Using Object Templates From The REA Accounting Model To Engineer Business Processes And Tasks

Abstract

Conceptual models of enterprises can be used for both business process modeling and the actual design of computerized information systems. The Resource-Event-Agent (REA) model, a domain-specific framework for determining the information architecture of accounting and enterprise information systems, has primarily been used for design purposes. In this paper we explore the use of REA for business process modeling. At first, we discuss how REA primitives are used to describe the value-added transformation of resources throughout the enterprise. Next, we analyze some difficult specification problems that relate to business process modeling in general and to REA engineering solutions to these problems in particular. We conclude the paper with the specification of a three-layer architecture that summarizes the REA approach to business process modeling: (i) enterprise-level specification, (ii) REA-based process descriptions, and (iii) task-level or workflow specifications. The architecture shows that workflow descriptions can be related to the specification of the enterprise value chain through the medium of REA information structures.