Visual Language and Ontology Based Analysis: Using OWL for Relation Discovery and Query in 4EM

Usually, enterprise models consider different aspects and include different abstraction levels of enterprises. It is hence challenging to integrate these models and to maintain their consistency. In the light of these challenges, ontologies seem to be relevant to complement enterprise models since they are intended to support communication, computational inference, consistency checking, querying, and the organization of knowledge. In our contribution, we demonstrate that Enterprise modelling can benefit from these characteristics. In order to check feasibility and pertinence of ontology-based Enterprise Models, we selected the goal modelling part and its relations to actors and resources from the “For Enterprise Modelling” (4EM) method. In more detail, this paper provides (1) a formal OWL representation of the 4EM Goals meta-model; (2) a discussion of goal relations regarding transitivity and domain specific inference; (3) a formalization of the discussed inference rules; and (4) an analysis of an exemplary goals model instance. This paper extends earlier work on the topic by the introduction of inter-model relations, a discussion of formalization alternatives, and a comparison of query results with and without ontology-based reasoning.