Definition of the rubric

Within the structure of the "Organum", the Thesaurus is the place where the vocabulary is explained.

In a transformation project, this rubric takes on a particular importance, as it demonstrates the willingness and capacity to take responsibility for the knowledge of the actors involved. It is also, if one can say so, an approach of tolerance. Indeed, the Praxemian attitude is one of gathering and catering for all vocabularies, without ostracism and dogmatism. It is a well observed fact that several vocabularies, several representations, coexist in the enterprise. If it is necessary to establish the means for mutual understanding, it is no less necessary, as a first step, to collect and analyze the vocabularies in use. Terminological normalization comes only as a second step, itself extended by modeling which fixes canonic definitions by positioning the concepts in a formalized network.

Content of the rubric

In a project, the Thesaurus is like a security vestibule which enables you to go from the known (the vocabularies in use) to the new (the formalized representation). The same can be said about this section of our web site. You can use the Thesaurus as a dictionary in which you can look up the ordinary or more unusual terms you find, as you explore. The following pages will give you the definition and, above all, the location within the overall methodology. By and large, to define is to position.

Difference between a thesaurus and a dictionary

Thesaurus and meta-model

About terminology

All terms

Abstraction Principle Objects and concepts at the heart of the business are modeled for themselves; abstraction of organizational and technical circumstances
Action What somebody or something does.
Activity Any arrangement of actions
Activity domain An area of activity, which is organized around a role or entity in the organization
Actor A being taking on or being able to take on an action
Agility Ability to adjust to a changing environment
Analyze To observe
Arbitration The making of an impartial and authoritative judgment
Architecture Discipline that embraces an entire system and focuses on its properties as a whole
Architecture Principle Principle that applies to the system and guides its design and development
Aspect Part of reality, which has been isolated for the sake of study, in accordance with its inner logic
Association Essential element for capturing the semantics; enables classes to be joined
Automaton Micro-machine, managing its internal state and supplying services, in certain operative conditions
blank page Not available yet
Business Architecture Transformational discipline that translates the strategy and helps to transform the enterprise
Business Repository Place where the descriptions of an organization’s perception of reality are stored
Class Diagram UML diagram that shows a collection of declarative (static) UML model elements such as classes and types, with their contents and relationships (www.omg.org)
Class Properties Informative, active or cooperative (structural) information that applies to each instance or all instances of a semantic class
Complexity Quality of an object when it can be understood and its behavior predicted only by considering numerous inter-related elements.
Complication Unnecessary and artificial complexity
Derivation The action of obtaining something from a source or origin
Design To invent
Discipline Aggregation of know-how, procedures and methods, into a unit of skills based upon a generic knowledge
Domain An area of knowledge or activity
Enterprise A set of rigorously articulated models that describe the enterprise in all its aspects
Enterprise Any type of organized and willful entity or action
Enterprise Architecture Discipline that analyzes the strategy and determines the main decisions for transforming the Enterprise System
Enterprise System The enterprise that perceives itself as a system
Enterprise System Topology Frame of reference that organizes the information and decisions concerning the Enterprise System
EST Enterprise System Topology
Event Something that happens
Facet Part of reality, which has been isolated for the sake of study, in accordance with its inner logic
Framework Theoretical foundation upon which the enterprise methodology is built.
Functional domain See Activity domain
Geographic Aspect Records the physical location of objects and actions. Notions of sites, locations, and communication needs appear here
Hardware Aspect Describes the physical machines that make up the system, and their characteristics (capacity …)
Ideology Set of pre-wired answers that the actors use in their day-to-day actions and decision making.
Information Model Describes Entities, their Relations and inheritances
IT Urbanization Design discipline which aims to structure the information system and align it with the enterprise’s strategy and business
Level of representation One of three levels pursuant to the OMG theory: execution, description and expression
Logical Architecture Primary description of the IT system
Logical Aspect Intermediary aspect that allows for describing the system in a formal way, regardless of technical choices
Logical Factory Set of logical workshops
Logical Machine Coherent set of logical services
Logical Workshop Set of logical machines
MDA Model Driven Architecture
Merise Method of analysis, design and implementation of information systems from the 1980s
Metamodel Model of models
Method How to do something
Methodology Discourse on the method
Model Formal representation of a portion of reality
Modeling To model is to rigorously represent part of the reality, in conformance with specified formal rules
Object Diagram Illustrates particular points in the class diagram
Object Domain An area of knowledge, which is organized around one of the main objects of the described reality
Object Domain Decomposition Principle On the semantic plane, the criterion used to decompose the system is the “semantic” object
Ockham's Razor Principle (attributed to William of Ockham) that in explaining a thing no more assumptions should be made than are necessary
OMG Object Management Group
Operation Collection of activities that run the business
Organization Repository Place where the processes are modeled and coordinated
Organization View Description of the pragmatic aspect of the Enterprise System in its entirety
Organizational Rules Enterprise’s self-imposed constraints for controlling its business
Organized-Process Process including the organizational choices
Package UML tool which helps structure the model, grouping numerous classes within the domain analyzed
Performance Result or level of results of an activity
Physical Aspect Describes the hosting of software components (databases included) on the IT infrastructure
PIM Platform Independent Model
Practice (in pragmatic modeling) The description or prescription of an action
Pragmatic Aspect Regroups the different choices as to how business is done: the actors, the responsibilities, the actions on objects, the processes and the work situations
Praxeme Enterprise methodology that covers every aspect of the enterprise
Principle A strong tenet that cannot be deduced from other elements of the domain of study
Principle of Parsimony Scientific principle that things are usually connected or behave in the simplest or most economical way, especially with reference to alternative evolutionary pathways
Pro3 Schema Deployment of the methodology in three chapters – Product, Process and Procedures
Procedures & Methods Not available yet
Process Set of scheduled activities
PSM Platform Specific Model
Reactivity The degree to which something reacts or is likely to react (Oxford Dictionary)
Repository Set of objects and information, shared among a community of actors
Rights Possibility for an actor to act on the system, in accordance with organizational rules
Scale Action measured in terms of extent and time
Scenario A variant in the execution of a use case
Semantic Aspect Describes the objects at the heart of the business. Describes the fundamental core independently of how the business is done
Semantic Class Basic unit in semantic modeling (in the object approach)
Semantic Fields Gathers and organizes the terminology of the domain analyzed in an informal way
Semantic Model Describes the semantics of a domain: fully represents the part of reality defined by the scope of the project
Semantic Repository Place where the descriptions of an organization’s perception of reality are stored
Separation of Concerns Principle by which we consider various aspects of a reality separately
Service Lowest level constituent of the logical architecture, in an SOA style
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Information system structured around the elementary unit of logical services
Sharing Principle Business objects that concern several actors, operations or processes in the system are shared via the “repository”, accessible to all
SLA Service Level Agreement
Software Aspect Describes the software components which automate some of the actions of the Information System
SPEM Software Process Engineering Metamodel
State Diagram UML diagram which picks up the different representation of state machine or automatons
State Machine Micro-machine, managing its internal state and supplying services, in certain operative conditions
Stratification Three circles making up the information system, according to the rules of logical architecture
System Set of interconnected elements, perceived as a whole
Target Aspirational state of the future Enterprise System.
Technical Aspect Describes the choice of technologies and their implementation
Terminology Set of technical words or expressions used in a particular subject
Textual Analysis Mechanical passage from texts collected (natural language categories and object approach) towards the model
TOGAF The Open Group Architecture Framework
Traceability Relate every property and event to their potential cause.
Trajectory Way to take the System from its current state to the targeted state.
Transformation Collection of activities that define or change the business
Transformation Chain Unified concept of activities linked together for enterprise transformation
Transformation Model The methodology’s metamodel (its terminology, its different categories of representation)
UML Unified Modeling Language
Use Case An elementary working situation
Use Case Diagram Main diagram of the Use view (UML notation)
Use View Description of the services provided to the user by the system
View Presentation of part of a Model – or a set of Models – meant for a type of actor and for a specific purpose
Zachman See "Zachman's Framework"
Zachman Framework Framework for enterprise architecture

All pages in the Thesaurus rubric