Abstract agents, actors and resources: a template for information systems modeling

The abstract-agents-actors-resources model (3AR) presents the unification, under the actor concept, of the data, processes and behaviour approaches which are normally used separately in information system modeling. The 3AR model uses two levels. The first one defines the outline of the type of individuals detected in the reference universe. By examining their internal structure and their relationships to their environment, they are qualified as actors. The second level represents the domain knowledge in the form of conceptual hierarchies which make it possible to define exactly what these actors are. The position of the 3AR approach in relation to other models of information systems and to knowledge representation is also discussed