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Enterprise Engineering is the body of knowledge, principles, and practices having to do with the analysis, design, implementation and operation of an enterprise. In a continually changing and unpredictable competitive environment, the Enterprise Engineer addresses a fundamental question: “how to design and improve all elements associated with the total enterprise through the use of engineering and analysis methods and tools to more effectively achieve its goals and objectives”. In the Enterprise Engineering paradigm, the enterprise is viewed as a complex system of processes that can be engineered to accomplish specific organizational objectives. Enterprise Engineering recognizes the everchanging organic nature of the enterprise, and therefore has a valid world view or paradigm [Liles&Presley,1996].

These assumptions have implications in enterprise modeling. Models are abstractions of real life systems. Models are created to assist an analyst extract requisite details of the system in order to gain a better understanding of the complex system. An enterprise model is a symbolic representation of the enterprise and the things that it deals with. An enterprise model contains representations of individual facts, objects, and relationships that occur within the enterprise. Enterprise models can assist the goal of Enterprise Engineering by helping to represent and analyze the structure of activities and their interactions [Liles&Presley,1996].