This article introduces the framework of DEMO, a methodology for describing an essential model of a business organization extracted based on EE theory, and some of its application effects.

1: DEMO consists of three ways of thinking (WoT: a Way of Thinking), modeling (WoM: a Way of Modeling), and working (WoW: a Way of Working).

2: WoT consists of the seven EE theories mentioned above.

3: WoM consists of four ontological models called aspect models: Cooperation Model (CM), Action Model (AM), Process Model (PM), and Fact Model (FM), which are described below.
These models express the organizational structure and structure derived from theory in diagrams and formalized text.

① CM represents the transactor roles that are organizational units and the coordination structure between them (interactions, mutual constraints, mutual inhibitions).

② AM represents the rules (business rules) by which actors in each role perform the coordination actions necessary for organizational management, and the work instructions for performing production actions.

③ PM represents the coordination actions and coordination facts of an organization, and indicates that they always follow certain logical laws (laws of existence and laws of occurrence).

④ FM represents the production actions and production facts of an organization, and indicates that they belong to one of the distinguished types (entity type, value type, property type, attribute type, event type) and that the types follow certain logical laws (laws of existence and laws of occurrence).
The four perspective models are expressed in the DEMO Specification Language (DEMOSL).

4: WoW is a prescription unique to DEMO called ER (Organisational Essence Revealing), and uncovers the hidden essence of an organization. This prescription describes the actual work that people do on a daily basis in a story-like manner through existing documents and interviews with employees, and describes the “original actions, or essence” as a four-perspective model.

Here are three of over 1,000 application cases.

(1) Management of a large-scale civil engineering project in the Netherlands

By applying “standard transaction patterns,” we achieved smooth information sharing and the accumulation of factual data. This method has been adopted as an ISO standard.

(2) DX at an agricultural food manufacturing company

We adopted DEMO to generate a four-perspective model to redesign complex business transaction processing from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of final products. We crossed the model with OR methods, added quantitative evaluation, and predicted the future behavior of the business.

(3) Air Cargo Division Merger

When integrating information systems following the merger of Air France Cargo and KLM Cargo, DEMO was selected as a method to determine neutrality and accuracy. CM contributed greatly to fostering a common understanding among executives, and the merger was successfully carried out. We often hear that it is difficult to develop DX talent, but this is due to an insufficient understanding of the nature of corporate organizations.
I would like to conclude by saying that mastering the concepts advocated by enterprise ontology and the modeling techniques based on these concepts is the quickest way to develop talented talent that can compete on the world stage.

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