References

EDGY Foundations

EDGY stands for Enterprise Design Graph interplaY. It takes inspiration from a set of established theories and practices:

Graph theory

EDGY specifies a language of elements and relationships that form a network. In graph theory such a network is called a graph, with the elements called nodes and the relationships called edges. The EDGY language enables users to decompose a complex enterprise into its constituent parts, and to explore the underlying dependencies and dynamics. Specifying EDGY as a graph language makes it possible to formally store and manipulate Enterprise Design models constructed in EDGY using graph databases and Enterprise Architecture (and similar) modelling tools.

Design theory

EDGY uses three base elements to express any Enterprise Design. This triad is inspired by the Function Behaviour Structure Ontology, a design theory that conceptualises design objects in three ontological categories: function or desired outcomes, behaviour or observable activities, and the structure of objects. The theory describes the process of designing using only these categories, and applies to modelling enterprises across all facets.

Enterprise modelling

EDGY includes a set of elements, the configuration of which corresponds to the needs and focus of various disciplines and viewpoints on the enterprise. Using these elements consistently allows the creation of a single model to represent parts of an enterprise, and to formally specify and express an Enterprise Design as coherent current or future state configurations. This is inspired by modelling languages common in enterprise engineering, such as ArchiMate® or UML®. Note: there is a mapping of EDGY Enterprise Elements to ArchiMate® that permits users to express any EDGY Model in a tool supporting ArchiMate®, and to use both languages in conjunction.

Links

• OpenGroup: "The ArchiMate® Enterprise Architecture Modeling Language", [1]
• "Oxford Learner's Dictionary", [2]
• Graph Theory (Wikipedia), [3]
• Association of Business Process Management Professionals International: "Business Process Management Body of Knowledge 4.0 (BPM CBOK®)", [4]
• "Function Behavior Structure Ontology", Wikipedia [5]

ArchiMate® is a registered trademark of The Open Group®.

Literature

• Enterprise Design Patterns by Bard Papegaaij, Wolfgang Goebl, Milan Guenther, Annika Klyver (Intersection Group)
• Intersection by Milan Guenther (Morgan Kaufmann)
• The Jobs-to-be-Done Playbook by James Kalbach (Rosenfeld Media)
• Mental Models by Indi Young (Rosenfeld Media)
• Making sense of any mess by Abby Covert
• Visualising Business Transformation by Jonathan Whelan, Stephen Whitla (Routledge)