as a s anda d is he ac ha
his diag am, as a pa o he consis en sys em
o diag ams UML, allows di ec linking wi h he
de ailed objec models – objec li e cycles in he
o m o UML S a e Cha s.
2.1 Modeling Dynamics o Objec s
(Objec Li e Cycles)
Like in business p ocess models, e en in he
i eld o business objec s he e is a need o
a de ailed iew on some pa icula objec s.
Like in he case o business p ocesses, e en
he de ailed iew o a business objec means
iewing he objec as a p ocess. This p ocess
ep esen s e e y hing ha can happen du ing
he li e ime o he pa icula ins ance o he
objec class. The e o e, his de ailed model o
an objec is called he objec li e cycle.
The objec li e cycle exp esses he in e nal
dynamics o each objec o gi en class. I
desc ibes he mechanism o he objec e olu ion
du ing he ime. As he ool o he Objec li e
cycle desc ip ion, he MMABP me hodology
uses he S a e Cha diag am om he UML
(Uni i ed Modeling Language™ In as uc u e
Speci i ca ion e sion 2.4.1 (2015)). MMABP
ega ds he S a e Cha as a mos sui able
ool om he Uni i ed Modeling Language o
he pu pose o he objec li e cycle desc ip ion.
Ne e heless, he S a e Cha has no been
o iginally in ended as a ool o desc ip ion o li e
cycle. I s oo s a e in he i eld o s a e machines
heo y, and i is closely connec ed wi h he
concep o so called ‘ eal- ime p ocessing’.
Howe e , he concep o he s a e machine in
gene al is no subs an ially educible o jus
he a ea o eal- ime p ocessing. The e is also
a need o ecognizing he s a es and ansi ions
among hem in he a ea o da a p ocessing. The
bes p oo o his idea is he concep o he objec
li e cycle i sel – once we hink abou he objec s
gene ally (i.e. in e ms o hei classes), hen we
ha e o s ongly dis inguish be ween he class
and i s ins ance. In he case o he objec li e
his equi es de e mining hose poin s in he li e
o all objec s o he same class, which we will
be able o iden i y, and which i is necessa y o
iden i y in o de o desc ibe he synch oniza ion
o he objec li e wi h li e cycles o o he objec s.
Such poin s o he objec li e a e i s s a es. So
each objec ins ance li es i s own li e while he
common s uc u e o li es o all ins ances o he
same class is desc ibed as a common li e cycle
o he objec class.
Fig. 5 shows he example o he li e cycle
o he objec class Teache om he model a
Fig. 4. Fo he unde s anding o he li e cycle
con en s he ela ionships o he Teache o
o he objec classes om he on ology model
a e essen ial. The e a e ou main s a es in he
li e o he Teache :
 The s a e Vacan means ha he eache
does no supe ise any s uden and does
no each o gua an ee any cou se (i.e. has
no ela ionships o objec s S uden and
Cou se). The e a e wo possible ways om
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In o ma ion Managemen
his s a e: ei he he new s uden o cou se
is assigned o he eache which causes
he ansi ion o he s a e Occupied o he
eache is eleased ( ansi ion o he i ni e
s a e Released).
 The s a e Occupied ep esen s he si ua ion
when he eache supe ises some s uden s
and/o eaches o gua an ees some
cou ses bu he/she s ill has a ee capaci y
o mo e s uden s and/o cou ses (i.e. has
some ela ionships o objec s S uden and
Cou se bu s ill in he gi en bo de s o his/
he capaci y). F om his s a e he eache
can ansi o any s a e including i sel (see
he sel - ansi ion in he case o he change
which does no o e l ow he eache ’s
capaci y and does no mean lose o he las
s uden and/o cou se).
 The s a e Fully Occupied ep esen s he
si ua ion when he eache has no mo e
capaci y o any s uden and/o cou se.
F om his s a e he eache can ansi jus
back o he s a e Occupied o o he i ni e
s a e Released h ough he mid-s a e In he
p ocess o elease.
 The s a e In he p ocess o elease is
a necessa y mid-s ep om he s a es
Occupied and Fully Occupied o he i ni e
s a e Released as he elease o he
eache equi es p io hand o e o all
supe ised s uden s as well as augh and
gua an eed cou ses (i.e. edi ec ing all
exis ing ela ionships o objec s S uden
and Cou se o o he Teache s).
Each desc ibed li e cycle has o co espond
o he pa icula objec class in he Class
Diag am. In such way he S a e Cha
speci i es he gene al mechanism o he li e
o all possible ins ances o he gi en class.
Desc ibed s a es and ansi ions among hem
consequen ly co espond o he a ibu es and
me hods o he class. In ac , li e cycle s a es
ep esen he speci i c a ibu e o he class
(no ma e whe he his a ibu e is p esen in
he class desc ip ion o no i always exis s by
Fig. 5: Example o he objec li e cycle model
Sou ce: own
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o causali y. Thus, i is necessa y o
include o he on ology model e en he
p ocess aspec s o he causali y in he
o m o so-called objec li e cycles.
Many o abo e men ioned me hodological
challenges a e e l ec ed in he MMABP
me hodology (OpenSoul p ojec , 2015; Řepa,
2003), o he challenges will be e l ec ed in
i s u u e de elopmen . Some e l ec ion o
hem can be also i nd in o he me hodical
esou ces in he i eld o business sys ems
modeling (me hodologies, languages and ools)
Ne e heless, ega ding he gene al alidi y o
he oo idea o his pape , he e l ec ion o hem
should mainly become he egula pa o he
p o essional s anda ds in he i eld.
The a icle was p ocessed wi h con ibu ion
o long e m ins i u ional suppo o esea ch
ac i i ies by Facul y o In o ma ics and S a is ics,
Uni e si y o Economics, P ague.
Re e ences
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[Telema ica Ins i uu Fundamen al Resea ch
Se ies No. 15].
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enginee ing he Co po a ion: A Mani es o o
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Sys ems De elopmen . Englewood Cli s, NJ:
P en ice Hall.
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deWi e, P. S., Blinn, T., & Pe aka h, B. (1997).
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h p:/opensoul.pan epa.o g.
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& Y. Yu (Eds.), Compu e , Communica ion and
Con ol Technologies (CCCT ‘03). O lando:
IIIS, 2003 (222-227).
Řepa, V. (2010). Consis ency in he
Business Sys em Model. In T. D užo ec, H.
Jaakkola, Y. Kiyoki, T. Tokuda, & N. Yoshida
(Eds.), In o ma ion Modelling and Knowledge
Bases XXI. Ams e dam: IOS P ess (247-257).
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Syn ac ic Me alanguages ISO/IEC
In e na ional S anda d 14977. (1996), ISO/IEC.
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Re ie ed om: h p://www.omg.o g.
p o . Ing. Václa Řepa, CSc.
Uni e si y o Economics, P ague
Facul y o In o ma ics and S a is ics
Depa men o In o ma ion Technologies
[email p o ec ed]
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Abs ac
BUSINESS SYSTEM AS AN EQUILIBRIUM OF INTENTION AND CAUSALITY
Václa Řepa
The a icle is aimed o d aw he a en ion o he essen ial ea u es o he business p ocesses and
business sys ems in he con ex o hei modeling. We ollow he oo ideas o cybe ne ics in o de o
explain he concep o in en ionali y and i s consequences in business sys em modeling as well as
i s impac on he business p ocess modeling me hodology and language. Possible way o e l ec ing
hese ideas in he business p ocesses modeling me hodology is ou lined using he example o
he p ocess me a-model and business p ocess pa e ns om he MMABP me hodology. Then
he concep o causali y in business sys ems is explained and ele an in o ma ics heo ies and
echniques o modeling he eal wo ld causali y a e in oduced in his con ex . Pa icula a en ion
is paid o he opic o ela ionships be ween bo h basic ypes o he business sys em models:
in en ional business p ocess and causal on ology model. Gene al ules and p inciples o he
consis ency o models a e discussed oge he wi h hei me hodological consequences. Basic ypes
o he consis ency o models – comple eness and co ec ness – a e iden i i ed and also he speci i c
opic o ‘s uc u al consis ency’ is in oduced in his con ex . In he conclusions sec ion he needed
e l ec ion o hese essen ial ea u es in he modeling languages and me hodology is analyzed and
he basic insu i ciencies o he con empo a y app oaches o he business p ocess modeling a e
poin ed ou oge he wi h he ou line o possible ways o hei o e coming. As he main challenges
in he i eld o business p ocess modeling me hodology and languages we pa icula ly iden i y he
need o espec ing all consequences o he ac ha business p ocess has o be always aken as
a pu pose ul p ocess as well as he need o implemen ing he sel -pe cep ion o he p ocess in
o de o allow i achie ing he highe o de s o p edic ion.
Key Wo ds: Business p ocess managemen , business p ocess modeling, concep ual modeling,
on ology, objec dynamics, cybe ne ics.
JEL Classi i ca ion: M10.
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2017-4-015
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