General Terms
The terms are arranged in the following order: the more general terms are presented first and then you see more specific ones.
Model
Artificial object that represents a system and its components. M models the A object in case M answers some questions about A.
Activities
Active interaction of a creature (human being) with the external environment. In order to get a certain result to fulfil their needs, this human being influences the object on purpose. He/she can act by him/herself or with the help of other objects.
Activity
An activity unit selected based on a certain criterion. Activity types include Function, Process, Action, Task, etc.
Task
An atomic activity with the exact start and end points.
Process (Business Process)
A sequence of tasks or steps taken to achieve a particular outcome. The sequence has the exact start and end points.
Sub-process
An activity that is a task within the parent process.
Function
Activities grouped by a selected set of criteria. Examples of the criterion include use of same resources, functional objects, competencies, etc.
Organization
A group of humans working together in order to achieve a particular goal.
Organizational Structure
An organization model represented by composition and subordination relationships of organizational units.
Event
A fixed state in time with zero duration, important for analysis of the modeling system.
Decomposition
Partitioning of an object into components.
Decomposition Diagram
A diagram used to display object components.
Process Model
A model of all possible sequences of steps from start to end events.
Function Model
A model that is the result of a function’s decomposition and describes relationships (inputs and outputs) of sub-functions.
Architecture
Fundamental concepts or properties of a system in its environment embodied in its elements, relationships, and in the principles of its design and evolution (ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011).
Business Architecture
Architecture of an organization. Business architecture includes the following elements:
- Objectives;
- Activities (processes, functions, etc.);
- Organizational structure;
- Resources;
- Means of production
- Information systems;
- Data.
Business Architecture Model
Work product used to express an architecture (based on Architecture Description term from ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011). Work product examples include computer database, MS Excel table, diagram drawn on a sheet of paper.
Graphical Model
A model represented by shapes.
Organizational Chart
A graphical model of an organizational structure.
Process Diagram
A graphical model of a process.
Functional Diagram
A graphical model of a function.
Decomposed Process
A process that is divided into sub-processes and tasks in the Business Studio model.
Reference to Activity
An activity model element that contains a reference to an activity represented as a separate model. Reference to a reusable process can be a process task.
Reusable Activity
An activity that is an element of different activity models simultaneously, for example, a reusable process.
Reusable Process
A process that is a sub-process of different processes. A reusable process model describes the identical steps of processes for which it is a sub-process.
Flow
Movement of activity objects between activities and org units, ordered in space and time.
Process Instance
A real or simulating activity that corresponds to a process model.
Task Instance
A real or simulating activity that corresponds to a task model.
