5. Ontology and Enterprise Modeling

Ontology has the task to construct the most general theories concerning concrete objects, their being and becoming. Concrete objects such as products, facilities and people do also anchor the processes of an enterprise, both its operations and renewal processes. Whereas several enterprise models have been proposed in the past, none has clarified the interwoveness of operational and renewal processes. This chapter first presents general ontological concepts and relationships. It then constructs enterprise model concepts and relationships as specializations of the general concepts and relationships. The joint use of ontology and enterprise model in the PSIM Project is illustrated, and the compliance of the PSIM ontology with the ENV 40003 Framework for Enterprise Modeling is confirmed.