naples forum on service 2013

Value model ontology for service systems

Geert Poels Ghent University, Belgium

pag. 1 NFoS 2013 Lacco Ameno, Ischia - Napoli, Italy -- 20/06/2013 Geert Poels

NFoS 2013 Lacco Ameno, Ischia - Napoli, Italy -- 20/06/2013 Geert Poels

Summary: definition/origin of concepts

• value model (Enterprise/IS Engineering)• value model ontology (Applied Ontology)• value model ontology for service systems

(Service Science / S-D Logic).. for modelling enterprises as service system entities that purposefully interact in mutually beneficial service exchanges

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Value models help in conceiving, designing, engineering and managing business entities

Examples of potential applications of service system value modelsand information systems based on these models:1. Value/cost management (costing, pricing, valuing)2. Resource/inventory management (inventory levels, sourcing)3. Capacity management (usage/occupancy rates)4. Performance management (service times, monitoring & control)5. Quality management (service/waiting times, tracking & tracing,

accountability)6. Strategy & business model / service innovation (designing service

offerings & value propositions, profitability analysis)


1. Purpose

• Service Science: few research on service system modelling

• Enterprise/IS Engineering: much research on value modelling, but current approaches assume a ‘goods-dominant’ worldview

• Purpose = design new value model ontology that ontologically commits to S-D Logic

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2. Design/Methodology/Approach

• Design Science Research Methodology (Design Science)

1. Problem identification and motivation

2. Define solution objectives

3. Design and development

4. Demonstration

5. Evaluation

6. Communication

• Theoretical basis: Resource-Event-Agent ontology (Accounting)

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3. Findings

Design artefact: Resource-Service-System ontology• S-D Logic interpretation of the REA ontology• From

conceptual model of economic exchangeto conceptual model of service exchange

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UML class diagram of core REA elements• Service as endurant (object) instead of perdurant (process)• Value (embedded in economic resources) is produced/provided

(economic event) and consumed/received (economic event)

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UML class diagram of core RSS elements• REA economic event = RSS service• REA economic agent = RSS service system entity• REA economic resource = RSS / SDL resource

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Service process view based on ISPAR model


4. Research limitations/implications

• Explicit specification of shared conceptualization• Difficult to prove, although..• ..concepts and relations were defined in accordance with

service system worldview and ISPAR model (Spohrer, Maglio, Kwan, ..)

• Future research:• From conceptual model to computational ontology• Design modelling notation and method, and develop tool

support

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5. Practical implications

• Explore applications of service system value models for SSMED

• Revealing, analysing, reasoning about• Teleological/ontological nature of enterprise service

system entities (i.e., function and composition)• Internal operations (i.e., resource allocation and

orchestration of service processes)• Externalized behaviour (i.e., choreography of service

interactions)

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6. Originality/Value

• Contribution: ontology for the value modelling of enterprises as service system entities

• Novelty: value model ontology that ontologically commits to S-D Logic

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naples forum on service 2013

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