Its Atomic
Assertion Modeling defines a single building block for your business description. It is a business event when someone makes a business statement. Because it is atomic you assemble your description from basics, even if your statement is the corporate mission.
BUSINESS IS
DECISIONS AND COMMUNICATION
Assertion Modeling focuses on the underlying concepts of business, independent of how it is implemented. Gesturing, bargaining, tablets, paper, or bits; business is about information that has been determined. We layer on ideas about contracts, goods, value, goals, but we can only communicate by passing information. And we can only do business when we are informed by sources we trust. So AM has used these elementary ideas to distill business description to a small set of atomic elements. The output of all the work of all the office workers in the world consists only word-of-mouth to others, or captured in documents ( clay tablets, paper, bits).
Simple Elements
With Assertion Modeling you describe the business with the decisions it makes (Assertions), and the resulting information it passes (Frames).
You state who makes the decision (Authorities), how the information is passed (Connections), and to whom( another Authority).
The result is a network that better describes what the business does, manually, verbally, and automatically. You can then browse your model, isolating sections (Perspectives) that address your current concerns(like vague explanations or business issues).
The business environment (Environment) where the decision is made, and where the Authority has access, is part of the business design process. Proposed solutions can be shown as a collection of Assertions implemented in a particular Environment (Implementation).
Its All Business
You can use Assertion Modeling to describe any business, automated or manual, detailed or strategic. In fact, relating strategy to operations is pivotal for any change initiative. And AM does it in the same language.
Veracity of business information influences the decision. Who is the Authority of the Assertions you rely on?
Accountability is captured. Where and how was this decision made?
All these key business concepts are embraced by AM.
Supports Current Methods
Practitioners and advisors who describe business use frameworks, methods, templates and meta-models. Often these have their own unique terminology and definitions. AM provides a way of addressing, and relating, these definitions.
This terminology can be be identified and mapped into an Assertion Model.
In some cases artifacts from other methods can be generated from the assertion model itself. For example, a sprint can be identified as a an Implementation. And its Requirements are the selected Assertions expressed as user stories.
Concepts
Assertion Modeling focuses on the underlying concepts of business. Independent of how it is implemented, gesturing, bargaining, tablets, paper, or bits, business is about information. We layer on ideas about contracts, goods, value, goals, but we can only communicate by passing information. And we can only do business when we are informed by sources we trust. So AM has used these elementary ideas to distil business description to a small set of atomic elements.
The Authority provides veracity to the Assertion Statement. Someone who uses the information passed to them must know how much they can rely on that information. Delegated authorities may inherit the veracity of another business entity.
Assertions involve a determination by the Authority. They may be guided by who delegates them. They make a determination based on information they receive via a Connection. Other Assertions are unavailable to guide the determination unless there is a Connection.
What This Means
Your assertion description (your model) is a network, because business is a network of messages passed between the participants. You can imagine people charged with an Authority regularly making determinations of the Assertion. There is one Assertion, but many if its determinations, each populating the values in a frame of meaning.
Many assertions in an organization are ephemeral. An email that a client was unsatisfied hopefully is not common. And probably not worth including in a description of a business. But invoices arriving from suppliers is common and the information needed to assert to the bank that a payment should be made is crucial.
The Environment is an important business concept. Customers or coworkers must be communicated with. and to do that there must be a connection to pass the information. When they are in the same Environment it is assumed that the messaging is simple. Otherwise the movement of messages between environments becomes a business design issue. Either special Connections must be implemented, or the assertions must be implemented in the same environment. The concept of channel elements in other methodologies recognize this. For example the internet is a channel to deliver application capabilities to clients. In AM this is recognized by identifying that an assertion is not currently implemented in a an Environment but potentially could be implemented in the future.
Why this is Universal
A good business description should be able to describe any interactions between people. It is independent of the medium(of expression or transmission), or of the value, or of the repetition
So when a bidder raises their hand in an auction, it is an assertion. It is framed in a common context of understanding that the person states they will pay the last price stated. They are connected (perhaps online) to the auctioneer who has the authority to respond with a ‘sold’ statement.
A dollar bill is a business statement by the government that they will provide a value to the holder; an assertion.
Embracing this ‘assertion language’ will help us think more coherently about business and how we do it.
Similar Concepts
Transitional Modeling addresses some of the same concerns.
In M O D E L I N G C O N F L I C T I N G , U N R E L I A B L E , A N D VA R Y I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
Lars Ronnback says:
‘All current information modeling techniques result in lossy implementations, in the sense that they cannot preserve combinations of who said what, when, and how sure they were of what they were saying.’
Transitional Modeling is currently in the academic domain and addresses more formality in a broader context than Assertion Modeling.
Where this comes from
AM has arisen from hands on work experience in planning, training, and delivering Enterprise Architecture products in a consulting environment. And from extensive data modeling, data design, and date management experience. And from experience in the development of business and scientific systems.
The language in which we express our ideas has a strong influence on our thought processes.
— Donald Knuth