Enterprise Modelling for Value Based Service Analysis

Service oriented architectures are becoming increasingly important as enablers of exchange, coordination. and cooperation between organizations and individuals. Engineering and management of services raise a number of issues concerning the analysis, design, integration, bundling, and maintenance of services. These issues are notoriously difficult to resolve due to the abstractness of services as compared to other kinds of resources. In this paper, we analyze the concept of service based on a number of definitions from the literature and propose a conceptual service model based on the REA ontology. The model relates the service notion to the resource concept and shows how the abstractions offered by services can be represented using an encapsulation relationship. The use of the proposed service model is illustrated by means of an application oil marketing oriented representation and design of services.