Abstract
Applying object orientation to the task of modeling the value-added processes of a business enterprise is a task that should be examined both conceptually and practically. This paper does both, but its main theme is a conceptual reliance on a standardized object template — the REA (resource-event-agent) model — at various levels of abstraction as that template is used to model the economic activities of an enterprise. Deployment of REA concepts in business object design and implementation is a semantic strategy for increasing reusability and interoperability. We explain the components and use of REA models in the context of a simple example, and we discuss also its predictable patterns of implementation compromise. The paper finishes with a discussion of the adaptation of various object-oriented analysis and design techniques to the task of REA modeling of enterprises.
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Geerts, G.L., McCarthy, W.E. (1997). Modeling Business Enterprises as Value-Added Process Hierarchies with Resource-Event-Agent Object Templates. In: Sutherland, J., Casanave, C., Miller, J., Patel, P., Hollowell, G. (eds) Business Object Design and Implementation. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0947-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0947-1_10
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