Modeling Linguistically Complex Business Domains
Stijn J. B. A. Hoppenbrouwers, A. Bleeker, Henderik Alex Proper · 2004
The paper focuses on business domain modeling as part of requirements engineering in software development projects. Domain modeling concerns obtaining and modeling the language (concepts, terminologies; ontologies) used by stakeholders to talk about a domain. Achieving conceptual clarity and consensus among stakeholders is an important yet often neglected part of requirements engineering. Domain modeling can play a key role in supporting it. This does, however, require a nuanced approach to language aspects of domain modeling as well as ambition management concerning its goals, and the procedure followed. We provide an analysis of the linguistic complexities involved, as well as of various levels of ambition concerning the domain modeling process. On top of the "classic" approach to modeling singular, stable domains, we distinguish aspects like incremental modeling, modeling of multiple terminologies within a domain, and domain evolution; we will elaborate on the first two aspects.