Abstract
Information models have been an important research topic in information systems for decades, and reference modelling has been an important subfield since the 1990s at the latest. Reference models are propagated in particular for the documentation, selection and implementation of standard application systems. There are few empirical studies in information systems on the actual usage of information models in general and reference models in particular. This article is dedicated to the empirical studies on the use of reference models and draws critical arguments from the perspective of the software manufacturers and the application company using the model as to why reference application system models are not used in corporate practice. In reality, the hopeful claims of researchers have not been proven, so their statements are more assertive than substantiating, which is scientifically disappointing. Information systems should be less concerned with myths and more with reality and consider how reference modelling research needs to be adapted to the practice-oriented nature of the discipline.
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Notes
- 1.
In 1997, the author introduced the construction-oriented model concept into information systems, cf. Schütte (1998), which has been discussed in many publications over the last 20 years, cf. among others Wolf (2001), vom Brocke (2003), Wyssusek (2004), Thomas (2006). From the discussion, it has emerged that the boundary between “model” and “no model” is narrow, which in particular also speaks against any image postulate. The image-oriented definitions represent a demand on an artifact before something can be called a model. In this context, image-oriented definitions necessarily become entangled in the problems of verifiability or uncertainty, cf. also Zelewski (1995, pp. 24–25). For reasons of the general validity of the following explanations, no conceptual restriction with the associated reduced extensionality of the term model is undertaken. This also means that an information model is not as narrowly understood as Jörg Becker published in 2003 in the sense of a construction-oriented scientific theory position: “Against this background, an information model can be defined as a representation of a fact. Furthermore, an information model is always to be understood in the sense of current speech and will usually last as a brand and will not be transient. […] It is demanded that each modeling step and the insertion of each modeling component can be determined by reasons. As a representation of a fact, an information model consists of a set of elementary model statements that are linked to complex model statements. The truth of these statements can be verified by interpersonal verification” (Becker, Holten, Knackstedt, & Niehaves, 2003, p. 21).
- 2.
There are older empirical studies, cf. the list by Fettke (2009, p. 555) as well as the work by Batra and Marakas (1995), Maier (1998) which, due to their age, are no longer considered here because they no longer seem appropriate for the evaluation of current modelling practice. The empirical study by Schütte (1998, p. 367ff.) will be used in the further course in order to be able to carry out a longitudinal section analysis.
- 3.
It should be noted that this is not a continuous process (cf. Fettke, 2009, p. 573ff.), but all studies come to the conclusion that the intensity of use in the class of the largest companies in the study is significantly higher than in the class of small companies. This applies in particular to the reference application system models to be addressed later, e.g. cf. the works by Sarshar et al. (2006).
- 4.
Therefore, the distinction between reference models in the field of objects and statements is artificial in Fettke and Loos (2004, p. 332).
- 5.
See the work outlined in the previous chapter on information model usage in general.
- 6.
The year 1993 was chosen as the reference time, as SAP documented the system processes using EPCs and data models during the introduction of R/3 and promoted the introduction of reference models in marketing terms. There were separate departments within SAP for these tasks, which was driven forward not least by Gerhard Keller as a former employee of August-Wilhelm Scheer for the process models and also by Michael Seubert for data modeling. Also confer a similar evaluation by Fettke and Loos (2004, p. 331), who see 1993 as the first high point of reference modeling practice.
- 7.
ARIBA is SAP’s procurement and network platform, which SAP acquired in 2012. There processes of strategic purchasing, procurement, service procurement, etc. are supported.
- 8.
SAP MDG is SAP’s master data government product, S/4 HANA stands for the core products of the new SAP generation, which is documented in the 4 for fourth generation. The S stands for Simple and replaces the old R for Realtime (which extends to R/3).
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Schütte, R. (2019). Reference Models for Standard Software—Scientific Myth Instead of Practical Reality?. In: Bergener, K., Räckers, M., Stein, A. (eds) The Art of Structuring. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06234-7_12
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