Abstract
The DELTA theory, also called EE system theory, is a theory about the construction and operation of systems in general. The realm of systems is divided into three regions: organised simplicity, organised complexity, and unorganised complexity. The definition of a (homogeneous) system is presented as a triple (\( \mathrm{\mathbb{C}},\mathbbm{E},\mathbbm{S} \)), where ℂ (composition) is a set of elements of some category, \( \mathbbm{E} \) (environment) is a set of elements of the same category as the elements in ℂ, and \( \mathbbm{S} \) (structure) is a set of interaction bonds among the elements in ℂ and between them and the elements in \( \mathbbm{E} \). Examples of categories are: physical, biological, and social. Organisations belong to the category of social systems. Three sorts of conceptual models are distinguished: black boxes, grey boxes, and white boxes. The well-known finite automaton or finite state machine, and the discrete event system are examples of grey boxes. For a thorough discussion of the grey box and the white box, the PRISMA model is introduced. In this meta model, systems are considered to be discrete event automata, operating in a linear time dimension. Its formalised ontological model is particularly suited to study organisations. In the PRISMA grey box, three ways of mutual influencing between (the elements of) systems are distinguished, called activating, restricting, and impeding. The PRISMA white box allows one to conceive organisations as prismanets: networks of processors, channels, and banks. Prismanets are comprehensive formalised systems, open to formal analysis and to implementation in software. They can conveniently be expressed in prismanet diagrams. To illustrate the PRISMA model, two example prismanets are presented: one regards a traffic control system, and the other a car rental organisation. Next, the generic transaction prismanet is discussed. It is the understanding of the complete transaction pattern from the PSI theory in the PRISMA model. Lastly, the quality aspects of PRISMA models are discussed, as well as the importance of the PRISMA model for software engineering.
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Dietz, J.L.G., Mulder, H.B.F. (2020). The DELTA Theory: Understanding Discrete Event Systems. In: Enterprise Ontology. The Enterprise Engineering Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38854-6_9
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