Title: Software engineering within a dynamic digital business ecosystem

Authors: G. Marcon, H. Okada, T. Heistracher, A. Corallo, M. De Tommasi

Addresses: Department of Information Technology and System Management, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Urstein Sud 1, A-5412 Puch/Salzburg, Austria. ' Department of Information Technology and System Management, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Urstein Sud 1, A-5412 Puch/Salzburg, Austria. ' Department of Information Technology and System Management, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Urstein Sud 1, A-5412 Puch/Salzburg, Austria. ' e-Business Management School, Universita degli Studi di Lecce, Via per Monteroni s.n., 73100 Lecce, Italy. ' e-Business Management School, Universita degli Studi di Lecce, Via per Monteroni s.n., 73100 Lecce, Italy

Abstract: The goal of fast adaptations and modifications according to continuous change requests is common to all software engineering methodologies. In most cases, sooner or later this results in a mismatch between the software specification and the actual implementation with related disadvantages such as the impossibility of performing validations of related models. We present here an aspect of the digital business ecosystem concept that gives incentives for more responsible software engineering approaches in general by offering a platform for automatic composition of services and re-adaptation of the specifications based on actual changes. The main innovation is a natural language based modelling notation that enables ecosystems of companies to use software described in a high-level language that can also be understood by non-technical users.

Keywords: semantics; business vocabulary; business rules; digital business ecosystems; extended enterprise; automatic code generation; business process integration; round-trip engineering; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; service-oriented architecture; software engineering; natural language; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPIM.2008.024981

International Journal of Business Process Integration and Management, 2008 Vol.3 No.4, pp.239 - 247

Published online: 06 May 2009 *

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