A situation-theory-based approach to enterprise engineering

Situation Theory (ST) was developed initially by a multidisciplinary community, whose members each brought their own perspectives to bear on what is meant by information and information flow. ST is a collection of mathematical tools designed to provide a framework for the study of information and is intended to provide methods by which one may gain a measure of understanding of communication and action. It has its name from the mathematical device introduced in order to explain context. Another aim of Situation Theory is to provide precise and rigorous accounts of significant phenomena concerning language use through mathematical formalism. Its benefits are related to both the conceptual framework for analyses and the formalism for expressing the results of analyses. Situation Theory has been used as a guide to find out which aspects of the real world communication can be formalized.;The ultimate goal of situation theory is to construct the common ground for reflecting on what one does as an analyst, and to supply a common method for describing, with the appropriate degree of precision and richness, the complexity of information in the real world.;Major disciplines concerned with system design such as Enterprise Engineering (EntEng) focus on the importance of proper understanding of the human activities in an organizational circumstance especially in the areas of enterprise modeling and enterprise integration. This paper has developed a technique (IAST Model) for the use of the Situation Theory (ST) in EntEng. Through this technique, ST can be applied as a translator and an analyzing tool of systems in system modeling, system analysis, and holistic design for EntEng.