Facilitating change management with configurative reference modelling

Abstract

Change management describes a structured approach to transitions from the present state to a desired state. Reference models can assist this process since they provide a solution schema for specific problems by adapting best or common-practice approaches. The configuration of reference models has been a field of research in the past. However, the integrative configuration of different reference models or respective reference models serving multiple purposes lacks applicable methods. In practice this is a common problem, as the simultaneous implementation and/or maintenance of business processes in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and business intelligence system shows. We propose a methodology that allows the integrated configuration of conceptual models for transaction processing and decision support by integrating meta models for respective modelling languages. Additionally, its application is exemplified by extending an existing reference model in a business case.