Information Engineering

InformationEngineering is concerned with the ontology and structure of information, rather than the procedural plumbing through which it flows. Nice work, if you can get it.

Information Engineering is an approach to software engineering based on the analysis of information. Like ObjectOrientation, it goes beyond TraditionalDataAnalysis? to consider the appropriate behavior of coherent sets of data (i.e. "information"). The typical deliverables of Information Engineering are a DataModel, a StateModel? and an EventModel?.

The Data Model is the traditional deliverable from DataAnalysis?: a normalized candidate data structure that is capable of meeting the functional requirements of the system (which are not usually predefined except in outline).

The State Model describes the legitimate combinations of data within an entity and, sometimes, across related entities. It identifies which attributes are permitted to vary freely, and which are constrained by other attributes and relationships. Different combinations with sufficient significance, in terms of constraining subsequent behavior, are designated as "States". States that are only legitimate given certain predecessor states are defined by means of allowable "Transitions". Thus an entity "transitions" from an initial null state into, and possibly between, one or more live states, thence to one or more moribund states and ultimately into a terminal null state

The Event Model describes the stimuli to which the information is susceptible. High level Events correspond to a BusinessTransaction or process, which is responsible for ensuring that cross-entity (and cross-system, cross-enterprise...) integrity is maintained. The lowest level Events interact with the State Model, either stimulating a State Transition, or leaving an entity in its previous State. The next lowest level event corresponds roughly to the commit scope of a database transaction, identifying the set of lowest level Event responses that should be performed all together or not at all.

The interaction between the State Model and the Event Model is typically represented in a StateTransitionDiagram, which shows the States, the allowable (or supported) Transitions, and the Events that interact with the States and Transitions. (Since Transitions are directional, an Event that may result in a Transition from State a to State b is represented by the Event interacting with the Transition. An Event that may leave the State unchanged is represented by the Event interacting with the State. The same Event can interact with both States and Transitions.) In the more sophisticated versions, behavior and constraints can be defined at Entity, State, Transition and Event levels, with further refinements at Event-State and Event-Transition interactions.

The EndemeSet can also be used to model information along side the DataModel, EventModel? and StateModel?. Endeme sets model at a level above data models but below ontologies. EnDemes and Endeme sets unlike other models can also be implemented directly in a computer system to provide a 'glue' between the ontology layer above and the data layer below.

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GoalOrientedRequirementsEngineering is introduced in ftp://ftp.info.ucl.ac.be/pub/publi/2001/RE01.pdf

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CategoryInformationEngineering CategoryInformation